Clear reef vision: How do you clean the inside of the glass on your aquarium?

[Peace River]

Clear reef vision: How do you clean the inside of the glass on your aquarium?

Cleaning that aquarium glass, inside and out, is a key part of enjoying our reef tanks and being able to see and enjoy everything that is going on in our aquatic ecosystems. While some reef keepers are more detailed than others and some clean the glass far more frequently than others, this is a part of the tank maintenance for most of us. In addition to the improved viewing, there are other functional reasons to clean the glass such as algae control and removal. Now that most of us agree that we should be cleaning the inside of the aquarium glass with some level of regularity (we can agree on that, right?), let’s think about how to do it. For your tank, how do you clean the inside of the glass on your aquarium? Please share your approach and if you have any tips or tricks for cleaning.

Photo by Tunze

If you are looking for additional tips on cleaning your aquarium glass, then please consider reading the R2R article on How to Scrape Glass and Acrylic.

Additionally, there is a few more days to enter the Tunze giveaway where you may be able to win a Tunze Premium Glass Care pack.

This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tckcorals.com

 

[jft]

I use microfiber white clothes or soft paper towels NEVER THOSE MAGNETS.

 

[SnazzyUrchin792]

I use a Flipper magnetic scrubber/razor blade

 

[reefermadnes5]

Microfiber cloth and a piece of pvc

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I use a tunze magnetic glass cleaner for mine!

 

[lapin]

1” thick acrylic

Aquarium Cleaning Products | Mighty Magnets

Clean aquariums and fish tanks with ease by using algae magnets and scratch removal kits from Mighty Magnets.

mightymagnets.com

 

[tuscani]

I use flipper but before that I used a cheaper magnet cleaner and scratched the inside of the glass

 

[CO2TLEY]

Razor blade and tooth brush for the corner seams

 

[shakacuz]

flipper standard float glass cleaner and CUC

 

[AtlantiCat]

Top Tip: Don't change aquarium sides with your Mag Float at the surface unless you're into salt water facials.

Also, fingernails and tooth brushes make wonderful glass-cleaning tools in specific circumstances.

 

[Antaguana]

Flipper magnet

 

[Evil1]

Cheap petco large magnetic scrubber and razor blade on telescopic pole and toothbrush for corners. On the outside glass I use automotive carnauba wax and a microfiber cloth. This makes glass sparkle and resistant to fingerprints, beads any splashed water and more resistant to water stains. Just like waxing a car.

 

[JayM]

Tunze Strong+

 

[vlangel]

Razor blade scraper with a handle, a scrubby scraper with a handle, a tooth brush for corners and a mag scraper for quick clean.

 

[Dburr1014]

I voted for them all.
CUC, snails do it for me.
Magic eraser, I sometimes use.
Razor, I have and scratch the glass, never again.
Tunze long arm, I won last year. Now my go to. I will say it comes with a razor but I'll be taking that off with the low iron tank.

 

[Johnd651]

Magfloat for now

 

[Hans-Werner]

I use a stainless steel pad I divide to get a thinner pad and adhere it to a strong Sicce pump magnet. It is an "algae magnet" that works nearly like a blade and removes even thin layers of calcified algae. It makes almost never scratches (after years of use in several tanks), much less so than blades.

The steel pad cleaner must be taken out of the tank and flushed with freshwater when not in use.

 

[Treefer32]

I would love a scraper that is wider and long handled. Like 6-10" wide and 30" long. I don't know how commercial aquariums get cleaned but my 340, it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to clean all 4 sides of my glass with the tiny 3-4" blade at the end of it. I could cut that time in half if it was a 6-12" wide blade. It works, just is slow.

 

[noobreefer1999]

I never used any because algae doesn’t come to my tank

 

[herozero]

I eat it.