Lets talk about acrylic maintanence

[Dilan Patel]

Acrylic is great for perfect clarity. Only problem is it scratches...easily. I have tried credit cards,magic erasers,etc what do you all use to clean the caked on coraline near the sandbed. I know it is not easy to clean acrylic tanks but I want to find more options that might help me and others who look at this thread in the future.

 

[kireek]

I use a credit card as well.However there are several areas in my tank that are hard to reach.As a result the coraline has become very established and incredibly hard to remove.

 

[Flameback Pair]

What is acrylic crazing?

 

[Xanthurum]

Since this topic happens to fall under an area where I can be of assistance I will try to answer any and all questions. In case anybody is curious about me I work with acrylic for a living and the company I work for designs, builds, and finishes custom acrylic tanks. I'm not sure if I can name the company so for now I'm not going to. Once I get clarification from the Moderators I may be able to but I don't want to inappropriately advertise or step on any toes.

Dilan, I have made some scrapers using acrylic that we have sent to customers in the past. Acrylic is very difficult to scratch when using another piece of acrylic.

What is acrylic crazing?

Crazing is a term used for tiny stress fractures. There are a few different reasons that crazing can appear but probably the most likely culprit is from excessive heat during the finishing process. Another common cause is pressure from using material thinner than what should have been used.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I use to struggle with keeping acrylic clean but i found the magic bullet. The dobie pad made by scotch brite and sold at grocery stores. Take the sponge off, slide the pastix mesh over your mag cleaner.. tadah!!

 

[Bluedore]

I use to struggle with keeping acrylic clean but i found the magic bullet. The dobie pad made by scotch brite and sold at grocery stores. Take the sponge off, slide the pastix mesh over your mag cleaner.. tadah!!

Could you post a pic of it? Thanks.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Could you post a pic of it? Thanks.

Im telling you, they are AWESOME. Easily remove coraline, green spot algae in freshwater system and doesnt scratch.

I try to keep as little sand as possible near the edges of my tank so i can clean without picking it up and scratching.

Cheers.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Greatful to have a acrylic expert on board to help. So people say that the magic eraser woorks for coraline but I have tried and it still doesnt work as good as a credit card. Is it true that credit cards don't scratch acrylic. So when you mean acrylic scraper. You basically a piece of acrylic together like a blade and it can scrape the tank without scratching it?

 

[madehtsobi0109]

I use the Kent hand held scraper. Works good for me.

Interested in what xanthurum has!

 

[Xanthurum]

Yes it's a scraper made from acrylic. We take a piece half inch material and cut it to let's say 3,4 or 5 inches in width by about the same length. Then put a 45 angle on one side to make them.

Although credit cards are unlikely to scratch acrylic the trouble is they are flimsy.

As for the Dobie pad, it may not look like it is scratching the acrylic I assure you it is. Try using it on the outside of the tank if you don't believe me. I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DO NOT TRY IT ON THE OUTSIDE! Water hides the tiny scratches but you are scratching it. The scratches can be buffed out with acrylic polish but the tank would have to be empty to do so.
Here is an example of what we do

 

[Fallling]

I let coralline get out of control (one side almost 90% covered and the 2 were at 50% coverage) on my 125 acrylic tank. I'm using the sandpaper that comes in acrylic scratch removal kits (high grit, diamond sandpaper for wet polishing) to get it under control. I'm handing sanding with 4000 grit and up to remove what I can. The stubborn spots require lower grit first (I'm staying between 3200 - 6000), but that does require being more careful as it can scratch.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I've used a dobie pad for 15 years. my tank looks great. I'm going to try an inconspicuous spot on the side to see what happens. Funny its when I switched to Fiji pink sand a year ago that I started scratching the tank. I'm going to rip that sand out. It flies all over to easily. I use a Dobie pad cover and a traditional magnet with acrylic pad.

I just realized I dug up an old thread

 

[drtrash]

Problem i have with dobie is it can trap a piece of sand/gravel and scratttchhhhh

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I agree with this. You cannot catch any sand or gravel in it or any other cleaner pad.

 

[WilRams]

So for just regular cleaning what’s everyone using? I don’t let it get to where I need to scrape anything off. I would love to use something magnetic. Luckily it’s just my frag tank that’s acrylic. I like to stick to glass since I don’t have to worry too much about scratching it.

 

[Freddy0144]

What is acrylic crazing?

Crazing is a bunch of micro fractures that occur in the inside of the acrylic and looks like cracks in the acrylic. They are weak spots. They can not be repaired or fixed. This usually happens when the acrylic panel is to thin to support the stress from the water weight / pressure