Magnet cleaners and Corraline

[jlehigh]

Hey all,

For the first time in probably 6 months I posted on reefcentral because I figured this was a lil more specialized to big tanks but go figure.. no reponses.

ANYWAY:
I have a 3/4" acrylic 280 Gal tank which has matured and Corraline is becoming a nusance on the front panel.

My MagFloat does a decent job keeping the daily algae growth off but cannot remove the corraline.

Does anyone out there have experience with some of the stronger magnet cleaners and are they capable of removing Corraline?

BTW: SCRAPERS TERRIFY ME!!!! I scratched the hell out of some arcylic with one.. (acrylic safe.. HA!)
Thanks!


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[DonW]

I have a neat scraper I made from acrylic. Bend 1/4" acrylic slightly at the edge only. Glue on a few Rare earth magnets. Then use the outside of your mag float to move it around. It wont float but does a beautiful job on coraline.

I know you can spend big bucks on others but I dont know how they work on coraline.

Don

 

[jlehigh]

thanks Don but how do I bend the acrylic? Torch and a vice?

 

[DonW]

Sure, you only need a slight bend and if you burn it no big deal. Acrylic bends real easy.

Don

 

[jlehigh]

I've got some scraps I can giver a go. If you ever get around to some pics that would be helpfull but don't go out of your way.

Thanks again

I welcome anyone esles feedback suggestions

 

[DonW]

I think I'm going to make a mag cleaner with bullnose edges. You cant get into the corners of a bent acrylic tank. I have some thick uhmw, just dont know if its aquarium safe.

Don

 

[RockyHeap]

Use a plastic cover plate off a house electrical wall outlet........its soft plastic, so won't scratch the plexiglass tank, and has two built in handy finger holes for good grip. Cuts right through mature coraline too.

I also just started using a 6" wide rubber squeegee to keep the diatom algae in control

 

[kimoyo]

Hey jlehigh,

When I was reading on www.oregonreef.com I noticed that he used a kent scraper very carefully and a magnavore 10 cleaning magnet. But he also suggested moving your light so that your front panel would be in the shade. Less light = less algae, sounds like a great idea. But I do wonder if there is a better way for all the panels.

BTW, love the way you setup your tank. What dimensions is it, and who made it? I'm sure I read this but can't remember.

Paul