Green Hair Algae - Help!

[qkingston]

Yes I know there's loads of algae posts and I've picked up several bits of advice from searching the forums, but...
I have a reasonable new tank (9 months), with no CO2 and only artificial plants, fish are all fine and water chemistry is stable and all readings zero (pH 6.5) The tank gets 8hrs a day with the lighting on and I try and keep the curtains in the room closed much of the time although it is a light room if they're open. I have now got green hair algae. I have tried to clear it using the toothbrush technique which gets rid of the worst of it but the leaves of the plants still have some bits left and it grows back, also it is growing out the gravel on the floor of the tank which doesn't lend itself to the toothbrush. Any bright ideas for removal gratefully accepted

Thank you

 

[thereverendturtle]

Letting your plants dry in the sun works. When I worked at a lfs we would soak them in a bucket of water with a cup of bleach. Then we would rinse them well, and soak them in fresh water with an overdose of dechlorinator.
You can also reduce the light to just a few hours in the evening, just when viewing the fish.
Animal options would be SAE, snails, shrimp and oto cats. Just depends on tank mates and how large your aquarium is.