tangreefkeeper
In Memoriam
ok so i need to clean some coraline off of the front panel of my acrylic tank and i dont want to scratch it all up so i was wondering what you guys use to get it off without damaging the tank
thanks
thanks
cleaning acrylic
- Thread starter tangreefkeeper
- Start date
laverda
Well-known member
The Kent Marine Proscrapers work great, but be sure to get 1 or 2 extra acrylic blades. I would suggest you get the short one and a 12 or 24 inch one. The longer ones do not work as well as it is harder to put as much pressure on them. They also work much better when the blade is sharp; IE it has I nice clean square edge. You can sharpen them using a file.
If you clean the acrylic frequently with one of the Algae Free Magnet cleaners you will not have to use the scrapers nearly as much. Just keep away from the sand bed or be real carful when cleaning near the sand bed. Sadly the bigger Algae Free magnets do not float, making it much harder if you drop one or get it contaminated. And watch your fingers, you can really hurt your self with these. Also slide them together when you put them into your tank. If you try to do it the normal way it will pull it right out of your hand and possibly smash a finger.
If you clean the acrylic frequently with one of the Algae Free Magnet cleaners you will not have to use the scrapers nearly as much. Just keep away from the sand bed or be real carful when cleaning near the sand bed. Sadly the bigger Algae Free magnets do not float, making it much harder if you drop one or get it contaminated. And watch your fingers, you can really hurt your self with these. Also slide them together when you put them into your tank. If you try to do it the normal way it will pull it right out of your hand and possibly smash a finger.
tangreefkeeper
In Memoriam
yah ive got the tiger shark but i slacked for a week and the front panel has about 3 inchs of coraline growing up the front.. looked cool when i first saw it now it just bothers me.. think im going to try the credit card thing first since ive got plenty of those to trash :lol:
Hucklebery
Premium Member
+1 on the Kent Marine Pro Scrapers. Use the red plastic ones on acrylic. In between scrapoings I use the plaing Mr Clean Magic Erasers. They do a dynamite job of cleaning the inside of the acrylic. Just make sure to buy the plain ones without any cleaning agents added. You can get the at Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Grocery stores...
tangreefkeeper
In Memoriam
those are safe for the acrylic.. it wont scratch
Hucklebery
Premium Member
Yup. Been using them since day one on both of my tanks. Do a search here on Magic Eraser. Many folks have discovered them and use them with no problems at all, unless you goof up and buy the ones that have cleaning agents in them.
reef_doug
Premium Member
Magic Fingers....Which one doesn't have the cleaning agent? I'm still sceptical because of it may contain formaldhyde.
http://prohowtos.ipower.com/content/mr-clean-magic-eraser-product-review-does-it-work-and-it-safe
http://prohowtos.ipower.com/content/mr-clean-magic-eraser-product-review-does-it-work-and-it-safe
Hucklebery
Premium Member
Use the one with "Original" on the box. As far as formaldehyde, I didn't know it contained that. I'm in now way a chemist, or even close, but doesn't formaldehyde evaporate when exposed to air? (I don't know this, and I'm truly asking this to find out myself) I know in the liquid state it has a pretty potent smell to it, and there are no signs of that smell in Magic Erasers.
I always rinse them real well prior to use, and have never had even a minor issue. That review bags on them saying they are very abrasive and can take paint off walls. Yup, i agree. If you have old crummy flat paint on your walls and scrub it with a magic eraser, it's gonna take paint off. But then again, so will a coarse sponge, a Scothbright sponge, and even a cotton towel. Magic Erasers are in fact a micro-abrasive sponge. In my experience, they are much less likely to scratch your acrylic than even the plastic scrapers made especially for acrylic by Kent Marine.
I always rinse them real well prior to use, and have never had even a minor issue. That review bags on them saying they are very abrasive and can take paint off walls. Yup, i agree. If you have old crummy flat paint on your walls and scrub it with a magic eraser, it's gonna take paint off. But then again, so will a coarse sponge, a Scothbright sponge, and even a cotton towel. Magic Erasers are in fact a micro-abrasive sponge. In my experience, they are much less likely to scratch your acrylic than even the plastic scrapers made especially for acrylic by Kent Marine.
I might try the Mr. Clean erasers. Right now I have a couple of Scotchbrite brand that say not for aquariums on them. I bought this yesterday. I'm not sure what sort of chemicals are in this poly scrub, magic erasers or credit cards. This polyscrub seems easier to use than a credit card. I'm thinking about ordering that Lee scrubber and the Pro scraper.
<a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y275/pnwroselover/?action=view¤t=IMG_0313.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y275/pnwroselover/IMG_0313.jpg" border="0" alt="Algae Scraper?"></a>
<a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y275/pnwroselover/?action=view¤t=IMG_0313.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y275/pnwroselover/IMG_0313.jpg" border="0" alt="Algae Scraper?"></a>
glaudds
New member
I use a combination of the Kent Pro scrapers(red blade for acrylic), old gift/credit cards, 3M Dobie pads, and the Mr. Clean Eraser....depending on the situation. For the kent scrapers, as laverda mentioned, a nice sharp edge works best. I square up the blade with sandpaper on a flat surface.
Though I use the Mr. Clean Eraser, I would be hesitant to use it on a new acrylic tank, as it does have some abrasive qualities to it. That being said, I use it with my Algae free magnet cleaner on my 10 year old acrylic tank since it has developed a few micro scratches over the years. I don't see any visible damage using the Mr. Clean, and it even seems like it has improved some the the micro scratches on the tank.
Of all the pads I've used, I like the 3M Dobie pad the best for cutting through tough algae when I have to stick my hand in the tank.
Though I use the Mr. Clean Eraser, I would be hesitant to use it on a new acrylic tank, as it does have some abrasive qualities to it. That being said, I use it with my Algae free magnet cleaner on my 10 year old acrylic tank since it has developed a few micro scratches over the years. I don't see any visible damage using the Mr. Clean, and it even seems like it has improved some the the micro scratches on the tank.
Of all the pads I've used, I like the 3M Dobie pad the best for cutting through tough algae when I have to stick my hand in the tank.
