Silk Plants Going Brown

Since I've had my tank (last May) I've had a mixture of silk and live plants. However, the silk plants are now brown and tired looking.  Is this normal? Have to say the live plants don't look too good either

Any suggestions as to what I can do

The brown on the silk plants is probably a type of algae. Have you tried scrubbing it off? I find a toothbrush useful for this (you can buy a cheap one just for fish use)


What species of live plants - some are fast growers which need a lot of light and fertiliser, some are slow growers which need less.
Are you feeding the live plants?
How long are the tank lights on for?
What kind of light do you have - spectrum and intensity of light affect plant growth as well as duration. If the light has a K rating (for the spectrum) and a wattage (for the intensity), can you tell us those please.

Not sure on the size of your tank but 54w of led light is a lot. I have a 27w light (conveniently exactly half  ) on a 220litre tank. It is likely that this may be the cause of the algae... do you have a dimmer for the light?

I have silk plants too and find that they develop brown, powdery diatoms over time. I reckon it's due to my lighting and, to a certain extent, the root tabs under the few remaining live plants and which get disturbed during water changes when everything is removed - the debris/dust tends to circulate round the tank and settle on the leaves. The latter could be avoided by being less particular about removing everything.

A toothbrush is how I address this and also the furry black beard algae which develops. My nerites - or, more accurately, one of the nerites - is a hard worker and often works his way along the plants leaves (until he falls off due to them being unable to sustain his weight) which helps too.

I tried using a toothbrush (my husbands  ) just joking!!   but it didn't shift it. the plants still feel feel gritty

I've got an image of Paddington Bear cleaning his ears with a toothbrush, as per the film. 

I've never used this but it's maybe worth giving a go although it does say it's for plastic rather than silk: https://www.interpet.co.uk/Products/Maintenance/Decor-Cleaners/Plastic-Plant-Ornament-Cleaner-100ml  The manufacturers may be able to tell you more.