Dirty Plexiglass... all the time

[alexwbush]

I don't know what I am doing wrong. The glass on my main tank (20" cube made of acrylic) always seems dirty. Meanwhile my 12g nanocube which I hardly touch always looks clean. I have a clean up crew large enough for the tank and there are always snails at work on the glass, but it always seems to stay dirty.

I try to wipe it once a week with a paper towel and it looks great again for a couple days, but then back to where it was.

Any thoughts? Is it a flow issues? Too much light? I have the return + a MP10 running. It's mostly softies under LEDs.

 

[NVTE]

too much light, high nitrate and Phosphate.

 

[alexwbush]

I'm using pretty much the same salt and RO in both tanks, so I'll try to cut the light schedule and do a couple water changes this weekend. Hopefully that will help.

I've got one of those magnet scrapers, but I think it's scratching the tank... even though it's supposedly designed for acrylic.

 

[solitude127]

What type of lighting do you have for each tank? what type of filtration do you have for each tank?

 

[goreef65]

I don't know what I am doing wrong. The glass on my main tank (20" cube made of acrylic) always seems dirty. Meanwhile my 12g nanocube which I hardly touch always looks clean. I have a clean up crew large enough for the tank and there are always snails at work on the glass, but it always seems to stay dirty.

I try to wipe it once a week with a paper towel and it looks great again for a couple days, but then back to where it was.

Any thoughts? Is it a flow issues? Too much light? I have the return + a MP10 running. It's mostly softies under LEDs.

Are you wiping the inside of the glass (water side) with a paper towel? If so, that is not a good idea. I'm pretty sure you're adding toxins or even debris from the towels to the tank. I have a 90gal acrylic and it gets dirty to. You just have to keep up with it... basic maintenance. I bought one of those yellow sponges for the kitchen sink that has a white scowering (sp?) pad on it from the ¢99 store and then remove the outside nylon cover and place it over my acrylic safe magnet. It works a lot better.

Here's a link of one that's similar: http://www.twinsupply.com/carlislefoodservice/proddetail.asp?prod=3635700

Anyways, it also could be a nitrate problem, lights on to long, you know the drill. GL

 

[King Nikon]

I'm surprised you use a sponge from a store. Usually those contain all sorts of chemicals to rid bacteria and things to help cut grease.

 

[ViPeR_930]

I use micron bags, UV, and heavy skimming to keep algae from spreading through the water column. Also try setting up your light so it doesn't hit the sides of the tank.

 

[alexwbush]

I'm using 23 Cree LEDs (12 blue, 11 white). I just reduced my light period down to about 7 hours and upped the percentage to 90%. I was running about 10 hrs at 75%.

I thought paper towels didn't have anything in them and I had read about people using them to clean the inside glass. I'll stop using them to clean the acrylic. What is everyone using to wipe down the inside of acrylic? I would think a sponge would be just as bad and I am concerned with preventing scratching, so I don't like to use the magfloat a lot. I also don't want to have to wipe it every day. I almost never touch my other tank and the glass is pretty much always clean.

I am not using filtration right now... which now that I think about it, I'll need to change. I have a fuge and skimmer in the sump, but I suppose I can run carbon again. It was a huge hassle to change out.

 

[oscar.millan]

+1 Add and/or change GFO often(bi-weekly), reduce light, and keep up with water changes. If you use socks, change them out often.

too much light, high nitrate and Phosphate.

 

[savethereef]

I you use a kitchen pad make sure it does not have anti mildew chemicals in it. You need a basic sponge. Also when usin a magnet cleaner always unstick it to shake off any sand particles that might get trapped. I've used a algae free magnet and go slow no need to hurry.


Sent from my Dummb Fone!

 

[goreef65]

I'm surprised you use a sponge from a store. Usually those contain all sorts of chemicals to rid bacteria and things to help cut grease.

I don't use the sponge...but just the nylon cover and slip it over the magnet inside the tank.