Cleaning plastic plants from algae

[Tyler777]

I watched a few videos on YouTube bout cleaning algae from plastic plants with a mix of water n bleach.
I did put the plants in a plastic bin and submerge the plants under the water with bleach.
I left em for almost a day untill all the algae was gone. I rinse em out n submerge em back under tap water with water conditioner n left em for another day. This morning I rinse em out with tap water n submerge em with new tap water 2 hours later I rinse em out again took em out of the bin n rinse em out again with a shower head after that I put em on a table in my shop to let em dry out. I remember reading a while ago that bleach evaporates in room temperature but I forgot how long it takes for the bleach to evaporate. Any of you knows how long do I have to wait for the bleach to evaporate so I can put the plastic plants back into the aquarium

 

[MaloK]

I only rinse them well in water that has a little supplement of dechlorinator and that's it. They go back directly.

Letting them dry out will still ensure that you have a lot more algae that will be guaranteed dead than chlorine that evaporates a lot faster.

 

[Tyler777]

I only rinse them well in water that has a little supplement of dechlorinator and that's it. They go back directly.

Letting them dry out will still ensure that you have a lot more algae that will be guaranteed dead than chlorine that evaporates a lot faster.

Ok I'm kinda of a little confused bout the last part of your response

 

[MaloK]

If you let them dry out, chlorine will be gone completely before algae remains even die...

Sorta, difficult to explain but the chlorine will be gone before the algae.

They populate all asperities in surfaces and that makes them very resilient.

 

[Tyler777]

If you let them dry out, chlorine will be gone completely before algae remains even die...

Sorta, difficult to explain but the chlorine will be gone before the algae.

They populate all asperities in surfaces and that makes them very resilient.

Ok I kinda of got it now, I think. But I was sure all algae was gone before I put em to dry . They were in the bin with bleach for a whole day n the day after algae was gone n plants were clean

 

[MaloK]

They are now microscopically embedded in the fabric of the "plants".

There's nothing to do.. Besides switching to real plants.

I quit on plastic a long time ago because of this... And even if I'm not that good at keeping real plants...

I preferred see that "decomposing" and as a consumable in my tanks, rather than "Plastics". Algae and cleanups will make them brittle and tear them apart. I wouldn't even let a bladder snail munch on that.

But since I came back in the hobby... With the lights we now have... Consumption reversed to proliferation.

 

[Tyler777]

They are now microscopically embedded in the fabric of the "plants".

There's nothing to do.. Besides switching to real plants.

I quit on plastic a long time ago because of this... And even if I'm not that good at keeping real plants...

I preferred see that "decomposing" and as a consumable in my tanks, rather than "Plastics". Algae and cleanups will make them brittle and tear them apart. I wouldn't even let a bladder snail munch on that.

But since I came back in the hobby... With the lights we now have... Consumption reversed to proliferation.

Well we tried real plants but we failed to keep em alive n duck weed took over a tank n I got rid of them. Plastic ones look colorful n shiny until algae takes over. We are gonna try live plants again but I'm off from work after rotator cuff surgery so we can't spend money until I'm back to work.
So I have to deal with algae n plastic for now.

Quick question do you know what type of snails I can get to eat algae n not reproduce out of control ?

 

[FranciscoB]

I too prefer real plants and that is what I use.

But there is a place and purpose for plastic decor for some people and circumstances.
That aside, you already nuked the plastic things, rinsed and dried the hell out of them and there is no more you need doing.
Will algae come back? Sure it could, but mostly from imbalances in the tank (that need addressing), much more than from remnants on your plastic plants. Good luck!

 

[Tyler777]

I too prefer real plants and that is what I use.

But there is a place and purpose for plastic decor for some people and circumstances.
That aside, you already nuked the plastic things, rinsed and dried the hell out of them and there is no more you need doing.
Will algae come back? Sure it could, but mostly from imbalances in the tank (that need addressing), much more than from remnants on your plastic plants. Good luck!

Thank you brother

 

[fishorama]

How long are your tank lights on? That for me has been a learning curve over the many years. 6 or 7 hours are enough for some live real plants IME, even less for fake plants. More than that just grows algae of several kinds. I still have a few plastic plants in a box, but real live plants are easier & prettier. We can help you if you are ready to try some easy real plants....Call me the plant pusher, .

 

[Tyler777]

How long are your tank lights on? That for me has been a learning curve over the many years. 6 or 7 hours are enough for some live real plants IME, even less for fake plants. More than that just grows algae of several kinds. I still have a few plastic plants in a box, but real live plants are easier & prettier. We can help you if you are ready to try some easy real plants....Call me the plant pusher, .

Lights are on 9 hours, they used to bec12 hours untill someone here told me to turn em off earlier so I changed it to 9 hours a day.
We are planning to have live plants in all 5 tanks . We tried bfore but except for duckweed that took over almost every tank the other plants kept dying besides fertilizer n other stuff.
We r planning to try again but I just had rotator cuff surgery so I'm off for 3 months so budget is tied right now. After I'm working again we will buy plants n start with one tank n if we learn how to keep em alive then we will add em to the other tanks.

 

[MaloK]

Quick question do you know what type of snails I can get to eat algae n not reproduce out of control ?

There's not many that wont multiply with abundance of food, Nerites don't reproduce in freshwater and are pretty good, But they lay eggs that are pretty resistant and take a long time to dissolve. That many people are not fond of.

 

[Tyler777]

There's not many that wont multiply with abundance of food, Nerites don't reproduce in freshwater and are pretty good, But they lay eggs that are pretty resistant and take a long time to dissolve. That many people are not fond of.

Ok thanks man. No snails for me then

 

[Oldspartan]

We take anything not living from tanks every 12 days. That is the last day of our (three) four-day water change cycle and the day I gravel vac very deep all the way to the glass bottom of the tank. While I am doing this Linda washes everything in plain water gently with a plain green scratch pad from my wood shop, (unused). Everything back in and away I go. I like the system because the tank scape changes every twelve days, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

Do not know if this is correct but it works and pets seem happy.

 

[Tyler777]

We take anything not living from tanks every 12 days. That is the last day of our (three) four-day water change cycle and the day I gravel vac very deep all the way to the glass bottom of the tank. While I am doing this Linda washes everything in plain water gently with a plain green scratch pad from my wood shop, (unused). Everything back in and away I go. I like the system because the tank scape changes every twelve days, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

Do not know if this is correct but it works and pets seem happy.

Ur system seems pretty good. In my case even when my wife owns 3 of the 5 tanks qe have it's ME doing all the cleaning, vacuuming and feeding so I have too do everything by myself n alone