Loaches Online Forum

I just swapped in a brand new tank because the old one was leaking. I let it slide for 5 weeks not changing water and the plants are pretty much coated in algae. I took the plants out on Thursday and I'm just letting them sit out. Is that enough to kill the algae by drying it? Or do I have to wash them with the old toothbrush? I absolutely hate doing that.

Is there any other way to chemically remove the algae? I've always wondered because I have an ornamental rock that is a real PITA to clean. It's pretty much covered in algae as well.

So far, I haven't lost any fish. I will probably have to do a water change by thursday to keep up with the bio filter.

You can put the plants in the sink or in a bucket and pour hydrogen peroxide over them. You don't need to cover them, just be sure all the plant gets wet. Let sit for an hour then rinse with hot water. If this is black beard algae, it will turn purple and will come off or be picked off by fish or shrimp in time. This works for rocks and ornaments, too.

Jim Powers wrote:You can put the plants in the sink or in a bucket and pour hydrogen peroxide over them. You don't need to cover them, just be sure all the plant gets wet. Let sit for an hour then rinse with hot water. If this is black beard algae, it will turn purple and will come off or be picked off by fish or shrimp in time. This works for rocks and ornaments, too.

Sweeeet.... Thanks for the help. Now to buy some H2O2.

Let me know how this works for you.

Many things will kill algae, and are safe (after a good rinse) to return to the tank.
Here are a few ideas. Aquarium equipment (nets, gravel cleaning siphons, thermometers and pretty much all non-electric things can be soaked in these materials. Electric equipment should not be submerged, but can be scrubbed out (such as cleaning the filter box with a toothbrush dipped in one of these).
Do not dip live plants or fish in any of these. Research for the proper material, exact dilution and dwell time if you want to do this.

NEVER MIX ANY OF THESE WITH EACH OTHER.

Wear protective gloves, and other stuff as needed.

H2O2 will be safe even on decor that might soak up a bit of it, like driftwood. In small amounts H2O2 is not harmful in the tank. Rinse the driftwood (or other things) well, and if you can expose them to sunlight this will break down the H2O2 into oxygen and water. After that, there will be very little remaining. You can spray 3% or 6% H2O2 directly on most things, or you can dilute it in water and soak stuff in the diluted material. With non-living things, it does not much matter what sort of recipe you use. If you start with 3% (common in the USA) or 6% (I think this is common in the UK) and dilute it it is safe for any of the things we are talking about.

Salt is another one that is safe, and can be an effective algae killer. Heat some water on the stove, it does not have to be actually boiling, but too hot to touch. Add as much salt as will dissolve in the water. Allow it to cool until it is still warm, but you can touch it. Soak rocks, plastic plants, ceramic mer-people, driftwood and other things in this strong salt solution. Then rinse. Salt rinses clean, but any trace that might have soaked into the driftwood is such a small amount that it is not a problem (after a thorough rinse, of course). It can even be used dry as an abrasive to clean glass tanks, rocks and other hard things. I would not trust it on acrylic, though. Try this with the plastic plants: Get a handful (well, not very full) of salt, and roll the plastic plant around between your hands, allowing the salt to rub away a lot of the algae.

Chlorine bleach can be used to kill all sorts of things, then needs to be rinsed well, followed by a soaking with a double dose of dechlorinator in the water. (overnight is plenty. A few hours is usually enough). If the object still smells of chlorine, soak again in a fresh bucket of water with more dechlor. I would not use chlorine on something that might soak it up and possibly release it back into the tank.

Direct sunlight can kill, too. Put the object in the direct sun, and turn it over every few hours so all sides are exposed to the ultraviolet.

Many things are dishwasher safe, but you do this at your own risk- softer plastics can melt in there! Many things can be baked or boiled, and there are safe ways to do each of these methods.