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Tanuki 
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 Topic: Cleaning Acrylic
Posted: September 22 2012 at 2:23pm |
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Hi it has been a couple of months since I have really posted so sorry about that.
So I am having the hardest time keeping my acrylic tank clean. It is out of control now. the water quality etc is fine and the tank inhabitants are alive and well, but the corraline algae and other algae cleaning has become almost impossible. I have bought a lot of different things to clean the glass with, but they all scratch the acrylic or don't clean well.
Is there an end all option for cleaning this thing? Glass is SO much easier to clean and generally stays cleaner with less maintenance. i am starting to wonder if I will have to dump this tank for a glass system.
Anyone have any ideas?
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DLindquist
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Posted: September 22 2012 at 4:14pm |
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I believe (maybe Bob) talked about using a Mag Float with a Magic Eraser under the wet side. Sounded like it worked very well.
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A government strong enough to give you everything you want, is powerful enough to take everything you have.
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Tanuki
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Posted: September 22 2012 at 11:51pm |
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what about for a deeper clean? I have tried doing a daily cleaning with the magic eraser and my mag float and somehow I cant keep the bugger clean.
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tileman
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Posted: September 23 2012 at 8:35am |
When I had my acrylic tank I would use a new Kent scraper blade (the metal one) and be very careful not to bend it or get any nicks in it and gently scrape off the hard algea. But you have to be very careful not to scratch it. This is the main reason I went to a glass tank. I hated cleaning the acrylic.
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335G Reef
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Tanuki
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Posted: September 24 2012 at 12:19pm |
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I wonder if that is much safer than a razor blade?
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Lewy
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Posted: September 24 2012 at 1:54pm |
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When I had an acrylic tank I used a wood dowell to scrape off the coraline algea. Very tedious.
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40 gal w/ 20 sump
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19cobra93
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Posted: September 24 2012 at 5:18pm |
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You can buy plastic razor blades. I don't know where, but I've seen them, and they're really good at scraping coraline off acrylic without scratching the glass.
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tileman
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Posted: September 24 2012 at 5:31pm |
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335G Reef
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http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium
ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month
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Tanuki
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 10:42am |
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I tried using a subway card last night and it did wonders. I will clear the tank tonight and then see about using some of these others.
Also could I sand some of the small scratches while there is life in the tank, or am I going to overly pollute the water?
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1stupidpunk
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 10:53am |
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Just curious if you are using any sort of phosphate remover? I understand it wont totally eliminate the need to clean the tank but since installing my phosban reactor i have much less algae growth on my tank. I ditched my acrylic for glass after attempting to spend hours cleaning and buffing out scratches.
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builderofdreams
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 11:00am |
 Tanuki wrote:
I tried using a subway card last night and it did wonders. I will clear the tank tonight and then see about using some of these others.
Also could I sand some of the small scratches while there is life in the tank, or am I going to overly pollute the water?
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I know its a bit late but one of the best ways to clean it is not allowing it to build up in the first place.
Clean it daily wheather it needs it or not.
Most LFS sell plastic scraper blades for Acrlyc.
You can use a new kitchen sponge that has a little texture to it. Make sure there is no other chemicals in it of course.
Oh by the way do not Sand the tank at all. You cannot polish the scratches back out. Don't worry about over polluting the tank.Scraping coraline into the water( while the filtration system is off) is an easy and cheap way to get the coraline to grow faster.
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It's Not a Hobby It's an Obsession
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Tanuki
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 11:37am |
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I was cleaning it daily, but the mag float just wasn't strong enough I suppose. The tank has great corraline growth though, always has.
What do you mean by "You cannot polish the scratches back out?" Do you mean that doing so will hurt the fish? I sanded the tank when I bought it. Depending on which grit you use, you don't have to use a polish on it. So I am confident that it can be sanded, but I am more worried about the pollutants.
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Cody
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 12:26pm |
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Most automotive body shop supply stores sell 6000 grit wet/dry sand paper. I bet if there were no chemicals used and you just used the water as a lubricant you could get em out.
Also you could take a wood dowel and cut a slit in the end and jam that subway card in the end of it so that you wouldn't have to get your hands in the tank and you could prob reach hard to reach areas.
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Tanuki
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 12:37pm |
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Thanks Cody, I appreciate the info.
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builderofdreams
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 12:49pm |
The problem with sanding the coraline or whatever it is, it is going to get caught in between the sand paper and the acrlyc. Now you just turned the 6000 into a 1 grit sand paper=Scratch.
Without polishing out the 6000 grit scratches it will cause what i call a Spiderweb Effect.
If you are happy with the look of what you did the first time then by all means go right ahead.
Not trying to say you can't just not the way i remove scratches from Acrylic.
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It's Not a Hobby It's an Obsession
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http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65135&title=builderofdreams-feedback-post
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Tanuki
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Posted: September 26 2012 at 2:58pm |
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No I am asking if I can sand the scratches out of the acrylic after I clean it. I am not going to sand the scum into the glass.
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