New Plants & Some Questions

[Riso-chan]

I wanted to get some new plants to add to my tank, sword plants and java ferns. However, I have some concerns as far as their care and introduction.

1. What should I do to clean off the plants before putting them in the tank?

2. Is there anything I should be aware of before I purchase these plants in
particular? Any 'heads-up'?

3. I siphon my tank every week, but I've heard with a planted tank this
shouldn't be done too much. With the amount of plants I'll have, I think
it'd be a medium level planted tank. Shouldn't I still siphon?

 

[Swimfins]

I just usually siphon the gravel layer at the front, and leave the mulm for the plants. You can just rinse your plants, that'ts about all I do. Some people quarantine them, but I just look for snails or snail slime and rinse well under tap water. So far, so good.

 

[Darkblade48]

1) Some people just rinse their plants, but I personally rinse, and then look for snails/snail eggs as well. I also do an Alum bath. You could go as far out as Potassium Permanganate, that would do the trick as well. Bleach (19:1 ratio) is also another alternative, but don't try that with any sensitive (i.e. Hornwort) plants

2) The only heads up I can think of when it comes to purchasing plants is to make sure that you are actually getting aquatic plants and not terrestrial/semi aquatic plants that will only survive for a few days/weeks

3) I just siphon the top layer of gravel, and don't really gravel vac anymore

 

[arizwldcat]

I rinse mine in a weak bleach solution (1 part bleach to 20 parts water)...but watch the clock...one minute is usually all I dare do, as I've killed some plants with 2 minutes)...then I rinse in regular tap water, and then soak in conditioned water (same as aquarium water) for about 30 minutes before I put them in the tank. So far so good for me...I've only been doing this about 6 weeks now.

 

[djlen]

See if you can pick up some Alum(aluminum sulfate) at your local pharmacy or supermarket. This is a perfectly safe way to kill snails and their eggs. That is, unless you want snails in the tank.
You can use bleach/water at a ratio of 1/25 which will kill off most anything dangerous that will hitch-hike it's way onto the plants. Alum is still best/safest for all plants for snails, IMO. I have used only Alum and never had a problem with most other stuff.
Look closely for signs of BBA attached to the leaves before planting. If you see any the bleach dip is best.
Again 1part bleach and 25parts water will kill BBA and any other algae that I know of.
With this mixture, dip for 1 min. for tender plants(stems) and 2 mins. for tougher plants(anubia; crypts.; java fern).

Len