acrylic cleaning

[abyss1]

to all out there that may be able to help

im currently building my new system, most of which will happen over the next few months

its a 10 x 4 x 4 feet acrylic aquarium, in wall, with its own fish room

and i live in the UK, however, people arnt big on acrylic tanks over here

so i would like all advice and links to any US websites that manufacture or sell acrylic cleaning tools, or also peoples own methods on this

all help is very welcome

kind regards

rupert

[steve the plumb]

I used this and it works well.I placed them on my tiger shark magnet http://www.homeandbeyond.com/prod-0004401.html

[steve the plumb]

this is where I bought the magnet.They are very good and the quality is excellent http://www.algaefree.com/

[Dxmarinefish]

hi abyss1, i bought mine from www.marinedepot.com, its the Algae Free Tiger Shark Float Algae Magnet i got, but on second thoughts i should have got the
Algae Free Great White Algae Magnet which is more powerfull. The tiger works just fine though. Reached me within 7 days. Great service.

[abyss1]

thanks for the replys guys

the more advice the merrier

rupert

[rbrusletto]

I have a Mag Float for each of my 3 tanks... If the buildup is worse I use a pad like the dobie that has never scratched the acryllic for me... coraline, an old credit card, or the long kent scraper and flip the blade over every once in a while..

[steve the plumb]

If you decide to go with acrylic keep the MH lights a minimum of 5" off the top of the tank.I had mine lower and the heat caused the brace to warp a bit.I noticed this and moved them higher.It was my fault I should have known better.The brace is fine but it stayed a bit warped.If you are going with 400 watt bulbs I would keep them higher than that.I would also have some fans blowing on the top.I know one of the mods here has a problem with his 500 gal tank and he was saying he has to replace the tank but he didn't have the money.The heat from the lights caused the tank to craze.I know he reinforced the tank to try and solve the problem.He still mentioned the tank will need to be changed.I had a glass tank before and I never had a problem with it.If you go with glass thats one heavy tank.You can fix acrylic scratches.Some people who have had both prefer glass when its a display tank.I haven't had my tank long enough to tell you much.I do like the clarity of acrylic.I was going to go with glass(low iron) but because of the price and the weight and drilling I decided to go acrylic.Once the fish are inside I don't think it really matters what tank you go with.Its the livestock that make the tank.

[abyss1]

cheers for the advice steve, ill keep that in mind

im going to be having 6 x 400w 10k xm,s over the top,

with 4 x 4 ft twin dimmable t5,s and 4 x 3 ft twin dimmable t5,s

im going to source some kind of, heat proof coating to go around the acrylic braces and edging

all in hand my freind

all the best

regards

rupert

[Untamed12]

Like others I use the Great White magnet cleaner on my 1" thick acrylic tank. I'm happy with this.

While use of the acrylic pad on the inside is obvious, I use a cotton baby diaper dampened with Brillianize on the outside magnet. The Brillianize keeps the outside static/dust free and prevents any outside scratching.

So while I was so careful not to scratch the tank with cleaning...the fish are scratching it pretty good just by rubbing against the tank walls with their sharpy bits! What can you do...can't stop them from being fish.