When I was cleaning my tank the other day, I noticed a lot of algea build up on my plants (plastic) and my fixtures. I moved them and rinsed them down then I placed them back in the tank. I guess my question is do you remove fixtures and plants when cleaning a tank?

I do my plants. They get so yucky.

, Yes, alot of times they do need a good cleaning from the algea build up. Some people take them out and clean them with a mild bleach solution, some people boil them and some just give a good scrub. What ever works for you as long as its safe for your fish once you put them back in the tank!

If you do it on a regular basis,normally you can take a new soft toothbrush and gently scrub it all off. It's when it's been left to build up for a long while that a little Elbow grease is needed.

Just don't brush your teeth with it afterwards!