# Bleach and Ammonia with plants.



## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

I can dunk a plant in a 10 percent bleach solution and rinse it off quickly to disinfect it. That'd be a 10 percent solution made from a stock 6 percent solution. 

I'm wanting to try this with the 10 percent ammonia solution they say will kill coccidia. However, I can't tell if this is a 10 percent stock (which would be janatorial strenth) or that diluted again to 10 percent (or the same thing done with the average ammonia you can get at a grocery store). Anyone have any idea which it'd be and, more importantly, if either of these would definitely lead to the death of my plants?

-Jay/Nish


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

i will again tell the praises of permoxyn. DO NOT use bleach on plants unless it is your last resort. even then i would find a new plant. buy some potassium permanganate (sold as permoxyn at any aquarium store. they can order it if they dont carry it) dip as directed. bleach is very harmful at concentrations far less than 1/10.


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## Fishman (Jan 16, 2007)

What about ALUM sold in the spice section of the grocery store (used for canning)? We have been using it in the aquarium hobby to rid our plants of snails for years. Would it treat coccidia? Sorry to hijack, just thought more ideas might help.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If you are going to use ammonia to disinfect against coccidia, then it has to be at least household strength (right out of the bottle). Dilutions below this are ineffective against some coccidia. 

If I remember correctly potassium permangenate does not kill all coccidia, for example cryptosporidia is not destroyed. 

Ed


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

Apparently, high concentratiosn of hydrogen peroxide also work. I'm still looking for a place to buy a 35% or so h2o2 of the right grade to try out.


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

BTW 35% is a little high but I would diluted down. I dunno if I'd spray 35% h2o2 on my plants.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I don't know if peroxide is effective against all coccidia. It also needs a decent contact time. 

Ed


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

Yeah, you're right Ed. I don't know what I'm going to use (if anything) for coccidia (anywhere for that matter). High concentrations of H2O2 or high concentrations of Ammonia work but both need long contact time. Super heated steam works but it needs to sit there for a few minutes too (which is not too bad and seems to be the best thing out there.) The problem with that is the units cost a ton and none of them seem too reliable. Coccidia scares me.

-Nish


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

i dont know if this is what you are looking for....but i would just make sure to buy from reputable breeders(darts) and i would just use the bleach solution 1 parts bleach 10 parts water.......dip for 15 seconds and rinse thouroughly. don't however do this with mosses....it will kill them in my experience. it removes the chorophyll in the palnts...so rinse mosses really thouroughly at best. There is a way around it if you like say riccia moss by just planting the seeds in the viv ahead of time?? i'm no expert just trying to pop my head in and give some pointers.  

p.s. before doing all this i would rinse everything off the roots first...oh and the bleach solution will degrade after a while to where it is not as full stregnth as you are wanting....2 hours max...but hardly think it could take that long to bleach some plants.  kristy


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## SIPOS624 (Mar 15, 2008)

My Vet recommended Chlorhexidine to me. He said that if diluted to the right solution its safe to even drink (would not try it) but if its that safe it should be great with a rise after you soak it. I use it in a solution to soak leaves that have been in chameleon cages and i have had no problems with it at all. If you are a King Of The Hill fan don't mix ammonia and bleach (they said it makes chlorine gas) just throwing that out there (don't know if thats true).

-Mike


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

its true...do not mix bleach and ammonia.....some do a vinegar/bleach/water solution.....but bleach and ammonia bad IMO


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

Hey Ed,

I hear submersion in boiling water does the trick but for how long? I bought this monster witches cauldron of a pot (50 quart) for disenfecting things like wood before I throw them into the oven. If I tossed my sterilite containers into them, how long would it take before they could be considered coccidia free?

-Nish


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

SIPOS624 said:


> My Vet recommended Chlorhexidine to me. He said that if diluted to the right solution its safe to even drink (would not try it) but if its that safe it should be great with a rise after you soak it. I use it in a solution to soak leaves that have been in chameleon cages and i have had no problems with it at all. If you are a King Of The Hill fan don't mix ammonia and bleach (they said it makes chlorine gas) just throwing that out there (don't know if thats true).
> 
> -Mike


Chlorohexidine will not kill some coccidia like cryptosporidia. It is okay to use for reptiles but it is not recommended as a disinfectant for amphibians (see Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry). 

Ed


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

nish07 said:


> Hey Ed,
> 
> I hear submersion in boiling water does the trick but for how long? I bought this monster witches cauldron of a pot (50 quart) for disenfecting things like wood before I throw them into the oven. If I tossed my sterilite containers into them, how long would it take before they could be considered coccidia free?
> 
> -Nish


For some coccidia, live steam or straight household ammonia are the only two that really do the trick. 
However that said, why not get the fecals checked for coccidia and then treat the frog if they are positive? The reason I'm mentioning this is because wild insects are potential vectors for coccidia and unless your tank is totally sealed then they are probably going to get it (if they don't have it already). 

Treating wood is problematic as unless you autoclave it, it is virtually impossible to ensure that all of the cracks and crevices are heated throughly (given that wood and air are pretty decent insulators). 

Throughly drying the wood (until no moisture is left) will take care of a lot of potential parasites. 

If you stil want to boil the wood then you need to try and get the interior of the wood hot enough to be an effective disinfectant.... 

Ed


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

I use both vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, first spraying one on the plant and then the other...then giving the plant a really good rinse. From what I understand, the process breaks down cellular walls? I hope that makes sense.


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