Ok To Bleach My Fake Plant?

HI all. I've had my 75 gallon tank for a little over 7 months now. I do a 25% to 45% water change weekly. I still get the brown algae buildup pretty regularly. I've got a fair amount of fake plants, along with 6 large rocks and one medium piece of driftwood. I've been putting my plants in a bleach mixture of 1:10, when I clean my tank. I like my water to be pristine. I take measurements with my API master test kit before water changes. It's pretty much always at 0/0/20-40. With a steady pH of about 8.2. Does anyone have an opinion about bleaching my plants? Is it harmful? I appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

 

I clean my fake plants in bleach every so often. Just make sure you rinse them really well after with no scent of bleach. I usually will put them in clean water after I think they are all clean and let them soak overnight. I add some prime to the water too. Probably overkill, but it makes me feel better.

Also I found this thread on cleaning plants you may want to take a look at Question - Cleaning Plants/decor

 

Removing the fake items letting them dry seem to work for me. After a week I washed with tank water and scrub best I could. Later discovered that my lighting was feeding this so I then set it to a 9am-6pm time. I blacked out my tank for 4 days before setting up the time. I did 2 50% water changes a week. I did this about the same time my tanks hit 7 months so I know the pain. Maybe larger water changes and lighting could be the issue. brown algae is a thing of the past for me. Good Luck!

 

I clean my fake plants in bleach every so often. Just make sure you rinse them really well after with no scent of bleach. I usually will put them in clean water after I think they are all clean and let them soak overnight. I add some prime to the water too. Probably overkill, but it makes me feel better.

Also I found this thread on cleaning plants you may want to take a look at Question - Cleaning Plants/decor

Thanks for your response. That's pretty much what I do. I rinse them well, leave them overbite, and add prime to the last bucket. I suppose, when I finally turn to real plants, it's going to pose an entirely new challenge. Plus, I like being able to move around the location of everything each time I change the water

Removing the fake items letting them dry seem to work for me. After a week I washed with tank water and scrub best I could. Later discovered that my lighting was feeding this so I then set it to a 9am-6pm time. I blacked out my tank for 4 days before setting up the time. I did 2 50% water changes a week. I did this about the same time my tanks hit 7 months so I know the pain. Maybe larger water changes and lighting could be the issue. brown algae is a thing of the past for me. Good Luck!

Thanks! I have heard that diatoms (is that right?) Only have temporarily with newer tanks. Is that true? Is it something that will eventually pass? I probably have my light on too long. But, for a 75gallon, they are pretty weak. I have a 10 gallon light on each side.

 

You could try a timer for the light and have it go off for a few hours in the afternoon.

But for bleaching, yeah it's fine. That's what we do at my work to get the algae off. The lights are on 12+ hours a day so it can get gross. I usally let them sit overnight in the bleach solution and most of the gunk comes off when I rinse with a small hose. A old toothbrush would help some as well.

 

Noooooooo household products are toxic to fish

 

Noooooooo household products are toxic to fish

If it's a dilute solution ( in a separate container like bucket or tub) and you rinse them really well before going back in the tank it's fine.
Dilute bleach solutions are how I sanitize my nets, buckets and balers in my 'fishroom'.

 

Yeah but I'd go for boiling the plants

 

Spray well with 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Let sit 10 minutes. You can allow to air dry or rinse.

 

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I guess I'll keep doing the bleach method. I had worried if I was removing too much of my good bacteria. One downside Ive found is that the bleach seems to loosen the glue adhering my plants to the stands that hold them down in the substrate. But, I have sand. So, I can still bury them fairly easy. And, I always rinse them very well

Spray well with 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Let sit 10 minutes. You can allow to air dry or rinse.

The alcohol doesn't hurt the fish? Does the algae just dissolve with the alcohol?

 

I use a much more dilute bleach solution. You could try that and it may not damage the glue as much. Not sure just a thought. I put about 2-4 tablespoons of bleach per gallon. I may work slower but it still works.

 

I wash mine in the dishwasher. Add bleach wash, give extra rinse cycle if you feel safer doing so. Never had a problem doing it this way. Most times I just quickly hand clean in tank water during water changes and the dishwasher routine maybe every three months or so.

 

Personally I either rinse my plastic plants in hot tap water or I boil them. Same goes for gravel. One time I thought I saw fish lice on the gravel while I was cleaning my tank after my Goldfish Frisky went through a nasty bout of hemorrhagic septicemia, and I boiled the gravel, along with the plants.

 

I don't get algae because I have pack of breeding snails in my tank eating EVERY morsel of algae so the only dirty stuff is fish poop

 

Hydrogen peroxide can be used too. It is totally harmless since it will break down into oxygen and water after a while. It is good for killing algae.

 

I use dilute bleach and soak in water laced with prime afterwards. I like bleach vs things like alcohol, etc because I know I have a product that will neutralize bleach, alcohol or H2O2, not sure if those are as toxic, but I don't have the same option to neutralize them as I do with chlorine

 

What kind of snails do you have?