Back glass, clean or not clean!

[mbmikebray]

Just curious-I have noticed a high percentage of tanks have lots of growth etc on the back glass panel, is this for some beneficial reason or is it just easier to leave it 'natural'? my tank is cycling and the back panel is starting to look bad! if I scrape it all the growth etc will get into the water, maybe I should leave it like most reefers seem to do!!! Any comments.....

[ken55]

My personal reason is that it's difficult to reach back there. It also gives a natural looking back drop.

There may be other/better reasons but those are mine.

[Braxibear]

Algae growth or coraline growth? I cleaned the back tank when it was algae, but when the coraline took over, I kept it. I personally like the look of it on the back glass.

[bnumair]

i clean all sides as due in time it will all turn into a crusted layer that will require a blade and some elbow grease to get it off and may cause scratches in process. it much easier to wipe clean with a magnetic cleaner every 2-3 days.

Note: i have a in-wall tank with ONLY access is from the back so i have to have the back and sides clear in order to do maintenance and to see what i am doing.

[devildog999]

I leave my back panel alone. A) It's a PITA to even THINK about trying to clean up back there. B) It ensures there is always some algae for the snails if they over farm all other sources.

[sponger0]

I dont clean the back panel. I dont look in from the back and I like a natural looking display tank.

[Dubya_R_X]

If you don't like the looks of the back glass being dirty then by all means try and clean it. I think for most of us out there it's more trouble than it's worth....or nearly impossible to do!

[zebrafish]

It all comes down to a matter of personal preference. I clean the back galss, but I have seen a lot of covered back walls that look nice.

[den75]

I don't have my tank set up yet, but I would imagine it would be a real pain to clean the back glass unless you have an in wall set up and can get to the back of the tank.

[Donkeykong]

I clean the back panel but i have small tank now and it is pretty easy, when I had the 100 gallon...I just left it after a while.

[brad87us]

I leave mine alone. It also helps to hide the plumbing and wires on mine as I never painted the back.

[b0bab0ey]

I leave mine alone too. It's enough work just trying to keep the other 3 sides clean on a regular basis, along with everything else that comes up.

[LIFishGuy]

I too leave mine alone. I like the look of coraline on the back glass. The other 3 sides are super clean.

[mbmikebray]

Interesting replys, think I will clean the algea off and if it has corraline algea growing after cycling I'll probably leave it like most people on here.:beer:

[bellis31]

My blenny cleans it for me... Other than that I don't touch it..

[SimonSKL]

For those with lots of liverocks in their tanks, cleaning the back glass is next to impossible and won't gain much in appearance. Those prefer a minimalist look with lots of clearance between rocks and glass, keeping the back and side glass cleaned will be much easier and their tank will probably look better with all glasses cleaned. There are some with unique background like a shadow box would prefer to keep their back glass cleaned at all times. With all that said, I keep my back glass clean to show off the background.

[VectorAKA]

I am going to try to get xenia to grow on the back wall of my tank...the pulsing is so kewl.