How To Clean Algae Off Acrylic Aquarium

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Long time acrylic owners: cleaning tips wanted

Thread starter zalick
Start date Jan 13, 2021
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zalick

A cup of water and a dash of salt

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First: I've read just about every acrylic cleaning thread here and on RC. Haven't quite found what I'm looking for.

I have an acrylic tank that is the same measurements as a 300DD. It's 72"x36" x27". It also has a 4" euro brace.

I've owned the tank for about 5 years.

I have sand and it occasionally gets in the water column and sticks to the film algae. (Slowly removing the sand with water changes)

I own a mighty magnet but haven't really used it yet for fear of getting sand caught underneath.

I've been cleaning with a magic eraser and it works amazing.

My issue is the bottom 6" of the tank. I can't reach it easily due to the euro brace. Technically I can reach it but I don't quite have the leverage needed to clean.

I've used the kent blue plastic acrylic scrape to clean this section.

The other day I used the blue plastic kent scraper all over.....Low and behold I have scratches EVERYWHERE. I didn't notice while using it....

I thought what the heck just happened? So I used the scraper in a spot with no scratches and it left a scratch. There must be a tiny nic in the scraper.

Thankfully all the scratches are shallow and you can only see them when crouched low and looking up through the acrylic towards the light. Straight on viewing and you can't see anything.

So my question to all you long time acrylic people is what tricks/tools have you used to get the lower part of the tank?

I've thought about zip tying a microfiber cloth on my kent scraper to reach down there safely.

I love the piece of mind with acrylic for a large tank knowing it won't leak or explode but this stuff really does scratch just by looking! Thankfully the scratches are generally not visible.

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I've owned acrylic for quite some time and found the safest was to use expired credit\debit cards or similar. I eventually went bare bottom and never looked back. I realize this may not be a viable solution for you considering the depth.

Mighty Magnets offers a scratch removal kit which can be used with water in the tank. I have not tried it, but thought it worth mentioning:

Kent also makes a fabric pad covered blade for their scrapers. I use this on the back glass. These also come in a 24" (or so) length:

Search Results Template - Bulk Reef Supply

Algae Scraper found in: 24" AquaBlade Aquarium Scraper - Continuum, Algae Scraper, Hammerhead Float Plus, Tiger Shark Float Plus, 35" AquaBlade Aquarium Scraper - Continuum, Flipper FLOAT - Magnetic Aquarium Algae..

www.marinedepot.com

Credit card won't work for me with a near 3ft height and 10ft length.
I use mighty magnet F6
Love it

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Also, check out some of the Mighty Magnet accessories. They have an algae scraper (plastic triangular blade) which works great for me. As well as their algae cutter bag which slips over the inside magnet. These two really do a great job!

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I have the aqua tower 55 which is 48inch column, acrylic, $$ and scratch prone. there is only one way Ive found to run it-it was fw planted and not salt reef but the same concept applies: run lighting low enough the bottom zone doesn't get scum on it. that alters light intensity maximums around scratching, not par at the bottom.

for the top Im 100% scratch free after 3 years due to drain off 2/3 water into a brute, exposing inside. wet rag of 3% peroxide wipe, allow to sit 3 mins refill. burns it off clean no scrape. not prepping new water, putting the taken water back.

price of zero scratches.

I realize this isn't practical for everyone, but it is for nano keepers or someone who absolutely will not accept scratches on a fourteen hundred dollar tank. that's me. ill drain and refill that rascal forever if that's what it takes, at least something works with no scraping.

reefs will have calcium carbonate accretions from little worms and unavoidables, and peroxide won't dissolve those. reefing in acrylic is guaranteed scratches Im afraid but they can be lessened with drained access Im certain by practice.

Last edited: Jan 13, 2021

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First: I've read just about every acrylic cleaning thread here and on RC. Haven't quite found what I'm looking for.
I have an acrylic tank that is the same measurements as a 300DD. It's 72"x36" x27". It also has a 4" euro brace.

I've owned the tank for about 5 years.

I have sand and it occasionally gets in the water column and sticks to the film algae. (Slowly removing the sand with water changes)

I own a mighty magnet but haven't really used it yet for fear of getting sand caught underneath.

I've been cleaning with a magic eraser and it works amazing.

My issue is the bottom 6" of the tank. I can't reach it easily due to the euro brace. Technically I can reach it but I don't quite have the leverage needed to clean.

I've used the kent blue plastic acrylic scrape to clean this section.

The other day I used the blue plastic kent scraper all over.....Low and behold I have scratches EVERYWHERE. I didn't notice while using it....

I thought what the heck just happened? So I used the scraper in a spot with no scratches and it left a scratch. There must be a tiny nic in the scraper.

Thankfully all the scratches are shallow and you can only see them when crouched low and looking up through the acrylic towards the light. Straight on viewing and you can't see anything.

So my question to all you long time acrylic people is what tricks/tools have you used to get the lower part of the tank?

I've thought about zip tying a microfiber cloth on my kent scraper to reach down there safely.

I love the piece of mind with acrylic for a large tank knowing it won't leak or explode but this stuff really does scratch just by looking! Thankfully the scratches are generally not visible.

I ended up with 3 different magnet algae cleaners Bc I can't reach the bottom of my tank..

1. Flipper Max - pretty good but not as strong, sand keeps getting caught in between.
2. Algae Free Tiger Shark - way too strong so I can't move it easily like flipper max to get the friction going to remove those green and hard core pink algae.
3. Tunze care magnet strong +, so far the best to use it on the bottom of the tank since the sand doesn't get stuck between the magnets due to how it's made. I ended up using tunze for the bottom of my tank - the blades tend to get dulled faster due to the sand but works best for the bottom/ I ended up using algae free for the rest of my tank.

I want to add more sand.. to hide the scratches I made with my flipper max and algae free on the bottom... but.. oh well... I try not to look too low lol

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I have spoken to one guy who became so frustrated he put on a snorkel and mask and climbed In to clean his large tanks.

It seems that if you can get the right angle that pool cleaning tools and window glass tools can be useful. It's really hot or miss however if you can stand on top things are easier.

my opinion is to get it super clean it has to be drained, and not to worry about it that much. I have 5 180 gallon tanks for dart frogs. The tanks are verticale, and even without being water filled there's places I cannot reach without a ladder, so algae gets to exist in those places for longer.

-Andrew

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I lied.. I'm not sure what the heck happened but I've noticed by Tunze cleaner made these weird... marks

Not sure why..... or how to remove... maybe the dull acrylic made the plastic go on the DT

So maybe don't use the Tunze.. I already tried using magic clean and other tools but.. nope.... these marks won't go away and I'm about to cry lol

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zalick

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I lied.. I'm not sure what the heck happened but I've noticed by Tunze cleaner made these weird... marks
Not sure why..... or how to remove... maybe the dull acrylic made the plastic go on the DT

So maybe don't use the Tunze.. I already tried using magic clean and other tools but.. nope.... these marks won't go away and I'm about to cry lol

Oh so sorry!

Are they pretty visible when you look straight on?

So far ally scratches are not deep and you can't see them looking straight on.

I've watched lots of videos for removing acrylic scratches and it doesn't look too hard...

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Oh so sorry!
Are they pretty visible when you look straight on?

So far ally scratches are not deep and you can't see them looking straight on.

I've watched lots of videos for removing acrylic scratches and it doesn't look too hard...

I didn't notice it until the lights got darker... and when it's off.... oh goodness it's bad

hahah it's more like streaks and not really scratches either... I feel like they look like friction burn marks....

I would love to remove these marks but.. I'm not sure how to.. I tried magic eraser and polishing cloth with the water inside but no luck..

I never had these issues before with my other algae magnet cleaners even if the plastic blade became dull..

but wanted to let you know! Because I was like tunze tunze.. and I don't want this happening to anyone else lol

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If you already have the mighty magnet, I'd use it! Obviously have to be careful about trapping sand between it and the wall, but the two accessories noted above are AMAZING. The plastic triangle gets coralline off the acrylic faster than anything I've used before, and the mesh bag does the same for regular algae. I actually use those two within an inch of my sand bed. I just go a lot slower as I get closer to the sand - doesn't impede how well those attachments work. It's truly a life changer for me in terms of keeping the tank walls clean.

For the last inch of the wall, I take out my old trusty Tom's plastic scraper and do the best I can. But given how little elbow grease I have to put in with the mighty magnet, cleaning the remaining areas is not a hassle at all. [I used to clean the whole tank with the Tom's and it was a multi-day process, which meant I almost never finished the whole tank.]

For @Sharebear
A couple how to videos to watch.
Scratch removal kit,
Using some kind of power tool attachment like in my video (post #3) makes it a lot easier.

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For @Sharebear
A couple how to videos to watch.
Scratch removal kit,
Using some kind of power tool attachment like in my video (post #3) makes it a lot easier.

Omg... I just had a heart attack when he goes.. it gets worse before it gets better...

it definitely isn't for the weak hearts haha

because it's in front of my DT all over.... I guess I would have to sand... everything... oh goodness... I'm worried that it might make my tank weaker....and just go boom and spill 350 gallons of DT water all over..

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LOL! Now I'm... going to have 4 algae magnet cleaners..

I had a tiger shark Algae free magnet... but I threw it away at the heat of the moment when it closed on one of my finger and bruised the crap out of it... hahah

mighty magnet seems like the most expensive... but if I can buff those scratches out without draining water... seems worth it...

I almost want to buy.. a tiny little acrylic tank to try the sandpaper method because of my fear of trying it on my 350 DT
Sigh why can't everything just stay shiny and pretty

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