Argh...I'm drowning...help?

Lizzy & I · #1 03/19/2007, 02:12 PM

Hello...I am new here and have set up a 300g FOWLR tank that I purchased used with all of it's inhabitants. I am addicted. It seems to be thriving but I am having trouble keeping the 1" acrylic clean. I have made some fairly lame tools out of PVC, but I am looking for any tips you may have in regard to keeping a 40" deep tank clean.

My biggest issue is the green algae that is like coraline (grows in dots), very difficult to scour off with the small white cleaner pad. I tried a mag float, but the acrylic is too thick. Argh.....

Thanks for any advice!

reefdna · #2 03/19/2007, 02:32 PM

That's a pretty common problem with the calcerous algae. I carefully use (did I mention carefully?) razor blades on the tough ones. However I have heard of people heating up the Kent scrapers as well. On acrylic I am not an expert but razor blades have worked well for me but carefully and taking my time

Welcome to reef central! and be sure to stop in on FRAG our local forumhttp://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=228

hobogato · #3 03/19/2007, 03:00 PM

i wouldnt use the metal glass scrapers or razor blades on acrylic. there is a blade for those kent scrapers that is made for acrylic - get the longest one you can find and a step ladder

Doubledown · #4 03/19/2007, 03:14 PM

Get yourself a better magnet cleaner. Check out the Magnavore line. They make magnet cleaners designed for thicker acrylic. I have used them on my 2 acrylic tanks and have been very pleased. Pricey, but nice.

xinumaster · #5 03/19/2007, 03:21 PM

My tank is 1" thick acrylic too and I'm using the magnavore 8 magnet cleaner. So far it works great for me but feels a little week. I think I should have bought the magnavore 10.

Lizzy & I · #6 03/19/2007, 03:26 PM

Ahhh. I have not seen this cleaner but will find one.

Anyone have favorite tools that they have made for tall tanks?

Lizzy & I · #7 03/19/2007, 03:34 PM

Wow....$300 bucks for that wonderful little magnet but it sure looks like the solution.

xinumaster · #8 03/19/2007, 03:46 PM

A friend one mine uses this magnet on his 1" thick tank.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...=Algaecleaners

Nagel · #9 03/19/2007, 07:01 PM

The magnet is nice (I have a magnavore 8 too), but its not the best for the calcerous stuff.. It IS POWERFUL, do NOT get your fingers stuck in between (disclaimer on the box says medical attention may be needed to seperate the magnets and remove your fingers)..

I also have a 30" tall acrylic tank. I have 12, 24 and 36" Kent scrapers, and I DO use the metal blades. The trick is to bend the corners away from the acrylic AND take your time. Its easy to scratch the tank, so be careful. The plastic blades aren't worth it.. In 5 minutes I cleaned twice the area with a metal blade than I had cleaned in an hour with the plastic blade.. FWIW

uztaryn · #10 03/19/2007, 08:32 PM

I have the magnet and it has scratched my acrylic so be careful! Here is the secret that seems to work for me. 1st off make sure you are running a UV sterilzer. This will help a lot on the amount of the algea the builds up on the glass. 2nd you need to get the Kent mop and the extender handle. You can use this every couple of days and it cleans the glass before you get the harder buildup. 3rd and most important start a cleaning schedule and keep to it! If I miss a day on my schedule I have to get the red kent blade and put it in instead of my mop end and scrape and scrape and scrape!

If I run the mop every other day the tank stays clean! But if my UV is down I have to scrape every day!

Good luck!

Lizzy & I · #11 03/19/2007, 11:47 PM

Great. This is what I needed to hear. I am running 2 UVs, about 50 watts total. I knew I was missing something...so thanks for telling me. Any other ideas, I am all ears... thanks again.

Putawaywet · #12 03/20/2007, 01:09 AM

I've scratched two acrylic tanks now using magnets and I got so fed up I finally tossed them in the trash. No matter how careful I was there was still that one in a thousand grain of sand that found it's way into the pad.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a few of these:

http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...DlOAi1aPWc3UrQ

These things rock. I've been using them for years and wish I knew about them sooner. Only draw back is you are limited by the length of your arm's reach.

As for those Kent orange plastic blades they have a life span of like 2 minutes and then they are worthless.

However, if you have access to some basic power tools you can make replacement blades from 1/8" scrap acrylic. The trick is you need to keep the blade edges nice and square so they scrape really well.

I've made several replacement blades for my Kent handles and I just swap blades out as I go to to keep a fresh edge scraping at all times. They work well enough that I can take off 1/2" diameter circles of coralline in one pass. Then, when I'm done I just square them up again using a large sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface.

Brett

Lizzy & I · #13 03/28/2007, 02:06 PM

Thanks for the help. The dobies and blades sound like quite a party ;-). I appreciate the advice as I try to tame this 300g tank!

We just got back from some great snorkeling in Mexico. Wanted to bag a few up and start my own import but decided that my fish and I would look pretty sad in a Mexican prison!

Jack