How to clean coralline algae off the glass?

[Aperture]

Hi there! I'm completely new to the hobby and I've been lurking on the reefcentral forums for well over a year now with big dreams. But when reality kicked in (unfortunately there's no way of dosing my wallet), I had to downsize those dreams a little. That in turn led me to nano tanks and these forums, and my dream lives on. :loveface

When looking at all these beautiful photographs, I've noticed that on the well established tanks there's always an incredible amount of coralline algae growing on the back glass, and even on the front and sides as well. I know it's a great sign that your tank is doing well, but is there any way it can be removed? I can't help but think it's distracting, and when on the front it's downright ugly. Would removing it affect the tank significantly, or are we stuck with letting it grow so much that the only solution is to pick up another tank and swap? Sorry to sound naive, I couldn't find any threads on the subject.

Thanks!

 

[little urchin]

i use an old toothbrush/old credit card/my fingernail to remove it whilst it's still a small patch

nick

 

[Dickie52]

yep....

catch it when it's very small..... :razz:

 

[sadielynn]

If you have glass a plastic razor blade works well. If you have an acrylic tank good luck most all things will scratch it . :mrgreen: I also agree catch it small for best results . :mrgreen:

 

[reefman23]

credit cards work well. Sometimes I use razor blades if I need extra muscle. Use razor blades carefully...ive heard you can scratch the glass, but Ive never had a problem.

Jesse

 

[Jennie]

Yep, credit cards are a cheap tool. Scraping it from the glass also helps to seed it around the tank.

 

[Aperture]

Thanks for the tips. I wanted a 24g aquapod or nanocube but I've heard issues about them cracking :anxious so I was thinking a 30g cube from oceanic instead. What would you guys recommend with that kind of setup?

 

[skipm]

:welcome to nanotank
I personally like the Oceanic 30 cube, I think it is one of the "perfect" tanks for a small reef. What kind of recommendation are you looking for? The tank? What to put in it?

 

[reefman23]

30g cubes are cool with a MH pendant hanging over it! NIce sized tanks for mini reefs...