Cleaning Magnets

Aquarium cleaning magnets are not all made the same. Good quality magnets made of rare-earth metals in a well sealed case that will not fall from the glass when moved quickly are not cheap. I started with the cheaper units and moved up the line until I spent $100 on a Magnavore 6. I’m not saying you need to spend that kind of cash on a magnet – but this sucker won’t fall off. And yet it still does poorly on removing coralline algae from the glass. It’ll do it, but it takes some elbow grease. You may find a new razor blade works much faster or an old credit card (acrylic safe too!). If you don’t like the mess of getting your arm wet with a razor or credit card then look at the Penn Plax Magna-Scraper combination I use.

You need to be very careful that you do not get any sand grains between the magnets or you will scratch your glass.

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  Kent Glass Scraper

  I no longer use super strong magnets for cleaning the glass. A grain if sand gets under them and the glass is scratched. I now use the kent glass scraper pictured left.

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  Magnavore VI

  Now this is a kick-ass magnet. This has to be one of the strongest magnets I've ever played with. These are so strong that if you place them directly together it is not possible to pull them a part...

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  Penn Plax Magna-Scraper

  As far as magnet go this is pretty weak. However, its value is not with its strength. Its value is that this magnet actually has two metal blades that are fantastic for rapid removal of coralline algae.

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  The Frag-Mag

  This is a product called "The Frag-Mag" by Aqua-Mags, LLC. (www.aqua-mags.com). This is claimed to be a modular coral attachment system.

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  Tunze 220.54 Cleaning Magnet

  Glass magnets are a handy tool with fish tanks. They make glass cleaning chores much simpler. These probably are not safe for acrylic tanks.