Diatoms on their way out new growth in

[push350z]

Well after scraping the front of my tank it seems like the diatom growth is slowing or done. Now instead I have on the tips of my 2 fake plants a black algae that is growing. It's small and it's the first day i've noticed it. After some research I think it may be Black Brush Algae. I'm going to remove the plants and scrub them down before putting them back in is there anything else I can do? I heard it forms from low nitrate levels, but I don't have any live plants in my tank that could lead to a lowering of nitrates. I did a test the other night and my nitrates are at the 5ppm level like they have always been. Are there any other conditions I should look out for that could be causing this? Ammonia and nitrite levels are both 0

 

[Sicklid]

I once soaked my fake plants in hydrogen peroxide for an hour and didn't see algae on them for almost a month.

But, I think algae is always gonna be present, unless you have fish that don't eat flake food (which contains algae), like fish that eat protein pellets (carnivorous cichlids.)