So I was scraping a little coralline off the front and side glass yesterday when I realized I hadn't touched the black glass in a year. It was 98% covered in thick purple coralline. I started to think about what it would look like if I completely scraped it all off and had just the black back. Holy crap...why didn't I do this months ago?! I couldn't believe how much a difference it made. Your eyes are automatically sucked into to the coral and aqua scape, even the fish pop and get your attention way more. I'm ticked I didn't take before and after pictures. Anyways, thought it would be a cool thread to see who scrapes and who doesn't. Also I'm going to test my cal and alk to see if the consumption changes at all over the next few days.
drs2140
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So I was scraping a little coralline off the front and side glass yesterday when I realized I hadn't touched the black glass in a year. It was 98% covered in thick purple coralline. I started to think about what it would look like if I completely scraped it all off and had just the black back. Holy crap...why didn't I do this months ago?! I couldn't believe how much a difference it made. Your eyes are automatically sucked into to the coral and aqua scape, even the fish pop and get your attention way more. I'm ticked I didn't take before and after pictures. Anyways, thought it would be a cool thread to see who scrapes and who doesn't. Also I'm going to test my cal and alk to see if the consumption changes at all over the next few days.
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I have a maintenance account in highland park that i always scrape the back glass (actually acrylic) and it looks cleaner than if I just let it go. Plus it makes my clients happy. 
my tank at home is a peninsula tank and the side against the wall has the overflow box on it, so i do not scrape that side just cuz it is so small it's not noticeable if i scrape or don't scrape. (if i did scrape it, I would see all the spider webs on the wall....yuck)
my tank at home is a peninsula tank and the side against the wall has the overflow box on it, so i do not scrape that side just cuz it is so small it's not noticeable if i scrape or don't scrape. (if i did scrape it, I would see all the spider webs on the wall....yuck)
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Too funny, i did that very thing and wondered why i never did it prior. The tanks just looks cleaner. I thought it was a new tank and the coral grew and inch, because of how much the cleaned black back highlighted everything. lol. Best little visual trickery that is never really talked about. I will have to dig through the archives for an old pic.
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95 Posts
So what is a good scraper , haven't found one yet
Once you get it all scraped, you can use a magnavore or strong magnet scraper with a dobie pad attached. If you get the coralline when it's fresh, it pops right off.
If it's too bad, I've used a stainless steel 3" paint scraper, carefully so I don't scratch. Makes short work of it.
I have great respect for folks that scrape acrylic tanks. I replaced mine with glass recently because it was such a hassle. Even the pros had trouble...except Slapshot. He's got a magic method I could never master.
If it's too bad, I've used a stainless steel 3" paint scraper, carefully so I don't scratch. Makes short work of it.
I have great respect for folks that scrape acrylic tanks. I replaced mine with glass recently because it was such a hassle. Even the pros had trouble...except Slapshot. He's got a magic method I could never master.
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Yes a razor blade does work good but a little pain in a$$ at the sand line
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I scrape my back glass 4 or 5 times a year. I probably should do it more often, but it is a little bit of a chore so that is how often it gets done.
As others have stated, corals pop way more, and the tank just looks better when it is cleaned up, especially if the back is painted black.
As others have stated, corals pop way more, and the tank just looks better when it is cleaned up, especially if the back is painted black.
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167 Posts
back glass, do you scrape or not
Scraping methodology aside, being that my systems are both inside cabinets and therefore unaccessible on 3 sides, combined with the fact the rocks are stacked a bit high, I do not scrape anything but the front. CA usage is an interesting angle though.I've never considered it aside from my needing to maintain the proper chemistry to aid it.
With that said, I've always been a fan of seeing the coralline in any system and welcomed the first signs of it in mine. Consider me a huge fan of coralline and while I can certainly see considering becoming coralline free all around at some point (such as a peninsula tank or walk around), in my current situation its growth is welcomed as a natural background.
Scraping methodology aside, being that my systems are both inside cabinets and therefore unaccessible on 3 sides, combined with the fact the rocks are stacked a bit high, I do not scrape anything but the front. CA usage is an interesting angle though.I've never considered it aside from my needing to maintain the proper chemistry to aid it.
With that said, I've always been a fan of seeing the coralline in any system and welcomed the first signs of it in mine. Consider me a huge fan of coralline and while I can certainly see considering becoming coralline free all around at some point (such as a peninsula tank or walk around), in my current situation its growth is welcomed as a natural background.
Keeping the back clean is something ive always done. Its really not to hard or a chore considering everything else we do for our tanks. Once a month ill take a razor and do the glass. Takes 20min max. It really keeps the view on the coral and fish and also when the back is covered in coralline you lose the look of your aquascape you spent so much time on getting perfect. Scrap it ftw!
A few days in now and I will never let it build up again. Everyone who has looked at the tank since I clean up the back have asked me what I Changed and how good everything looks...and all I did was spend 30 minutes with a razor lol.
I used to let the coralline go on my old tank for a while and it would get so bad I would have to break out the razor blade every couple of months to knock it all down. I always hated scaping the glass - it was a chore and you always ended up with scratches all over your hand and sore fingers. With my new tank I am able to get all around it fairly easily and I said I wasn't going to let that happen with this tank. So far I have been able to keep up with it. I hit it with the magnavore once or twice a week and it keeps down the film algae and the coralline. It is definitely the only way to go - it looks so much better scraped all the time.
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