To clean or not?

[tank o tang]

I love the way coraline looks all over the back of the tank but have been seeing alot of tanks with a clean back wall and love the way it gives depth. What do you do?

Clean?

Unclean?

[scaryperson27]

Coraline uses calcium. I don't like the way corals contrast against a Coraline background.

[scsi]

I like it on the rock, I don't like it on the glass.....

[CookieJar]

I scrape the glass every month or so- makes it look so much better. The coraline that covers the side and back walls makes the tank look like the inside of a box.

[NHfishguy]

I like it on the back glass. Nice natural look to my eyes.

[dendro982]

I vote for scraping, but I'm not doing this - trying not to distress fish.

[dkuster]

I wouldn't mind it on the back glass, but even though I tell her
not to my wife always cleans it off when I'm not around

[masonicman]

I would scrape the glass. I like to see my deep blue sea background on my tank. Especially when the actinic lights are on. I also read that the blue or black backgrounds bring out the color of the fish.

[dcombs44]

My tank always looks "better" to me after I've scraped the back glass. My bright blue background always seems to make things pop better than the darker coraline

[barbra]

When I clean the coraline off the back glass the tank looks brighteer and cleaner, but it is such a pain that mostly I don't do it.

[tank o tang]

I guess its a toss up so far.

[uscharalph]

I get it all over my rock, but not so much on my glass, but I regularly clean my glass. That along with my snails.

[MattG]

I like the glass as clean as possible.

[useskaforevil]

i've always thoguht blue or black backgrounds look really fake. at least with the back covered with coralline it looks liek a rock wall.

[jerryvan]

Hello--I let my back get covered and thought it always looked dirty. So now I clean it.---Jerry

[Aaarrrggg]

Scrape it! I got a hob scraper the other day and did mine for the first time. It was a surprisingly quick and satisfying job... and the tank looked amazing afterwards!

[vanmo92]

I would Clean the back glass. I had the same thoughts as you a while back, and then I scraped it, and decided it looked better. Besides, it takes calcium, which the rest of your tank should have. It will also boost the algae on your rocks.

[ihopss]

It is much easier to let it cover the back, it does consume a lot of cal/alk .

[Gdevine]

I use a mag float on my glass each and every day. I like a pristine and supper clean view of the tank. That's just me, but it sure is nice!

[wrott]

Originally posted by uscharalph
I get it all over my rock, but not so much on my glass, but I regularly clean my glass. That along with my snails.

uscharalph, do you clean your snails? lol
I have a few snails w/ bubble/corraline algae that could use a good vinegar dip !!!

[scaryperson27]

Yeah, I agree. I like to over emphasize the stuff I designed and

decorated myself rather then having the background take away from

that. I don't like the colors meshing in with the corals either.