TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
I used to do plastic and some silk plants for the 1st year I kept fish. Then I got into live plants. My plastic ones always got algae. I just pulled them out of the tank and into a bucket with 5% bleach and 95% water (a 1-19 ratio). I put the plants into the bucket of bleach water and let them six for about 2 maybe 3 minutes max. This will kill the algae but will not remove it.
After the bleach dip I rinse the plants in my tap water which is from my well so I never use dechlor in my tanks, but I do have some for specific uses. One of these is to add the dechlor to another bucket of clean water and give the bleached plants a dip in that after the rinse and I dip for at least 30 seconds. I overdose the dechlor.
Then the plants go back into the tank. I actually do this with live plants as well. However, not all plants can handle this. The more delicately leaved plants may not, so do a test dip and see how the plant does in the next day after putting back into the tank (after rinsing and dechloring it). I find that a 90 second dip for most plants is fine and, for those thicker leaved plants like anubias I will dip for 2 minutes or a tad longer. Too long in the bleach will harm or kill plants.
When I return the plants the algae has often turned grey. A lot of my fish will then eat it. If not. it comes off within a few days as it is dead.
After the bleach dip I rinse the plants in my tap water which is from my well so I never use dechlor in my tanks, but I do have some for specific uses. One of these is to add the dechlor to another bucket of clean water and give the bleached plants a dip in that after the rinse and I dip for at least 30 seconds. I overdose the dechlor.
Then the plants go back into the tank. I actually do this with live plants as well. However, not all plants can handle this. The more delicately leaved plants may not, so do a test dip and see how the plant does in the next day after putting back into the tank (after rinsing and dechloring it). I find that a 90 second dip for most plants is fine and, for those thicker leaved plants like anubias I will dip for 2 minutes or a tad longer. Too long in the bleach will harm or kill plants.
When I return the plants the algae has often turned grey. A lot of my fish will then eat it. If not. it comes off within a few days as it is dead.
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and I don’t have live plants just plastic ones and a few ornaments which are all plastic, I don’t have a uv filter just a normal one but what I have started to do is pull the curtains and just have my blue light on mostly and since I have done that and a really good clean of everything and a good water change, my algae bloom has virtually gone, I’m new to this but it’s definitely working and I’ve now got around 50 baby guppy’s and not one has been eaten 
