Tank scratches from Mag Floats

[MandM]

I have Mag Floats in my glass tanks and I have noticed significant scratches in the glass from getting fine aragonite sand between the cleaning surface and the glass. Does anyone have this problem or have suggestions for better cleaning? They seemed to be a great idea, keeping the tank clean without getting hands in the tank but now all my tanks are badly scratched.

The cleaners on a stick that I have tried don't seem to have a good angle and don't get much done. Is it just required to get the long gloves and floss to clean?

When I get my big tank I want to prevent scratches like this.

 

[RobbyG]

Yes this has happened to me. The felt gets sand in it and scratches the outer glass. Now I keep my outer bar in a ziplock bag, I feel it for sand before every use and I also wet the glass before cleaning it, this lessens the chance of getting a scratch and makes the bar move easier.

 

[MandM]

I'll try that with both sides. My scratches are all on the inside, I'm picking up sand from the substrate as I clean. It's been pretty much impossible to get near the sandbed without picking up sand in the cleaner. Makes me want to consider a bare-bottom when I do the new tank and just have the deep sandbed in the sump. I really like the look of the sandbed in my reef tanks though.

 

[Unarce]

This is odd. Glass has a hardness of nearly 6, whereas aragonite only has a hardness close to 4. It shouldn't be able to scratch glass, unless there's some other mineral in your sand bed that is greater than 6.

 

[MandM]

Wow, maybe O st is selling diamond dust for .99 a pound :~) The reason I got glass tanks instead of acrylic was to avoid the scratches but boy, they are shot. I have bits of crushed coral and I would imagine tiny broken bits of seashells but what I bought was fine aragonite and that seems to be what's stuck in the mag float. Hmmmm.

 

[Marc Daniels]

Do you leave your magnet in the tank?

One of the problems with leaving magnets in the tank, is that they develop stuff (like coralline) on the cleaning pad. The worst scratch I ever got on my tank was from coralline, not sand.

You just can't get all the way down against the sand bed with a magnet, you have to stay 1/2"-1" away, and go ssslllooowww.

I have something in my bag of polishing/scratch removal tricks that may help you as long as they are superficial scratches only. I would be happy to try for you, but can't guarantee anything. I don't have any glass tanks of my own to practice on since I've been concentrating on the acrylic R&D.

The araognite sand may be a "4", but they can't filter everything out of it, and there are some impurities that are harder than the glass. Also, just because it isn't as hard as glass, doesn't mean that it can't scratch it.

 

[Unarce]

Great I bought a glass tank to avoid scratches, too.

 

[MandM]

Thanks Mark, that makes sense. I have been keeping the magnet part in the tank. I'd like to try anything you have for trying to polish out a scratch. Some are pretty deep but any improvement would be good. Would I need to drain the tank down to work above the water level or empty it entirely or do you work under water with the polish?
I have a compressor and angle die grinder with polishing wheels. It works great on those shower doors but may be a bit of overkill here.

 

[Marc Daniels]

As long as you are careful, you won't get scratches. It is a LOT harder to damage a glass tank than acrylic, but it can happen.

 

[MandM]

Cool. I'll catch up with you on the details at wmc or the May meeting.

 

[RobbyG]

I guess this all depends on the thickness of your sand. Mine is fine enough that it settles inbetween the Velcro stuff on the inside magnet, so even when i dip into the sandbed I dont get scratches. The outside pad being smooth FELT, the sand does not get sunk in but stays on the surface where it will scratch the glass, unless the glass is WET. One good thing about glas is that it is not easy to scratch so if you follow some basic rules your fine.

 

[Marc Daniels]

No, I can do it with water in the tank. Are you free weekends?

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7016146#post7016146 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobbyG
Yes this has happened to me. The felt gets sand in it and scratches the outer glass.

I gotta ask.Why the hay do you have sand on the outside of your glass?? At first I thought you mean the inside, but then your referred to it again in your second post about sand getting in the felt.

-Justin

 

[budgetyourself]

If you have an acrylic tank and it has scratches, Marc does a great job getting them out. He just worked on my tank and it looks great - you don't realize how many small scratches there are until they are all gone and the acrylic is really clear.

 

[dots]

When I saw that on glass and on acrylic, I decided to use a two step method. Down side, I have to put my hand in the tank.

2-3 times a week, I use a sponge that is used to knock down the everyday stuff.

once a week use a razor blade to scape off front and sides.

If you are carefull and don't drag it the wrong way, because it will scratch the glass, and don't rub against silicone. Works like a charm.

 

[tetra9999]

if i pick up any sand substrate I usually just hold the outside mag on its edge and the kind of flutter it on the glass and the sand will fall out usually without having to pull the inside mag out to clean..

 

[MandM]

Thanks to all, I'm trying some new methods.

 

[RobbyG]

Sand would get on the inside bar and I would put the two together in a drawer after use, some of the sand from the inner bar would stick onto the Felt on the outer bar and then scratch the glass! I was surprised as hell when this happened the first time. Now I keep the outer bar in a seperate zip lock bag so the two surfaces never meet, also I rinse them down better after each use.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7019013#post7019013 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justin74
I gotta ask.Why the hay do you have sand on the outside of your glass?? At first I thought you mean the inside, but then your referred to it again in your second post about sand getting in the felt.

-Justin