after 10 years of acrylic I have set up a rimless glass aquarium. My question is I am noticing at the water line even know I have a pretty good surface aggitation i am getting a line made up some saltcreep possible some lighter silt that hasnt settled yet and some hard water spotting above the line. Was wondering is it safe to use a razor blade to this area to take care of it as part of the daily maintenance. I know I couldn't use a razor blade on the acrylic tank but this being glass it should be ok correct?
how to maintain glass
- Thread starter soverjas
- Start date
meshwheel
New member
Soverjas,
Be very careful if it's low iron(xtra clear) glass. IT's a shame, as I have found it to scratch VERY easily. I have gone back to acrylic and will never go back to glass again.
If it is low Iron glass, I would recommend not using a magnet at all for cleaning if you have sand in the bottom of the tank. You WILL eventually scratch the glass if you do.
I would use a Dobie scrub pad. A magnet sitting on the tank glass is a big invite to children to move the magnet around on the glass.
Not noticing that if they dive into the sand on the bottom, it's scratch city all over your tank!
I like acrylic as you can polish them out. Never any leaks and a better insulator. Here in Earthquake country(Southern California) I sleep better at night with acrylic!
Good luck!
Be very careful if it's low iron(xtra clear) glass. IT's a shame, as I have found it to scratch VERY easily. I have gone back to acrylic and will never go back to glass again.
If it is low Iron glass, I would recommend not using a magnet at all for cleaning if you have sand in the bottom of the tank. You WILL eventually scratch the glass if you do.
I would use a Dobie scrub pad. A magnet sitting on the tank glass is a big invite to children to move the magnet around on the glass.
Not noticing that if they dive into the sand on the bottom, it's scratch city all over your tank!
I like acrylic as you can polish them out. Never any leaks and a better insulator. Here in Earthquake country(Southern California) I sleep better at night with acrylic!
Good luck!
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
That is actually not the case. Regular soda-lime annealed glass and typical soda-lime "low iron" annealed glass have pretty much the same strength and surface hardness properties (all in the 450-480 hardness range).
You may feel it scratches easier, but in reality it is likely that the scratches are simply more noticeable due to the clarity of the glass.
Datasheets are available at PPG (and others) if you wish to investigate further. The reality is that some low iron glass will be HARDER than some regular soda-lime formulations, and visa-versa. It all depends on the manufacturer.
all good advise. I will try the kent plastic razor blades and see how that works. I really like the advise on the not having a magnet cleaner for kids to grab and play with. I actually have one but I park it in the back of the aquarium for this reason. I have a 4 year old. Thanks for the sound advise.
