Green and brown algae outbreak

I have a 29 G tank with 5 false julii corys. I usually feed them 10 bottom feeder pellets per day (2 each). I noticed on one of the plastic plants yesterday that the leaves were a bit brown tinted and thought I would clean it in a few days. Overnight, it seems, green and brown algae have taken over the plastic plants, and the hard decorations. There is no algae on the glass yet. I tried scrubbing it this morning and it does not come off easily. I plan on doing a large water change tonight (Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 30). Should I soak the plants and decorations in bleach or vinegar? I want to get it under control before it completely coats my tank. I am open to getting an algae eater- my lfs has cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, nitrite snails and mystery snails, would these solve the problem? If I was going to add something new to my tank, I would need something hardy because I am a beginner. Thanks in advance.

 

While you wait for some responses this thread may be of help Algae problems and how to deal with them | 188662 | Algae

 

Is the algae more pronounced on the top of decor and the upper parts of the artificial plants? If so then it could be you are leaving your lights on too long.

You can clean it off by dipping them in a bleach solution. Many times over the years I've had this happen and have cleaned it up with bleach. I add about a cup of bleach to a gallon of water and drop the plants and decor in there. Once clean rise well under running water. Once rinsed well. Mix up a bucket of fresh water with no less than a double dose of your water conditioner in it. The conditioner will remove any residual chlorine.

You may want to consider wearing gloves while doing this. If the bleach water gets on your hands they are going to feel slick and feel like they still have bleach on them no matter how much you wash them.

 

Is the algae more pronounced on the top of decor and the upper parts of the artificial plants? If so then it could be you are leaving your lights on too long.

You can clean it off by dipping them in a bleach solution. Many times over the years I've had this happen and have cleaned it up with bleach. I add about a cup of bleach to a gallon of water and drop the plants and decor in there. Once clean rise well under running water. Once rinsed well. Mix up a bucket of fresh water with no less than a double dose of your water conditioner in it. The conditioner will remove any residual chlorine.

You may want to consider wearing gloves while doing this. If the bleach water gets on your hands they are going to feel slick and feel like they still have bleach on them no matter how much you wash them.

Thank you for the information! It is produced on top of the decorations. I leave the lights on for ten hours a day on a timer.

 

Thank you for the information! It is produced on top of the decorations. I leave the lights on for ten hours a day on a timer.

You are very welcome. You might be able to slow it down by cutting down the length of time the lights are on.