If I take the anubias plants off their bits of wood (if I can untangle their roots)....

[lucysmam]

so that I can scrub the wood (STILL battling black beard algae ) .....will they be ok in a bowl or bucket of tankwater overnight?

I'm debating stripping & cleaning everything barring the filter in the hopes that I can get rid of this stuff....I can't see another way (am waiting for delivery of some more plants so they should help hopefully)

Sure, it'll be fine, they are fairly tough plants. I don't know what you've already tried, but there are a few approaches here

I had it in my 180 litre tank years ago, it was a bugger but it is possible to get rid of it or at least get it under control so that you don't notice it. Hopefully the extra plants will help.

How strong is your lighting and how long is it on for?

It's a juwel tank with t5 lights....on for half an hour in the morning, hour and half on an afternoon after I pick up dd2 and then from 5-11 on an evening once we're all home.

I thought between 8-10hours was ok but did debate lessening it a bit until I get the bba under control. the pleco seems quite keen on it am not sure if that's a good thing or not tbh but he doesn't seem to be suffering any ill effects

How are the plants growing with that amount of light? Might seem counterintuitive but a longer period of lighting might make the plants grow a bit quicker and then out-compete the algae.

There's some more info here.

Interesting reading, will try the bleach dip tomorrow on the plants....I assume the wood will be porous so scrubbing that would be a better idea.

Maybe the pleco's keeping it well under control because some things I have read have said that it literally takes over the tank

They seem to be ok.....I've nothing to compare it to though, this is my first tank and I don't know anyone with one either to ask them. Plenty of fresh bright new leaves & roots sprouting all over.

Worth a shot to try lights on for longer, I'm going to see what the plants I've ordered are like & maybe put some more in. It's hard to know what'll be demolished though

It can take over, but it was very slow to spread in my tank and so was kept under control before it spread too much.

yes, I would avoid bleach on the wood. You could soak it in boiling water though, that will help kill off the algae.

Great stuff, I have a plan of action for tomorrow then! Thanks very much (again) Eau