aluminum sulfate?

[rickztahone]

i'm trying to find some ALum and i can't seem to find it anywhere near me. i ordered my plants today and they should be here on friday and i would like to have it on hand when they do come in. i went to home depot and CVS and they did not have a clue what it was. they asked what it's used for and of course i didn't know, i just know it's used to disinfect plants :o. they looked at me like i was trying to make a bomb with that chemical or something. i also went to Walgreens and they had something called Aluminum Acetate which was for skin irritation relief. she told me that that is synonymous with Aluminum Sulfate but i didn't trust her judgment since she seemed unsure. please advise, anyone...

[acroken]

Hey Ricardo,
I have never used aluminum sulfate but here it is.
http://www.chemistrystore.com/Chemicals_A_F-Aluminum_Sulfate.html

I get a lot of hard to find chemicals here.

Hope it helps,

Kenny

[Moon]

It is used for pickling and preserving fruits and vegetables. Check out your supermarket in the pickling section.

[Harriett]

Yeah, just go to any grocery store and look in the spice section--you want to get rid of snails coming in on your plants, yes? It's called Alum.
Harriett

[bs6749]

Ricardo, if you can't find it in any of those places maybe you should try a pool supply place. Aluminum sulfate is sometimes used in water treatment to help form "flocks". Basically the aluminum sulfate is added to the water and it bonds to smaller particles to help them become large particles, which fall to the bottom of the filtration tank more easily. Some city water treatment plants might use this because small particles can take a year to travel a few inches, according to my professor who is knowledgeable in water treatment plants. With the addition of flocculation chemicals the flocks can travel a matter of feet in several hours or days.

[rickztahone]

like always, you fellow SD'ers come through in the clutch. thank you all! i will check out the super market tomorrow

[rickztahone]

i'm striking out pretty majorly. i tried two pool supply stores and two supermarkets and neither had it. is there a certain section of the market where it usually is kept? it might be that the workers just don't know what it is but they do carry maybe? i thought it would be less of a pain to get this to be quite honest. i might just do the online buy but what should i do with the plants in the meantime? i do not want to put them in the main tank in case they have anything. i'm mainly concerned about snails but aquariumplants.com seems like a great plant place so they might have healthy plants. any input is much appreciated

[Harriett]

It's used in baking. Look in the isle with the flour and sugar etc.
Harriett

[Moon]

It may be a seasonal thing. Most of the pickling happens late summer and early fall.
My supermarket carries it year round.

[Ardan]

If you cant find the alum there are 2 other methods that will work with plants.

1. a 5% bleach solution (1 part bleach, 20 parts water) soak plants (not roots) in this solution for 2 to 3 minutes. This will not clean the roots though and may harm some plants. Then rinse under water really well..

2. use potassium permanganate at 2 ppm for 20 minutes, then rinse the plants well.


These solutions may not kill the eggs of some parasites.
Plants tolerate these solutions differently depending on the plant.
hth
Ardan

[bs6749]

Alum is the best for snails and snail eggs. Also what Ardan mentioned will work, but mainly for snails and not the eggs. I'd personally avoid the bleach as I know a few that have done the bleach dip only to find the plants melted and dead. Could have just been the species of plant though. I don't remember what they were to be honest. If you do attempt it make sure to rinse very thoroughly.

Also, you might just want to put the plants in pots and put them in a 10g tank or something with 2-3 yo-yo loaches for a week and a half. They are excellent eaters of snails and snail eggs. I would actually recommend them over Alum that are that good! Not kidding either. I had a terrible snail infestation in my tank when I was younger and was tossing out literally 100+ snails every day. I bought 3 yo-yo's and all snails were gone in 5 days. All I did was remove as many as I could that were on the glass and then introduced the yo-yo's.

[Patr1ck]

I second the yo-yo loach idea. They are excellent snail eaters, took 2 weeks to clean a 90 gal full of snails for me with minimal help by me. Also, have a grocery store worker to point you towards glass jars. That is where it is in my neck of the woods.

Pat

[rickztahone]

i completely, utterly, and irrevocably give up. i tried so many super markets and looked in all the sections you members mentioned and they did not have it. it might be that it is in fact a seasonal thing. i also went to a few pharmacy's and Lowe's as well as HD. i'm just going to have to put the plants in untreated. i would imagine the plants would come in without snails but the snails weren't my main concern as other parasites are. i do not want to do the bleach dip because i'm sure these plants might just melt away. i will keep you posted and see how it goes. i get them in today.

[bs6749]

What is going into the tank? You could do a copper sulfate (should easily be able to find that) dip in a 5g bucket and then rinse them well, especially if you have plans for shrimp in that tank. Copper is toxic to inverts and should wipe out the snails and eggs or young snails once they hatch.

[rickztahone]

What is going into the tank? You could do a copper sulfate (should easily be able to find that) dip in a 5g bucket and then rinse them well, especially if you have plans for shrimp in that tank. Copper is toxic to inverts and should wipe out the snails and eggs or young snails once they hatch.

the only thing going into the tank is a few plants, swords, anubias and ferns. i just wanted to make sure that what i was introducing into the tank wasn't anything more than just the plants

[bs6749]

If you really don't want the snails I'd get yo-yo loaches or do the copper dip. There are most likely eggs in with the plants and you won't see them. I never did with mine when I checked and I still ended up with snails in the tank.

[rickztahone]

ok so i got the aluminum sulfate off ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390075635215&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

i asked Bryan the recommended dosage to treat for snails or anything else the Alum might get rid of. he wasn't 100% sure so i just wanted to double check here. does anyone know how many teaspoons to treat 1 gallon? i want to treat all my plants all in one go so i might have to do 2-3 gallons worth. thanks in advance

[Patr1ck]

Here you go buddy. http://www.freewebs.com/aquariumplants/plantdipsbaths.htm

Pat

[rickztahone]

Here you go buddy. http://www.freewebs.com/aquariumplants/plantdipsbaths.htm

Pat

thanks Pat, that was exactly what i needed

[rickztahone]

i finally got my alum in the mail. do i need to dissolve it anything before using or can i just add the 3 tbs of it directly into where i will be using it?

[Disgirl]

Ricardo, I dissolve it in a bit of warm water then stir it into the container of water and plants. It is always in grocery stores here with the canning and pickling supplies. It makes pickles crisp! And kills snails :D.
Barb