valen

I learned of products called algae magnets that you can use to clean the glass / acrylic from the outside of the tank. (Magnet pulls a pad against the glass).

Are these devices any good ? Which one is best ? Anybody not like these things ?

sirdarksol

I've got a couple of them; they're pretty neat. I don't know that there's an appreciable difference between brands, but if you've got acrylic, be sure you buy one that says "safe for acrylic," or you'll scratch your tank up really bad.

cerianthus

Will work on most algae (slimy) but not on tough algae spots. Make sure you get the proper mag, either for glass or acryylic.

pinkfloydpuffer

They have ones that float, which I hear are much more convenient. Don't have to go swimming if the magnets come apart, lol

Jess

They work well, but I've just tried the ol' credit card scraper. It really works well. Yes, you have to put your whole arm into the tank but it cleans all spot algae and more with one sweep. I'll have to figure a way to attach to a long handle.

Angela_96

I like mine for everyday cleaning, but for the hard to get off algae (like mentioned above) they aren't good for it. I use the reg algae pad to get that stuff off.

I do know that the magnet doesn't work well at all in the SW tank.

valen

I was concerned that going around the corners with the magnet (from the front to the side panel for example) would mess up the silicone seal in the corner. (It's a 10 gal). Any experience with that ?

sirdarksol

I have never had a problem with it. The silicone pretty much just bends out of the way of the little bristles.

acidpope

I have both a Mag-Float and a cheap $2.00 scrub pad. The MF is tops for not getting your hands or arm wet while doing a complete cleaning of the glass. The most that might touch the water is your finger tips if you prefer to manually move from side to side if you're not comfortable going over the silicone corners. If you clean every day or two this should be all you need.

If you let cleaning go for awhile though, to the point large sections of glass are covered with algae then the MF will send sizable, visually unappealing, pieces of algae flying off into the water. These then get stuck on decor, filter caps and eventually will mean you'll have to clean your mechanical filter possibly sooner than you would normally would because of the size and amount of large free floating algae it will suck up.

So if you constantly maintain your glass then the Magnet will be more than enough. If you have large areas covered on the glass though I would suggest using a scraper in unison with your gravel vac so you can clear large patches and the float off will immediately get sucked into the vac as you go.

agabr123

i just use an algae scrubber instead of the magfloat, even the smallest one (maybe half an inch tall and two inches long) is like $10

Shawnie

I just got one with a long handle about 24 inches long for deeper tanks at walmart for $4 as I cant put ANYTHING in my convict tank for algae ..they are meanies!!

redkulat

I have a magfloat but ever since I got my pleco it's become useless. Ironically enough, the pleco seems to hide under the magfloat...it's become the pleco's favourite hiding spot in the whole tank (even a large castle just for it).

ooibhuskyoo

I have used a mag float everyday at night after I turn my light off and I haven't had huge algae outbreaks on my old 10 gallon tank.

penny

pardon my ignorance, but can someone tell me what a mag float is?

sirdarksol

It's a magnetized algae scrubber that goes in the tank. There's a magnetized, felt-backed handle that goes on the outside of the tank. When you pull the handle around, the magnets drag the scrubber across the inside.