# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk >  Aquarium Plant Treatment & Quarantine

## Urban Aquaria

Time and time again, i've read aquarists posting on forums about finding algae, parasites, pest snails, worms and other critters invading their tanks shortly after startup... and when asked if they treated or quarantined their plants beforehand, often the answer is no.

When i started out in the hobby, i also encountered numerous algae and pest outbreaks in my tanks too, and had my share of fighting uphill battles trying to solve multiple tank problems. This eventually prompted me to practice treatment and quarantine procedures for all new plants that i buy.

I have been receiving a number of queries on this topic, so for information sharing and reference purposes, here is an example of my current on-going aquarium plant treatment and quarantine setup...



My procedure is split into 3 stages:

*Stage 1 (Plastic container on the left)* 

After the new plants are rinsed and washed thoroughly under running tap water, they are put into this container. The container is dosed with anti-snail chemical treatment (to ensure that pest snails/critters and their eggs are all eliminated, i usually overdose up to 10x the recommended dosage). Currently i use ISTA snail remover (any other anti-snail treatment can be used too, just have to try various dosages and see what works). The plants sit submerged in this container for up to 24 hours.

After this time, the plants are inspected closely. If any pests are still observed to be alive, i dose more chemical treatment and let the plants soak for another 24 hours. This is repeated until no more pests are observed.

Once the treatment is complete, i rinse the plants thoroughly in running tap water.

*Stage 2 (Plastic tank in the middle)*

Next, the plants are put into this tank which has a small hang-on filter running on it. I dose anti-algae and anti-parasite treatment to weaken and inhibit any algae and parasites that may be hitchhiking on the plants. Currently i use Easy Life AlgExit and Seachem Paraguard. As there are no livestock in this tank, i also overdose the treatments up to 2-3x the recommended dosage.

The plants will usually stay in this tank for up to 7 days and receive a regular light schedule and fertilizer dosing. If any traces of algae are still observed on the plants, i will extend the treatment period and dosages accordingly.

Once the treatment is complete, i rinse the plants thoroughly in running tap water again.

*Stage 3 (Plastic tank on the right)*

This is the holding quarantine tank. All new plants that have completed the anti-snail/critter, anti-algae and anti-parasite treatments will be put into this tank. This tank also has a small hang-on filter running on it, along with activated carbon to help adsorb the residual traces of previous chemical treatments.

The treated plants will usually stay in this tank for up to 7 days (sometimes longer if they are not required for use yet). Regular water changes are done in this tank as well as receiving a regular light schedule and fertilizer dosing. Algae eating shrimps (ie. cherry shrimps and yamato shrimps) are also present in this tank to help clean up any leftover algae that may still be on the plants.

Once the full process is complete, the new plants will be added to my main tanks.

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Yes... it does seem like a very long and tedious process (and it definitely is!), but over the years of trying various methods, this procedure has kept my main tanks mostly algae and pest free so far... it might not be 100% (certain algae or pests do still slip though in some tanks when i'm not careful or diligent enough), but at least the chances of any outbreaks are heavily reduced.

Alternatively, for those who have the budget but no time (or patience) to treat and quarantine plants, it might be better to just spend more and purchase good quality tissue-cultured plants (ie. from brands like Tropica or Dennerle) which are guaranteed algae and pest free from the start.  :Grin:

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## uklau

Thanks for sharing, UA 🏼

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## zorba

Fantastic advise , will copy, thanks

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## ltsai

Isn't bleech faster? Or Hydrogen peroxide?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Isn't bleech faster? Or Hydrogen peroxide?


Yes, you could also use those other chemical treatments in quick dips or soaks too, but from my experience at the high dosage/concentrations required to kill critters and algae, those chemicals tend to also damage the plants too, especially the less hardy more delicate ones. So i guess its a trade-off between speed of treatment vs effect on plants. I've also found that some critters and their eggs can somehow withstand brief exposure to those chemicals too so extended treatment may still be needed.

The methods and chemicals i use are tested safe for most plants so far and while it does take a longer time, the prolonged exposure to those treatments seems to help improve the results.

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## Ingen

Amazing quarantine procedure.

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## atwin

Thank you UA for sharing and so much details! It is really very helpful and so envy of your space. 😉

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## qool

Detailed guide thanks for sharing. I am also using Easy Life AlgExit but did not try overdosing 2 x to 3 x the recommended dosage. Have a question: did you see any harm (changes) to the plants? eg overdosing Excel will cause some sensitive ones to die out

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## Urban Aquaria

> Detailed guide thanks for sharing. I am also using Easy Life AlgExit but did not try overdosing 2 x to 3 x the recommended dosage. Have a question: did you see any harm (changes) to the plants? eg overdosing Excel will cause some sensitive ones to die out


So far i've overdosed AlgExit up to 5x the recommended dosage and still no issues with the plants. Its a much safer and less harsh treatment than Excel, but just requires a longer period of time to work.

Sensitive livestock may still be affected by overdoses though, so have to be careful if you are using it in a tank with fishes and shrimps.

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## azman_haron

You're a mind reader!!! After your reply from my post on long. stringy growth, I was wondering how to quarantine my future plants...so this post of yours in very timely

This should be a sticky post in this sub section or the section on Algae and Fertilisation.

Thanks again!!

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## Tmark

Wow bro. A good info for beginners like me

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## uklau

We can also expand this idea to setting up a location based plant quarantine centre! Buddies from the same area can combine their unused equipment (rather than selling it as junk) & share the chemical costs to further drive down the cost 🏼

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## Calv

Very well detailed post that will prove to be very useful in my upcoming project. Had no idea how to quarantine my plants in the past and encountered multiple problems. Will definitely try your approach. 


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## Derick Koh

HI UA, would like to check its for all type of plants and where you buy the chemical from? Thanks


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## Urban Aquaria

> HI UA, would like to check its for all type of plants and where you buy the chemical from? Thanks


So far i have done the chemical soak treatments on mosses like java moss, christmas moss, US fissidens and also mini fissidens, so far no issues. 

I guess for other types of mosses or plants, you'll just have to go by trial and error. The more sensitive ones may only be able to tolerate lower dosages or shorter treatments, so you have to monitor their condition duting treatment and adjust accordingly.

The chemical treatments i use are bought from places like Seaview and C328 (most LFS carry a selection of products), there are many brands of treatments that have the same effect so just have to try and see.

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## Derick Koh

> So far i have done the chemical soak treatments on mosses like java moss, christmas moss, US fissidens and also mini fissidens, so far no issues. 
> 
> I guess for other types of mosses or plants, you'll just have to go by trial and error. The more sensitive ones may only be able to tolerate lower dosages or shorter treatments, so you have to monitor their condition duting treatment and adjust accordingly.
> 
> The chemical treatments i use are bought from places like Seaview and C328 (most LFS carry a selection of products), there are many brands of treatments that have the same effect so just have to try and see.


Thanks, will try it out.



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## LaVsy

you can try bleach too.

prepare a solution of bleach. abt 10% bleach 90% water.
swipe the plant in bleach and thn soak back into normal water.

do a couple of times, it works for me.

blame me for not having patient to quarantine for so long.

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## florakid

great stuff, thanks for sharing

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## Adriel75

Good info. Thks UA...,


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## jackychun

Hi UA. I am currently doing the first stage as per your guideline with Anti Snails and will follow with the AlgExit. 

I would like to check for the stem plants, I can just keep it in the ceramic ring for the whole period of time during all treatment stage? Or need to let it loose? Will the roots still can be develop well in the ceramic ring?




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## Urban Aquaria

For the duration of chemical treatments, you can still keep the ceramic rings on the stem plants to help weigh them down. The duration of treatments are usually relatively short anyways.

For the rest of the quarantine process, if the plants are going to be sitting in the holding tank for more than a week, then it would be better to have soil in the quarantine tank, so that the rings can be removed to allow the plants to develop roots into the soil.

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## jackychun

> For the duration of chemical treatments, you can still keep the ceramic rings on the stem plants to help weigh them down. The duration of treatments are usually relatively short anyways.
> 
> For the rest of the quarantine process, if the plants are going to be sitting in the holding tank for more than a week, then it would be better to have soil in the quarantine tank, so that the rings can be removed to allow the plants to develop roots into the soil.


Thanks UA. The plants are in the tank with AlgExit dosed in now. I am planning to have lighting at 6hrs/day and doses fertilizer will be: Seachem Excel, Iron, Potassium and Flourish. Is that too much? I read some where with the use of Excel, plants growth strength will be about 25% compared with CO2 injection. So is all the fertilizer dosage also reduced accordingly? 

Do you dose fertilizer daily or weekly for this kind of low tech tank? And what is the dosage each time? Thank you. 


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## Urban Aquaria

Usually at the initial treatment and quarantine period, the plants are still in transition mode so they may not use as much of the nutrients yet, but its okay to dose carbon supplements and ferts in the quarantine and holding tanks.

I usually only dose ferts in the holding tank as the plants tend to be staying in there for a longer period of time. I just dose the normal bottle recommended dosage for a start every week, if plant shows nutrient issues, just dose abit more. Its all about observation and adjustment, no actual fixed formula.

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