Disinfecting plants (Potassium permanganate dip)

jhj

William Fontaine DeLaTeur Dauterive
Oct 30, 2005
182
0
0
Columbus, OH
Hello all:

I wanted to to find out the best way to disinfect plants before adding them to a new tank.

I have heard dipping them in Potassium permanganate (KmNO4) works the best. Would someone shed some light on the actual process, how much KmNO4 to use, should it be mixed with water and how long should the plants be dipped in it? Also, should the plants be thorougly rinsed after the dip? would traces of KmNO4 be harmful to fish?

I was able to pick up a bottle of KmNO4 (in powdered form) at Sears Hardware. The instructions on the bottle say to mix it in a gallon of water for removing build-up on pipes. I am not sure if that stuff would work.

Thanks in advance.
 
The info I have saved on file is "Mix at 10 mg/liter of water for a 10-minute soak". Basically the water should be a nice pink/purple colour. (Be careful, the stuff will stain your skin/clothes, etc.) I would rinse the plants well afterwards but you don't have to be extremely concerned as potassium permanganate is used in some products added directly to tanks and fish (Jungle's 'Clear Water'). There was once a site about somebody using it regularly in a goldfish pond, but I can't find my link to that right now.
 
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