10% Bleach Solution

[dartboi101]

Hey everyone!

I was wondering how everyone used there bleach solutions when soaking the plants, and because it is bleach wouldnt it kill the plant?

And also where can i get 10% bleach cuz i have never herd of it!

[Dane]

Originally Posted by dartboi101

Hey everyone!

I was wondering how everyone used there bleach solutions when soaking the plants, and because it is bleach wouldnt it kill the plant?

And also where can i get 10% bleach cuz i have never herd of it!

Soaking in a bleach solution can damage some of your plants, and a few species will be entirely destroyed, but it's kind of a neccessary evil to prevent contamination. The majority of the plants that I've sanitized over the years have come through it just fine, though.

Edit: A 10% concentration refers to a solution of 90% water and 10% household bleach, or 3/4 cup bleach per gallon of water.

[Frogtofall]

There are a handful of threads on this subject. A quick search should yield some decent info.

In my experience I've had better results with 5% bleach solution and soaking for 20mins.

[batrachiophyle]

agreed. i typically use a 10% solution specifically for cleaning, and a 5% with live plants.

the residual bleach can be neutralized afterward using your typical water conditioner / de-chlorinating agent.

rinse items [including plants] until you can no longer smell the bleach on them. i usually rinse vigorously and repeatedly with very hot water [warm for plants]... then i use the water conditioner to bust up any remaining chlorine that i can't smell.

[Sake135]

Hello,
I'm new on the board. I'm in the process of constructing a vivarium and this board has been very useful. So I wanted to contribute something. I read in another board about someone using a chemical free method to kill hitch hikers that came in with the moss. This person had a snail and milipede invasion. What they did was take dry ice, put it in a container, and added hot water. They placed this over the vivarium (with animals removed) and sealed the tank. The hot water released co2 from the dry ice. The co2 killed all of the bugs overnight and the plants even experienced a boost of growth from the added co2. Again, this was not my idea but I thought it was a clever way of sterilizing
His tank.

[MeiKVR6]

Originally Posted by Sake135

Hello,
I'm new on the board. I'm in the process of constructing a vivarium and this board has been very useful. So I wanted to contribute something. I read in another board about someone using a chemical free method to kill hitch hikers that came in with the moss. This person had a snail and milipede invasion. What they did was take dry ice, put it in a container, and added hot water. They placed this over the vivarium (with animals removed) and sealed the tank. The hot water released co2 from the dry ice. The co2 killed all of the bugs overnight and the plants even experienced a boost of growth from the added co2. Again, this was not my idea but I thought it was a clever way of sterilizing
His tank.

Co2 processing doesn't "sterilize" the tank - it kills most smaller and larger bugs. (isopods, millipedes, slugs, mites, etc) Bleaching plants kills almost everything (most bacteria too!) in the plant before adding it to a vivarium... Bleaching is more preventative care while Co2 bombing a vivarium is more of a "fix" to a problem.

I'm a big fan of bleach... We do 1 cup/gallon for three minutes with most types of flora. Bromeliads are sensitive tho - as are most carnivorous plants... Otherwise most other things handle bleach pretty well. In wholesale florists - bleach is used in nearly EVERY bucket to keep bacteria growth down and the plants do better due to the lack in harmful bacteria.

[dartboi101]

okay cool thanks for everyone posting something my question still is how do u make it? and how long? and are bromiliads sensitive? so how do i disinfect them?

[Frogtofall]

Originally Posted by dartboi101

okay cool thanks for everyone posting something my question still is how do u make it? and how long? and are bromiliads sensitive? so how do i disinfect them?

All these questions have been answered in this thread.

Mix water with bleach (6 oz bleach/gal of water for 5% mix). Stick plants in solution for 20 mins. Remove plants and rinse in clean water.

[tachikoma]

I am not an expert here, but the general logic here seems flawed. If the bleach is so effective I imagine the plants themselves would die. Since the plants do not die, I am sure many bacteria must survive. Especially since many bacteria are quite hardy. Can someone please shed some light on this subject with a little science? I am not trying to step on anyones toes, I just like to know exactly why things work and not just blindly do things.

[earthfrog]

Originally Posted by tachikoma

I am not an expert here, but the general logic here seems flawed. If the bleach is so effective I imagine the plants themselves would die. Since the plants do not die, I am sure many bacteria must survive. Especially since many bacteria are quite hardy. Can someone please shed some light on this subject with a little science? I am not trying to step on anyones toes, I just like to know exactly why things work and not just blindly do things.

I'm not an expert, but bacteria cell walls and plant cell walls have differering structures. The plant cell wall is more rigid and lets in chemicals more slowly than a bacteria would, which has a far more permeable cell wall. Thus, it is more likely that the bleach would 'burn' the bacteria far more easily than it would 'burn' a plant---but the hardiness of the plant against bleach usually has to do with its structure.

A plant with fine fronds, leaves or thin foliage will probably get very damaged by bleach solutions---this includes mosses, ferns and insect-eating plants. Mosses and carnivorous plants are more drastically affected by things that touch them.
A plant with more rigid leaves like gesneriads, bromeliads, begonias, etc., will hold up better to bleaching.