THIS IS FOR ALL THE TALL-TANK MFK'S
- Thread starter mrwinkle
- Start date
How thick are the walls of your tank? Mightymagnets.com sells magnetic algae scrapers for acrylic/glass up to 4" thick. Large magnets are not cheap, but they make keeping the walls free of algae so easy. I'm using a Magnavore 10 on my tank and it works well; the magnet is almost too strong- my tank is 1.25" thick acrylic.
You really have to be careful with magnets this strong...they can be dangerous to handle. I bought my Magnavore used and the guy selling it lost a chunk of flesh while he was telling me how dangerous they are...the magnets slammed together at the edge of his finger and nearly ripped off his nail.
Thanks! I love it
I don't need a ladder to feed them. I cut a 2" access/feeding hole in the top of all my acrylic tanks. I very rarely open the original tank lids now. My wife can even feed them but she gets on her toes to reach that high LOL.
When I do any kind of maintenance I need to use a ladder. I also have a 4' snake grabber that's very sturdy for moving around rocks or drift wood.
I have 1" thick acrylic on my 4' deep tank and normal magnet scrapers you get at the pet store just don't work. I had to buy one of these massive ones. I think it was $120! I love it now and it should last forever. It was very painful to buy but it's so easy to use and keep the acrylic clean. I agree with the dangerous part! Mine came with a 1' thick piece of Styrofoam to keep the magnets separated while it was stored. If not for this Styrofoam I don't think I could get the magnets apart.
I have a heavy duty magnet but never used it...was afraid to try it on the 300 gallon tank. Don't see how it would work on the front wall of my large in-wall tank. If it wasn't in-wall, I could see starting the magnet on the top and working it to the front. Only possibility would be one person holding one part inside the tank, and another person with the other half on the other side of the wall...
My last house I had my 360 installed in the wall. I had to do the exact same thing, have my wife set the magnet in the water and push it towards the front and I would stand in the front of the tank with the other magnet and catch it.
Even more PITA was feeding because I did that once or twice a day. I would go into the fish room and drop food in the tank then run around to the front and watch the fish eat. My next in the wall build will have a tiny door in the front, above the fish tank. If could even be a picture or something on a hinge, maybe even a mounted fish or something? That hole would be large enough for the magnet cleaner and feeding. At the most 6"x6" in the wall and maybe a 5" diameter hole cut out in the top of the acrylic tank.
I think I'm going to have to stand on my platform with my long handled carwash brush to clean the front wall--or get in with the fish.
I think I'm going to have to stand on my platform with my long handled carwash brush to clean the front wall--or get in with the fish. I understand what you're saying about a feeding hole in the front. For us, it would defeat the "framed in tank" look we're going for.
