Cleaning Tall Acrylic Tank

[telamont]

Anyone have a good way of cleaning a 5 foot tall acrylic tank? The inside walls have some scratches and algae collects quickly in them. I need something that is tough and will not scratch. I cannot reach my arm or hand all the way to the bottom either. Thanks!

[cabinetman123]

Nice problem to have. I'd love to have a tank that deep. Must be some thick acrylic!!!

[Indymann99]

Mr clean Magic Eraser on the inside, with a acrylic safe mag float

Be sure to clean the outside BEFORE use, so you don't scratch the outside with dust particles.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/mrcleanmagnet.jpg (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Indymann99/media/mrcleanmagnet.jpg.html)

[kendrid]

I use an Algae Free Hammerhead on my acrylic tank. Depending on the thickness of your acrylic (it must be thick being 5' tall) you will need a more powerful model.
Like Indymann99 I use a fresh Magic Eraser on the inside and I put a microfiber cloth on the outside part of the magnet. One original Magic Eraser can be filleted into 3 pads.

To remove light scratches on the inside I use 3m Trizact sandpaper with the Hammerhead. If the scratch is light I will use 5000 grit. If it is a bit deeper I will use 3000 then 5000. I can polish out scratches in minutes with the 3M product and the magnet cleaner. If you don't run filter socks I highly recommend using one when using the sandpaper. The amount of acrylic dust they collect is crazy. They actually clog if I remove large scratches. I don't want those particles floating in the tank so I install and then remove a sock to collect it.

I also own the MicroMesh sand papers but I prefer the 3M products. They work faster and the results look great.

For coralline algae I use a Kent Marine pro scraper with the plastic blade. It removes it in seconds and does not scratch the acrylic.

[sowildpaul]

http://www.mightymagnets.com/floatingAndFlatFloating.html

[telamont]

wow thank you all. So I can actually buff out scratches even while the system is running? I am going to try your methods thank you all.