How to quaranteen my plants?

[beviking]

I set up a 15gal with a heater and thought of putting an AC300 on it but thought it would be too much even turned down. Added declor water and some water from my main tank to add some nutrients. The lfs guy thought I should add a small airstone to prevent the water from becoming stagnant. So I bought some water sprite (5 small plants) and java moss (a loose matt the size of a softball) that is hanging out in the tank. I'm mainly concerned about fish specific parasites so will leave them in the tank for 2 weeks or so.
Does this sound o.k.? Should I add water from the main (with fish) tank every week to keep up nutrients? Add tap water too? Thanks.

[djlen]

I'm using an AQ-mini in my 10 gal. Q-tank. It's very adequate for the tiny fish load. Why don't you go with a mini or a 200? Both are really inexpensive at Big Al's.
Len

[beviking]

Another one of those should haves but didn't.
I almost ordered a mini with my last order from Big Als but figured, hey, I've already got a 200 and 300. The 200 is set up on my 10g Q-tank with fish so I plunked the plants into the 15g tank.

Back to the question. Do I need water movement in the plant only Q-tank? What if I just give it a stir manually every day?

[kveeti]

I have one of those little "critter cages", like a tiny plastic tank, left over from when my son was young.... anyhow, I thought, wouldn't it look nice with some java moss at the bottom and salvinia natans covering the surface - a little window water garden. Well, scum city! Even stirring and replacing part of the water daily didn't do it! I added an airstone with a valve and turned it way down, it bubbled hardly at all, but suddenly no more scum.

[djlen]

My anwer to that is I don't know, but if it was me I'd have at least an air stone in the tank to move the water.
Len

[Alex]

FWIW... I've kept plants for as long as two weeks in a 2.5 gallon tank with no filter, airstone or heater and the water was not dechlorinated. I did loose a few stem plants but Java Ferns, Anubias and even Crypts survived just fine. I didn't mean to leave them in there for two weeks, bad timing.

Alex

[TwoTankAmin]

Unlike fish, plants can be deloused in a solution that is one part chlorine bleach and nineteen parts water (1-19). Most plants can be dipped for about two miniutes to kill snails, eggs and other nasties. More delicate plants should be dipped for less time.

After two minutes, rinse thoroughly and then dip into a bucket with dechlor added, then plant.

This dip also kills algae :-)

[gnome]

I agree with TwoTankAmin - if you just want to avoid introducing any nasty stuff into your main tank, bleach-treat and get it over with, or use potassium permanganate - either of these two things will be effective in disinfecting your plants. The latter is gentler to plants, but I'm not sure where you can find it.

As for how well plants can survive still waters, well, I have two 2.5-gallon plant tanks that grow plants quite well with no filtration or current whatsoever. I've heard that plants *prefer* a little water movement, but I don't think it's really necessary to get decent or even excellent growth. Even lacking a heater wouldn't hurt most plants. At worst, it'll slow down growth a little. I think light is critical to have, though, but with the two species in question, heck - just put the container they're in under a desk lamp and they'll *still* grow...

[AntmanMike]

Circulation is needed because stagnant water delivers no new nutrients to the plant.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I think that the AC 300 is fine for the tank. I know it is a lot, but don't worry about it. Just keep it turned down like you said.

[beviking]

Thank you!


I know about chlorine and potassium permanganate, use both at work, but won't this kill any "bio film" associated with the plant? I always treat my fish with formalin and salt and am worried that my tank is "sterile" b/c I've removed any zooplankton or other "bio-film" inhabitants. So I wanted to preserve these little buggers since I'm just starting to get into live plants. Is my train of thinking off track?