# whats alum method for a dip?



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Alum is a material used for pickling. Find it in the grocery store. 
Dissolve the amount you want to use in water. 
Dip plants, making sure they stay down, are fully covered. 

Strong solution: Dip for a shorter time. 
Mild solution: Dip for several hours. 

Hete is one recipe from 'That Pet Place'
Alum (Aluminum sulfate) can be found in most grocery stores in the spice aisle. Dissolve 1-3 tablespoons per gallon of warm water and soak the plants for at least 2-3 hours, or up to 24 hours in milder solutions. It can be effective in removing snails, but is slightly less effective at getting rid of the eggs. As with the salt, rinse the plants in dechlorinated water before putting in the aquarium.

From another source:
Alum Dip
The Alum dip is more for killing microscopic bugs. Use at 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. Soak the plant for at least an hour, longer soaks of 2 to 3 days are needed to kill snails and snail eggs. For snails and snails eggs a 2-3 hour soak in a stronger solution of 3 tablespoons per gallon of water is a better choice. Alum isn't nearly as effective as the prior two for killing algae. Alum is aluminum sulfate and Alum USP can be obtained from a compounding pharmacy or grocery stores. (It's usually with the spices, herbs and pickling supplies).

And a thread here about this. There are several threads, use the Search with the word Alum to find more. 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8...disinfect-plants-meant-invertebrate-tank.html


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

I use 1 TBS per gallon (though I usually only treat in a quart size container so scale accodingly) for 48 to 72 hours, never had any issuez with snails and only1 or 2 snail eggs have survived, which when the snail hatches is easily picked out...


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## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

Thank you!


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