Andrew Zimmerman
Community Member
The viewing panes, whether it be glass or acrylic are very important aspects to the aesthetics of your aquarium. Have you ever thought about how you are cleaning that crystal clear finish? Do you go left to right, up and down or do circles? Do you use a different method for the inside than the outside? No mater your answer there is one danger, scratches. If your aquarium is up long enough it will inevitably get a scratch. Most of my scratches over the years were well hidden and I would like to share my method on what made them less of an eyesore.
Every aquarium no matter how careful you are will get micro scratches, if not the feared full blown deep scratch. The reason you can see these scratches is because light hits the scratch and travels the length of it. This affect is viewable at certain angles more than others.
Cleaning with a scrubbing pad and doing circles on the viewing pane, your inevitable scratches will create a halo effect and be visible from every angle. Light will hit the scratches and travel the circle swirls. I highly suggest against this type of routine cleaning.
If you scrape left to right your scratch will travel the length of your aquarium. The placement of most aquarium lights creates the optimal situation for light to strike the scratch. Even micro scratches will accumulate over time and be viewable. I do use this method to clean the water line of my tank; I have a rimless tank and I find it’s a less messy event. If a scratch was to happen at the top it would also be out of the way when viewing corals.
Up and down scratches are another type that is a possibility but the effects are subdued. The placement of aquarium light makes this type of scratch not as bright due to the angles involved. In addition the light travels up and down the scratch and is only an annoyance when looking from specific positions. I clean most of my aquarium up and down including the outside. The few scratches that I have had over the years were almost invisible unless the scratch was in direct line of site between me and a coral.
When you find that you did scratch your aquarium keep that scratch clean. Algae will takes a footing in the crevice of the scratch and make it visible. It may be hard to keep that area clean but I find a MR. clean magic eraser will do the trick.
My final thoughts are to slow down and be methodical about cleaning the panes. A microfiber cloth on the outside and a plastic scraper on the inside works wonders. A scratch that is extremely deep or excessively long will be a heartbreak at any angle. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
Every aquarium no matter how careful you are will get micro scratches, if not the feared full blown deep scratch. The reason you can see these scratches is because light hits the scratch and travels the length of it. This affect is viewable at certain angles more than others.
Cleaning with a scrubbing pad and doing circles on the viewing pane, your inevitable scratches will create a halo effect and be visible from every angle. Light will hit the scratches and travel the circle swirls. I highly suggest against this type of routine cleaning.
If you scrape left to right your scratch will travel the length of your aquarium. The placement of most aquarium lights creates the optimal situation for light to strike the scratch. Even micro scratches will accumulate over time and be viewable. I do use this method to clean the water line of my tank; I have a rimless tank and I find it’s a less messy event. If a scratch was to happen at the top it would also be out of the way when viewing corals.
Up and down scratches are another type that is a possibility but the effects are subdued. The placement of aquarium light makes this type of scratch not as bright due to the angles involved. In addition the light travels up and down the scratch and is only an annoyance when looking from specific positions. I clean most of my aquarium up and down including the outside. The few scratches that I have had over the years were almost invisible unless the scratch was in direct line of site between me and a coral.
When you find that you did scratch your aquarium keep that scratch clean. Algae will takes a footing in the crevice of the scratch and make it visible. It may be hard to keep that area clean but I find a MR. clean magic eraser will do the trick.
My final thoughts are to slow down and be methodical about cleaning the panes. A microfiber cloth on the outside and a plastic scraper on the inside works wonders. A scratch that is extremely deep or excessively long will be a heartbreak at any angle. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
