How do I get algae off the glass without emptying the tank?

[Soupysteve]

... mag float? Really, I don't think I'd have stayed in the saltwater hobby without one. No mess involved at all - and sometimes guests at my house have more fun playing with the mag float than they do looking at the inside of the tank.
I am sure some stoner who didn't like to get his/her hands wet came up with the idea. There are many brands and sizes...

 

[KarlTh]

Credit card. Hard enough to push it off, soft enough not to scratch the glass.

 

[NickD]

Snails?

 

[CBWMN]

Steel wool (unsoaped of course)

 

[johnlarson66]

If it is too much for a mag-floater then I suggest a plain old razor blade, like others have suggested.

I have big arms also, so I just do it during the middle of a water change. I own one of the scrapers with the blue/green scrubby stuff on the end. but it doesn't work well. I handle would be cool, but I have not had to break out a razor in a while.

Once you get caught up, then the mag floater will work just fine for upkeep.

 

[WaywardSon]

Ah. Thanks for the info! I was concerned about the scratching with a blade but seems like it's not a problem!

Oh, but it is a problem. You need to be "very" careful when using a blade - the glass will scratch.

I have used a MagFloat algae scraper and wow it does a great job. I had the basic algae and also the dark green spot algae that's a little tougher to remove. The MagFloat cleaned it all - you do need to be patient, but it has taken all the algae out of my tank - I love it - here's a related thread.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

A 98 cent plastic putty knife from Lowe's.

 

[Arakkis]

Get Nerite snails, if you can get 1 per gallon, you'll probably have no algae by the end of the week and no more scrubbing....ever. The don't eat healthy plants and they can't reproduce in FW.

 

[PuppyFluffer]

I was going to say nerite snails too! They are really sweet. I have four in a 10 gallon and I have to supplement them with algae wafers as they clean so well I am concerned that they won't have enough to eat!

 

[uglyfido]

Not to steal a post, but do most LFS's carry these nerite snails? I've never heard of them but I am starting to get some serious algae in my tank and this sounds like a great idea.