Possible to have a scratch-free tank while using a magnetic cleaner?

[Aquavaj]

Between the magfloat and magnifying viewer my old 120 got pretty scratched up. So on my nano I resorted to using a long forcep and magic erasers cut up into small cubes to clean. Completely scratch free for 4 months. On my 40g upgrade I'm thinking of doing the same but was wondering if there are better cleaner/scrapper out there. Having to remove the mesh lid to clean does get old after awhile. Or will these eventually scratch at one point or another?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I use mighty magnets. Problem is you will almost always pick up sand which causes majority of the scratches

 

[brandon429]

I have a very expensive 6 foot tall acrylic column tank, it’s an aqua tower out of Florida

am determined to keep it 100% scratch free top to bottom, even wiping algae softly isn’t an option


what works for one option is this, and it’s powerful: drain cleans. Any balanced system from waste and light intensity shouldn’t need cleaning all the way to the bottom of the front glass, it should be the upper third needing cleaning or else I bet the tank is packed with sandbed and rock detritus + too strong lighting


once the nutrient and lighting and bioloading is set for once a week / top zone needs cleaning I would simply drain out a third of the water into a brute exposing the dirty glass. Wet paper towel with peroxide light wiping, to wet, not to remove any algae. Took one minute. Left tank drained about 4 minutes then quickly add water back and the glass looks as dirty as before

but next day lighter, not a single scratch. Next day, nearly clear. Third day till about ten more days totally clear and that’s what I do to never entertain a single scratch, cost of strange looking acrylic tanks.

 

[andrewey]

Magic erasers are a good approach to reduce scratches. I use tunze care daily to remove film algae try and minimize coraline buildup, but every so often I have to go in there with a razor blade. I've been largely successful in reducing the number of scratches in the tank with this technique, but it's not fool proof. Calcifying organisms such as coraline algae and spirobid worms always present a challenge in balancing the force needed for removal with the finesse not to scratch the tank.