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• How to Clean Aquarium Ornaments & Plastic Plants

16 February 2022

Aquarium ornaments are a great way to improve the look of your aquarium with relative ease. They do not release compounds that can affect the water chemistry (tannins from wood, carbonates from limestone rocks, for example). They are made from aquarium safe plastics and decorated using aquarium safe paints. They can be made to look very realistic (some artificial rocks are almost impossible to tell apart from the real deal), or can be obviously fake. Plastic plants also provide easy way to recreate the natural look, without the hassle and worry of looking after real aquatic plants.

Over time, these plastic ornaments and plants will build up algae and detritus that will spoil the look of the decoration. There are a few ways to help bring back the original look or even help prevent this from happening in the aquarium.

Aquarium ‘janitors’

There are a few species of fish and invertebrates that will help keep the aquarium in good condition.

- Bristlenose catfish are very good at most types of algae (except hair algae)

- Otocinclus catfish are also very good algae eaters, preferring brown diatom algae

- Nerite snails are effective at most algae types

- Siamese algae eaters are particularly effective at black beard and hair algae

- Freshwater shrimps are very effective at eating and controlling hair algae

These species generally do a very good job at keeping algae in control in the aquarium. Over time however, the ornaments will eventually need removing and cleaning.

Manual / chemical cleaning

When ornaments and plastic plants get to the point of needing removing and cleaning, there are a few options. Like many hobbyists over the years, a lot of fishkeepers will physically remove dirt and algae using hot water and an old toothbrush, in an attempt to bring it back to its former glory.

A much easier solution restoring ornaments is using Plastic Plant Cleaner. The two part process first involves soaking the ornaments in a bucket with 10 litres of water and one cleaning tablet. Leave to soak for a minimum of 8 hours before draining, rinsing and re-soaking in 10 litres of fresh water containing the neutraliser solution for 15 minutes. The ornaments can then be reintroduced without fear of contamination and should be restored to their former glory!

It is important to note this cleaning solution is only effective on plastic plants and ornaments, and should not be used with decor made of natural stone or wood.

If attempting to clean and restore natural stone or wood, the manual cleaning method works best. A high pressure hose can be very effective at stripping away dirt and algae off most natural surfaces. Sometimes simply leaving decor outside to face the sun and the rain can work at removing algae build up. If Texas holey rock that has turned green over time is left outside, given a few weeks usually returns to its original white form.  

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Tagged in: Indoor