Cleaning coralline in large Acrylic tanks?

Big E

Big E

Premium Member
I have a 180g acrylic tank that is temporarily holding my corals. I let coralline algae take over the lower 6" on the front pane. It's hard to reach & I can't see what I'm doing when I stand on a stool to scrap it with a credit card.

Anyone have any tips or advice on devices they are using?

Is it worth buying a Kent scraper or should I DIY something?
 
Use a kent scraper, not a credit card. Credit cards are more prone to scratching since they are hard. However, once you let the alga get ahead of you it's very difficult to stay on top of it in the future....That is why it's imperative that acrylic owners wipe their view panels almost daily.

no other way to keep it in check that i know of, but you almost never see a tank in this hobby that has its viewing panels maintained adequately, imo. Almost every tank in the hobby ends up looking dirty within a year because of hobbyists dropping the ball on the only thing that cannot be automated, cleaning your view panels.

Acrylic over time will only develop coraline faster and faster as the surface of the inside becomes irregular. So that six inches will encrust again very quickly.
 
My tank is 24" deep and it's also hard to reach the bottom front. I use a Kent scraper and to see, I use on of the little plastic beta tanks. Hold it in the water without letting water in it and you can see everything great. A mask works too however, I don't feel like snorkeling.
 
Didnt some one just come out with this thing you put on the glass, it heats the coraline up then flakes right off?
 
I ordered the 24" Kent scraper & I'll try that. ........good tip blufrye3

I do remember seeing that heater thingy somewhere.
 
I don't know if you can use heat on acryllic, check tank manufacturer. It may cause weak spots or damage. Mitz
 
here is the link to the heated magnet.. i beleive they are RC sponcers..

http://www.therme-at.com/index.htm

my 400gal that im setting up is 4 foot tall so this little device is gunna save me alot of wet nights hopefully..
im gunna need to contact them before ordering though, becuse it looks like the magnets only handle 1" acrilic - mine is 1.25"..

jason
 
It sounds great however, I noticed for acrylic it said, "if used properly" That scares me. Possible scratches. Let me know if you get it and it works. I wouldn't mind having a 3' deep next time. I just about have to swim as it is. :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9025551#post9025551 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefBuddha
Use a kent scraper, not a credit card. Credit cards are more prone to scratching since they are hard. However, once you let the alga get ahead of you it's very difficult to stay on top of it in the future....That is why it's imperative that acrylic owners wipe their view panels almost daily.

no other way to keep it in check that i know of, but you almost never see a tank in this hobby that has its viewing panels maintained adequately, imo. Almost every tank in the hobby ends up looking dirty within a year because of hobbyists dropping the ball on the only thing that cannot be automated, cleaning your view panels.

Acrylic over time will only develop coraline faster and faster as the surface of the inside becomes irregular. So that six inches will encrust again very quickly.
Click to expand...

yep you summed it all up. I let that happen with my 180 years ago it was never the same. I sold it and started fresh, hopefully I will keep this one clean, you just have to love it and buy lots of cleaning devices to make it as easy as possible. I even see some TOTM on here that have bet let go mantainance wise. I look at it as time observing everything and it really is a comittment when owning an acrylic tank. The clarity and weight savings, and overall advanatge is for acrylic, the people that cant scrape the viewing pane often or are too lazy to do it usually are the ones that say "thats why I have a glass tank now"
 
You'll never get enough pressure against the panel at the end of a 24" handle....

...that's why my acrylic tank isn't deeper than my arm!
 
I bought one of the Magnavore 6ER mag scrapers. As long as I run it across the tank daily I don't really get any build up.

If I wait 2-3 days I have to use one of the Kent scrapers and it takes a long time and my are HURTS by the time i am done.

I have a 30" tall tank and would definately say to not go any deeper than that. I use the kent scraper with the mop end sometimes as well.

Keep it clean and don't let the coralline build up!
 
I just got my therme scrape magnet. It does work to kill the corraline but the magnet even with the booster won't grip my 1.25" tank. I have to use one of my mighty magnets to get it to hold. Works fine to occasionally kill the coralline but it just can't scrape it.
 
I bought the 24" scraper for once its cleaned up. I know I won't be able to hold it on the end for the heavier stuff.

This was an experiment for myself to see if I would keep up with it..........I failed. The tank has always been fish only.

I will eventually be going with glass. I don't want coralline on the back wall either & I know I won't be able to keep up.
 
Big E, I love that name lol...My tank is 30 deep custom acrylic which is on a 40 inch high custom steel stand.

Needless to say the step ladder is always close at hand and its a acrobatic nightmare to clean the coraline.
I went BB so I could use some magnetic cleaners and the kent pro scraper is pretty good too as previously mentioned. I wrap a 100 micron filter pad around it and hit the corners and I also sandwhich (for lack of better descrip.) a piece of filter pad between the magnet and the acrylic. The filter pad seems to be alittle less scratch prone and more effective than the raised side of the velcro on the stock magnet cleaners. I clean daily as well.

Basically its just dillegence and determination. If I go 3 days without a cleaning then I have a 1-2 hour job to getit back in shape. Ill be following this thread for some better ideas myself.
 
DIY Acrylic scraper for deep tanks

DIY Acrylic scraper for deep tanks

Here is a pic of a scraper I have used on my 4ft deep tank ( 3ft of water) for 3 years.

37205Acrylic_scraper.jpg

The trick to making one of these work without scratching the tank is
to use a soft plastic. The blue plastic is a piece of a painting gadget
used for straight edges ... from a hardware store.

The other important thing is to use a powerful magnet to get the
pressure needed to scrape the surface of the acrylic.
My tank is 25mm thick so I use a magnet for use in up to 60mm thick tanks ...
it's expensive and you will need muscles .. to move it
but there isn't much of an alternative for a deep tank.

For details of my tank see here "http://www.reeflectionsaquarium.com/pages/memberstanks/tanks/mharrison/index.html"

I live in a rural part of Aussie so I only have dial up ... my LFS hosts pics of peoples tanks.
Cheers
 
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