When you set up a new aquarium it looks great. Over the passage of time its appearance changes. We use many decorative items inside the tank to give a natural look of our aquarium. Since they remain submerged, they accumulate dusts in their body. Many items we can bring outside of tank and after cleaning we can place them in the tank. But it is challenging task for the aquarists to clean live plants and even artificial plants without hampering their actual outlooks.  Here are few suggestions for you to clean algae from your live and artificial plants.

Natural Plants

Cleaning natural plants is not easy task to perform. Plants may be damaged in the process of cleaning. Debris can be removed by using a brush. Gently rub the surface of leaf. If amount of algae is too much then you should use hands to remove them. In some cases, you may not be able to clean the algae by your hand. For those cases, you may go for washing out the plants. Washing is the last resort of cleaning the algae. For washing, use bleaching solution. Don’t keep live plants in the solution mixed water for more than 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, remove the plants from the solution and use gently rub to remove algae. After that, keep your plants in the fresh water for 10 minutes before placing them in the original tank. You must address algae removing process sooner they are getting accumulated. If you don’t clean them properly, live plants won’t survive to that extent which they are expected to live.

Artificial Plants

It is easier to clean artificial plants comparative to natural and live plants. Though there is no chance of getting killed while cleaning, it doesn’t mean it need not to take care during cleaning. Artificial plants can be clean by using your hands. If amount of algae become too much then use safe algae cleaning pad. Gently rubbing over the leaves will remove algae from the plants. If amount of algae is too high, then you may go for complete wash out. Bring out the plants from the tank and wash them in fresh water. During wash, don’t use any soap or chemical. Use of chemical will be harmful for the fishes. If algae doesn’t get off completely after washing in fresh water, use bleach solution. Don’t keep plants in the solution mixed water for more than 5 minutes. Keeping them more than 5 minutes in the bleach solution will damage brightness of them. After 5 minutes, remove the plants from the solution and use gently rub to remove algae. After that, keep your plants in the fresh water for 10 minutes. Before placing them in the original tank, dry them in fresh air. Drying process will eradicate the residual of chemical solution.