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Sterilize soil to remove algae?



I understand that different organisms can be beneficial in an aquarium. 
What about sterilizing the soil to remove algae spores?  Is this worth
it?  Is this one route algae can get into the tank?  I left this one out
of my original post.

Thanks

Jim Taylor

>Ed Street wrote:

>Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 18:26:41 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Ed Street <br at ldl_net>
>Subject: Re: sterilizing soil

>Hello,

>if you are trying for a critter free tank then you are in the wrong
field
>;)  in fact organisms in a tank is an indication of a healthy system. 
The
>*ONLY* thing that I bleach is the buckets, tools and various other items
I
>use on the tank, nothing that would go IN the tank i.e. plants.  My
>question is what type of organisms?

>Ed

>In Response to:
>>>>>>>
>I read in several terrarium books that you should sterilize the soil by
>baking it in the oven in a covered container for 180 degrees for one
>hour.  Is this to kill weed seeds or to kill parasites?  I only ask
>because I have some of the oddest organisms growing in my tank.  Since I
>bleached all of my plants before I set up the tank and quarantined all
my
>fish with copper for 3 weeks I can't think of  where else they would
have
>come from except the garden soil I use.  Does anyone sterilize their
soil
>before they add it to the tank.  Should we be doing this?  Would this
>affect nutrients at all?  I imagine this wouldn't smell to good.  I'm
>getting ready to set up a new tank.

>Jim Taylor
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