Clean back wall?

[lickyricky]

So I’ve heard a lot of conflicting opinions so add yours to the discussion!
Should you clean algae off the back wall of your tank? If so what’s the best method?

 

[K. Steven]

I've always been OCD about clean glass, but now I'm letting the back grow what it wants. It gives the snails some nice film and let's some biodiversity colonize that space. I guess if you never touch it, it may act as a pseudo-scrubber, as long as the snails continuously clean it.

 

[Kremis]

mine stays clean because of urchins

 

[coweyes298]

I have a filthy back wall. I just cleaned 1/4 of my back glass. (it is painted black on outside) And now my powder blue is messing with that clean portion all day. Charging, tail wagging as the clean black back shows his reflection...

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I have always started out with the intention of keeping the back clean because I love the look and the sense of depth. Life usually gets in the way and eventually the coraline takes over. I hope to do better on my new tank.

 

[alten78]

I try to clean mine (painted black) at least once month, maybe bi-weekly. I find it just makes everything look that much cleaner but as corals continue to grow I dont have much room and access to areas because of my canopy and poor tank position...i knew i shouldve left more room between the wall to get my hand/arm behind it.

 

[Gil03]

I'm not sure what the conflicting aspect to the discussion would be....as far as I'm concerned it's a personal preference in regards to aesthetics, simply put clean or not clean. I personally keep mine clean due to the fact that I chose the red sea reefer 525 because of its more modern rimless look, the clean back wall IMO goes better with the overall modern/contemporary look than a dirty back wall.

 

[mtraylor]

I scrape mine every now and then if I see something that bugs me that is on it. Other than that I leave it alone. I do not bother the coralline algae.

 

[eschulist]

I did not paint the back of my tank so I make sure to keep the back clean and clear.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I clean periodically a portion at a time, leaving some crud for snails. Once in a while I scrape it totally. So far not really getting heavy with coraline. That I'll keep off. A film of algae isn't going to be obvious so I can ignore it.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

I like seeing the coralline algae on the glass. It just seems more natural in my opinion. Just on the back glass. And plus the snails love all the extra food when algae grows.

 

[Legal Reefer]

I leave mine for snails and hermit grazing. My diamond goby eats some algae off of it also. I'm hoping for coralline algae, and might eventually put some star polyps or encrusting coral on the back.

 

[andrewkw]

My back wall is getting harder and harder to clean. I accidentally frag a few things scraping but I will still continue to scrape as long as I can. I've yet to see a tank that wouldn't look better with a clean back. In narrower tanks like my 112 gallon it can get hard, but when I finally get my "final" tank I will design both the aquascape and coral placement in such a way that it will be easier to do.

Other than a frag tank in display a dirty back wall is probably what I like the least.

 

[PatW]

I try to keep the back wall sort of clean. Access is hard. It is a 6’ tank with a canopy.

 

[Hazenight]

I like to keep it clean on my red sea reefer

 

[Cire]

I believe it’s personal preference. I like a clean back wall because it helps to define the aquascape (rocks and corals) as well as add a sense of depth. I look at a reef tank as art and science. The art part makes me OCD about the glass.

 

[CPL376]

I stuck some green star polyps to mine and let it grow. Only about a third covered so far but I think it looks good

 

[Hosscooper]

I let mine go till my wife made me clean it. Plenty of coraline algae on there too!

 

[JVU]

It’s a matter of opinion, but in my opinion if if you have the tank depth to keep the rockscape off of the back glass it greatly improves the overall appearance to keep it clean. Mostly due to the sense of depth and contrast.

I love the BRS160 video series but lately I’ve been having trouble paying attention to what they are saying since they have let the back glass get covered and it basically looks bad. I’m thinking of offering to fly out from California to scrape their back wall if they’ll let me lol.

 

[ntayler]

I just cleaned mine for the first time in 9 months...took a lot of elbow grease with the Kent scraper.

As I increased my nutrient levels from zero the back wall had gotten some really difficult to scrape green algae, not hair, not green coraline, but the snails couldn’t eat it. Don’t know what it is, but I think I will be doing some more regular back wall scraping. I don’t so much mind the coraline, but this was starting to cover it