# OK SANITIZING QUESTIONS



## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

i'm not so new to the hobby, but setting up a dart room and want things done right after fecals. this is boring, i know :wink: germ freak here though.want the best for my darts.
are these sanitizable and how:
1. tree fern panels
2. cocofiber panels with latex back coating
3. plants.....i use 1 parts bleach to ten parts water and dip for 15 seconds then rinse very well. what about mosses such as riccia...or is that a no go?
4. drift wood? is malaysian drift wood ok for gs background and how to sanitize? i found a local pet store with a full box of malaysian driftwood or mopani? for 50.o0 forunopened box
5. cocofiber for gs background. all i come across is the bricks...so methods and drying? also sanitizing?
6. cork bark 
7. almost forgot what about abg mix? 
thanks all. appreciate some great advice .....kristy  :wink:


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## porkchop (Aug 29, 2005)

Put it all in a container and dry ice em...
That should kill anything harmful to the frogs.
You can start new microfauna when all set up then.


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

ok...where do i get dry ice from then? and also any other home remedies? kristy


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## porkchop (Aug 29, 2005)

Dry ice is usually available at most supermarkets.
wet coco bricks in 5 gal. bucket, lay out on cardboard to dry, then Bake coco fiber for a while
same w/ wood
10%bleach bath on most things work, rinse well.
I would do a search on baking those things to see specifics. Bleaching too...


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

thanks porkchop :wink:  kristy


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## porkchop (Aug 29, 2005)

Pmd instead...


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

ok...on the way to check it :wink:  kristy


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## shockingelk (May 14, 2008)

Sounds like some of the stuff you want to sanitize could be steralized in a large pressure cooker.

I believe most people sanitize wood by soaking it then placing it in an oven at 200-250 degrees for a couple hours. That will get rid of unwanted insect eggs as well as most bacteria, unlike washing in bleach. Some insect eggs and microorganisms can be deep in the wood.


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## gold3nku5h (Jul 24, 2008)

You sound alot like me, im about to start setting my paludarium up here in the next 2 or 3 months, not going to have frogs in it for a long time though, i want the moss to grow on its own, and take over about half of it before i introduce any into it. And im also going to be researching for a while before i decide to buy any. I have a 55 gallon tank i think, its 36W 18 or 16 tall and 18 or 16 deep. I plan on sterilizing pine bark fines, then transplanting all my plants to them. letting them grow in a smaller terrarium in individual pots, spaced out. Im cutting on my grapewood and am going to let that dry out for about a week in my garage its real hot and dry. then after that im going to bake in a convection oven at 100 for an hour, 200 for an hour then maybe 350 for another hour and a half. I think that should heat the inner most parts of the wood to extremly high temperatures, then let cool down in the convection for the day. I also plan on not using any unnatural items, but who knows what i might have to use. Im going to have 10th of the overall area be a shallow pool, witha stream leading to that from a waterfall. I will sterilize all wood substrate in the convection oven similar to the above, depending on size and thickness of items.


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## gold3nku5h (Jul 24, 2008)

Oh, and the reason why im going different temperature is because i dont want the wood to crack, im not sure if it would, but if its somewhat moist, then the high temperature could make it crack like clay in a kiln? not for sure, just a suggestion, because the piece i have is very valuble to me. I'll show a pic when i can get one, but that will be a while


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

i am just a germ freak and when i spend money on darts as i have been and time setting up their vivs.....along with sending in fecals...the last thing i want to do is introduce something into my viv and have to tear down the whole thing, not to mention the most important key issue is the conservation of these beautiful animals and how keeping them healthy which is major role in this.  ok i admit, maybe i am obseessively compulsive about things germ-wise.....but In this hobby i think it to be completely necessary.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Im personally not a big fan of sanitizing everything unless you have something to be concerned about. Having seen a few spiders survive some microwave time I think most normal activities are pointless. Bleach something if you are really concerned just make sure to rinse it all off.

Remember germs and etc are good things and the more you are exposed to the more tolerances you build up. The recent unjustified "anti-bacterial" crazy is not a good thing and in the end will just make stronger germs.  Good old soap and water still the best way to go.


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

Good point as it is the same in homosapiens. the more germs we are exposed to, the better heightened our immune system responds to it in the future, causing immunity even. Its the OCD in me...lol. kristy


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

In my opinion, too many people are going way overboard on sanitizing everything. You don't need to boil your rocks, microwave your leaves, or swipe your plants with a clorine mixture.


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

Sanitizing when introducing new materials to a viv is only part of it; it's a definite best practice to wash your hands between tanks, and keep any tools that travel been tanks (in my case, the forceps that I use to hand feed the caudates) in a sanitizer solution (I use Star San, commonly used in homebrewing- the 'other' hobby). Ideally, you want to have each tank be a completely discrete ecosystem with minimal cross contamination. But with live plants and fungus gnats, easier said than done.

That being said, I don't do much sanitizing of new materials because I'm trying to encourage, rather than suppress, microfauna in the ecosystem. With the increasing danger of chytrid here in the US, I'm just more mindful of where I gather my leaf litter and air dry it thoroughly before introducing it into an enclosure.


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## herper99 (Mar 21, 2008)

flyangler18 said:


> With the increasing danger of chytrid here in the US, I'm just more mindful of where I gather my leaf litter and air dry it thoroughly before introducing it into an enclosure.


Jason, would you mind elaborating on this a bit. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have not read up on the US Chytrid encroachment. What in particular are you looking for? (By the way, the Exo you gave me is loaded with lots of great microfauna, Thanks!)

I too, have always been a "sanitize as little as possible" kind of person. So far it has worked out well. I think the key, as Jason implied, is knowing what and when to sanitize. IMO, much of what comes in on the leaf litter and plants we collect is beneficial with exception to snails and slugs. But they are not really a problem unless you are keeping eggs in the tank. 

Chris


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

> Jason, would you mind elaborating on this a bit. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have not read up on the US Chytrid encroachment. What in particular are you looking for?


Chris- I collect from areas with habitat that is not really amphibian friendly and make sure the leaves are bone dry before adding them in. The fungus needs cool moist temperatures to survive, so hot and dry areas are my ideal collecting spots. I have an abundance of oak here on my property, so I collect leaf litter regularly and have it drying in Rubbermaid bins in the garage.


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

i'd have to say i still want to sanitize some things. For example....the driftwood i got a petstore was a pretty unclean place. I baked it for a couple of hours. I happen to be a germ freak and cant see how microfauna wont be able to flourish within the tank by doing so???  In the past from not dipping my plants into a bleach solution quick, noticed i ended up with a tank full of grindal worms....yes natural decomposers...but....it really wasn't nice to see the eggs of the darts they laid, covered in grindal worms. And i mean covered. to the point where it was hard to see the eggs developing and some did not make it and was curious as to whether this was an issue....do grindal worms eat eggs? unslightly yes..if they aren't a problem, no big deal. kristy :wink:


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## Haleman50 (May 22, 2008)

wow you really are careful huh - i guess it doesnt hurt though - some good ideas


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

i am careful and i have tried reading up on the current asn quarantine etc. protocols. I don't know which is right to be honest. there is so much conflicting information. I do use different feeding cups per enclosure and even misters....a bit obessesive you could say. yes. thats me. i admit it.  :wink: kristy


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## dcbrown (Feb 28, 2008)

for those REALLY REALLY serious about it, something worth considering would be ozonated water. It sanitizes like a bleach solution, but has a "half life" of a half hour, so it doesn't need to be rinsed off. After an hour or so there's nothing left but water. The problem is you can't buy it, since it doesn't last long enough to ship. So you have to make it. Machines to do this cost a few hundred bucks.


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