# Killing planaria with hot water?



## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

Can hot tap water kill planaria? I'm restarting my tank and I want to rinse my Eco Complete with hot water to kill any planaria. Thanks.


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## aznartist34 (Nov 19, 2010)

Why not just use bleach?


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

Bleach would require a bit of extra maintenance especially if the tank is to be put back in service quickly. There is nothing in hot water but steam a bath. Hot tap water can vary. What is your water heater set to and how far must the water travel from the heater to your outlet. Most residential heaters are set at 120-140 degrees. You may want to look into the heat range in which silicone can withstand though. It could jeopardize your seals if its too hot. Not hot enough and the planaria might just laugh at you.


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## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

flight50 said:


> Bleach would require a bit of extra maintenance especially if the tank is to be put back in service quickly. There is nothing in hot water but steam a bath. Hot tap water can vary. What is your water heater set to and how far must the water travel from the heater to your outlet. Most residential heaters are set at 120-140 degrees. You may want to look into the heat range in which silicone can withstand though. It could jeopardize your seals if its too hot. Not hot enough and the planaria might just laugh at you.


I do not have a heater in my tank and I plan to remove the gravel and fill it in a bucket with hot water. I'm not sure of the temperature, but it's to the point of steaming a lot. I also plan to wash down the tank empty with Clorox.


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## aznartist34 (Nov 19, 2010)

If your going to use bleach to clean the tank might as well use bleach to clean the substrate.


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## MSG (Jul 16, 2012)

Hot water will DEFINITELY work. I purchased some plants from an auction a few weeks ago but when I got home I was too tired to mess with them. 

1-2 days later.....

When I finally decided to go through the bags I noticed one of the plant bags had 100's of planaria gathered at the top. (These are not something I wanted to introduce to my tank)

Anyway.... I went to the kitchen make a few drinks, while I left the plants on the porch. 30-45 minutes later, the bags of plants were all basically steamed just being exposed to INDIRECT sunlight. 

The planaria that once gathered at the surface an hour ago LITERALLY dissolved. 

Note: The water INSIDE the bag was probably about 115 degrees Fahrenheit when I cut open the bag. 

Shouldn't take much since the boiling point of H2O is 212F.


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## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

aznartist34 said:


> If your going to use bleach to clean the tank might as well use bleach to clean the substrate.


I don't want the substrate to gather residue from the clorox.


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## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

MSG said:


> Hot water will DEFINITELY work. I purchased some plants from an auction a few weeks ago but when I got home I was too tired to mess with them.
> 
> 1-2 days later.....
> 
> ...


Interesting... Can plants survive such temperatures? I think I'll fill a bucket with hot water and add the eco complete. Then I'll place it in outside, in direct sunlight.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

If you did it just for a day or 2 you'll be fine, and no need for the co-complete. I have 5g buckets outside filled with over growth for a long time now just fine, but i do change 50% of the water in them every couple days, and have snails in them, but thats not important for this.


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## MSG (Jul 16, 2012)

If the plant is healthy it should SURVIVE, but keep in mind this wasn't intentional. 


I bought a bag of cabomba that literally melted because I steamed it. 

Then the 2nd bag of cabomba was given to me for FREE that contained a LARGER healthier plant, survived the accidental "steaming".

As soon as I saw all the planaria, I just wanted to make something to eat FIRST before I opened up the bag & got my hands dirty. 

I had no idea the contents of the bag would get that HOT since it wasn't in DIRECT path of the sun. I thought it would be fine while I prepped lunch. 

I also wanted to get everything I bought that night layed out so I could take a picture of it.


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## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> If you did it just for a day or 2 you'll be fine, and no need for the co-complete. I have 5g buckets outside filled with over growth for a long time now just fine, but i do change 50% of the water in them every couple days, and have snails in them, but thats not important for this.


So I should just leave the eco complete sit outside in the hot sun and forget about using hot water?


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## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

MSG said:


> If the plant is healthy it should SURVIVE, but keep in mind this wasn't intentional.
> 
> 
> I bought a bag of cabomba that literally melted because I steamed it.
> ...


Oh dang, I guess extreme temperatures are too much for many plants. I guess the only way to sterilize plants is to hydrogen peroxide dip or clorox dip.


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## MSG (Jul 16, 2012)

You can actually use "alum" from your spice aisle in your supermarket or "potassium permanganate" from the hardware store. You might have to special order it like I did though the store, but it wasn't cheap. 

But planaria aren't that bad, to me they're like snails with no home.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

You could also try the medication used to treat them, fenbendazole.


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## aznartist34 (Nov 19, 2010)

I3raven said:


> I don't want the substrate to gather residue from the clorox.


You can either double dose prime with the amount of water that's in the container with your substrate or let the substrate air dry completely. Bleach is a very highly concentrated form of liquid chlorine so prime will neutralize it. Also chlorine will not leave a residue once air dried.


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## Rocky5 (Jul 26, 2013)

Genchem No Planaria is used to kill them.
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/genchem-no-planaria-50g-p-5606.html
Cheap & takes 3 days.


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## babydragons (Mar 14, 2012)

I only use alum now. 3 tablespoons to 1 gallon of slightly warmer water and let it sit for 2 hours. Kills everything.


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