Plastic plants

[ursarex]

What is the best way to clean plastic plants ?

 

[Waterbabe]

I just pull them out and use a designated stiff brush or tooth brush on them. No chemicals used.
If they are covered in algae you can soak in salt water bucket for few days and it will fall off. Be sure to rinse very well before adding back to tank.

 

[ursarex]

What kind of ratio on the salt ? and thank you.

 

[jaylach]

I always used artificial plants but have gone totally planted now. When I needed to clean artificial plants I'd just run the water as hot as it would get in my kitchen sink and swish the plants around in the hot water. This will kill any algae and parasites that might be on the stuff.

 

[ursarex]

Thank you.

 

[emeraldking]

What is the best way to clean plastic plants ?

I use a tooth brush. This is a fast way to clean those plastic plants.
I'm not a huge fan of fake plants but some of my fish just eat each plant I put in.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Bleach dip them/ Use about a 5-10% bleach to water ratio.

Chlorine is a gas so, if you let the plants dry completely, they have no residual chlorine and are tank safe. If you must put them back into the tank right away, then rinse them under tap and then drop them into a bucket of watter with a double dose of dechlor in it. A short soak and they can go back into the tank.

I actually do this wiht live plants and have for a long time. The big difference is leaving a live plant in the 5% bleach more than 90 seconds to 2 minutes will kill many of them. Plastic starts out dead, so dip time and bleach concentration is not a big issue. That does not mean one should dip them in a strong bleach solution which is not needed anyway.

edited to correct a spelling typo

 

[Bazouteast]

What is the best way to clean plastic plants ?

Bleach dip them/ Use about a 5-10% bleach to water ratio.

Chlorine is a gas so, if you let the plants dry completely, they have no residual chlorine and are tank safe. If you must put them back into the tank right away, then rinse them under tap and then drop them into a bucket of watter with a double dose of dechlor in it. A short soak and they can go back into the tank.

I actually do this wiht live plants and have for a long time. The big difference is leaving a live plant in the 5% bleach more than 90 seconds to 2 minutes will kill many of them. Plastic starts out dead, so dip time and bleach concentration is not a big issue. That does not mean one should dip them in a strong bleach solution which is not needed anyway.

edited to correct a spelling typo

I successfully used much the same technique, but I was rather paranoid about residual bleach, so at the end of the process, when the smell of bleach had completely gone, I went a step further. I placed my plants in a large container filled with water, and allowed them to soak for 3/4 days. I figured even the faintest residual bleach would leech away after that time, and because bleach is strongly alkaline, I used water test strips to ensure the pH of the water in the container matched that of my tap water. A final rinse under the tap, and back in the tank. I have not tried the technique on live plants.

 

[Ram419]

I never can get that brown buildup off my decorations. Nerite snails eat it up though. Just invested in quite a lot of them and they are going to town.