What Has Been Your Go to Method for Cleaning Your Tank

[Gumbies R Us]

Keeping a nice shiny clean tank is something we all strive to do. I am wondering what has been your method to cleaning your tank. Maybe it is using some DIY tool or maybe a razor blade. Curious to hear everyone's input!

 

[Paul B]

I made this for the glass.



These for general maintenance and feeding



And diatom filters for the water.

 

[UtahReefer]

Bacteria, Pods, Phyto and snails for the live crew. Flipper glass cleaner and a turkey baster for me.

 

[Darstar301]

Cheap razor blade scrapper from Amazon on a long stainless rod.

 

[biecacka]

Cross my fingers and hope the aquarium cleaner fairy shows up. But, a quick heads up, I’m not having great luck woh this method!! Hahaha


corey

 

[Stephen Glover]

turkey baster, scrappers and paper towels, oh my.

 

[Ichtha_yo Stuff]

I like a razor blade scraper from Amazon. replacement blades are cheap and I replace them every month. If you want something nicer look at Two Little Fishes one.

 

[Crustaceon]

Turkey baster. Magic erasers. Avoiding making wide sweeping movements with a magnet cleaner.

 

[iamacat]

About 4 months ago I started dosing Prodibio Bioptim and Biodigest. I clean my glass once every 10 days which is barely necessary. Dosing is super easy and the vials take up little storage space or demands.

I will say my fleece roller on my Trigger Platinum sump and the Avast Marine Swabbie and Locker I have on my skimmer make my maintenance minimal.

water change every 15 days when I need to replenish the top off and that is timed up with the Prodibio dosing. Turkey baster the rock work first about 1hr before the WC of 10g on my 75

 

[MoshJosh]

Typically on Friday I do a big feed. Then clean glass with magnet scrubby (velcro kind). Stir up any and all detritus (bare bottom tanks) and let it get sucked into the filter sock. Then turn off the return pump and let any detritus that didn't make it to the sock settle. Then syphon out the remaining detritus. Turn return pump back on for about an hour and then change the sock.

 

[o2manyfish]

I made this for the glass.



These for general maintenance and feeding



And diatom filters for the water.

I loved those Diatom Filters.... Well I hated them - What a Feces Mess to try to get them primed and ready to run (This was when I was 10-17 years old) but man, if I didn't dump the diatanceous earth into my tank in the process. The next morning there was nothing better looking than my tanks - And this was fresh water.

When I went to college in 86 I took my Diatom filter with me for my 40g salt tank, and eventually my 100g. They were amazing. Somewhere between a frathouse and an apartment with a live in girlfriend the diatom was lost.

I miss that filter, and have many many times wondered about building a supersized one using a pool filter and pump for monthly polishing of the water.

Dave B

 

[G Santana]

An inexpensive magnet scraper ever 3 days, if you let it go too long it becomes real work. 3 days is just enough time for it to be just a few minutes of elbow grease.

 

[o2manyfish]

Being an acrylic tank snob my cleaning tools are much more limited.

The goto is a MAG-FLOAT XXL. The Big Brick sized monster. The key to the Mag-Float is to not use the Mag-Float but to purchase the SeeKlear Magfloat scrubby and sock. The Scrubby is the equivalent of an adobie pad we used to use as kids to scrub pots and pans - which goes around the magnet inside of the tank. The sock is a soft felt sock that goes around the magnet on the outside of the tank to protect scratching.

This combo worked great on my 3/4" 400g tank. When I move up to a 560 and then a 750g at 1.5" thick and 10' long for some reason using the magnet became alot more work. I found that putting a microfiber tank towel between the outside magnet and the acrylic made sliding the magnet much easier and gave less tendency to get going to fast and release the magnet inside the tank.

For quick cleaning of the corners and the small spots of coraline that get near the edges I use plastic razor blades purchased off Amazon.

For bigger harder spots of coraline I use steel razor blades that have rounded edges. With the soft edges as long as you are slow, careful, and don't slide the razor blade sideways I have clear coraline without any scratching of the acrylic.

When I get lazy, or life puts demands on me, and the coraline takes over the bottom couple inches of the tank, then I have to get serious. I goto Home Depot and go thru the box of Shiny stainless steel Painters tools (with rubber handles). I check each blade in the box for the smoothest edge. I take home the best 2 or 3. When I get home I polish that sharp chipping/spackle edge of the Painters tool, till it is sharp and smooth as can be. I also round off the sharp corners on a belt sander. Then when very very calm I scrape away the coraline. This is a painstakingly slow and patience requiring process. So to do my old 8x3 tank. I would do this over 2-4 sessions so I didn't get frustrated or impatient.

Getting the leverage of the handled tool makes scraping the coraline alot easier.

For my glass frag tanks outside I use almost exclusivey the razor blades with the rounded edges.

Dave B