treesprite December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 I have been impatiently waiting for the little specks of green to turn into little specks of pink, which is now happening. Now I need to decide whether or not to let the coraline cover the side walls. I was originally planning to let the side walls go crazy like with the 45, but now I'm not so sure. The 45 was only 12", but this tank is 18 so looking in the ends is like looking into the front of a small tank, and I can see everything everyone is doing in there. Of course letting it cover over allows me to have less work to do I guess I'm just looking for opinions on having the side walls covered with the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystical Lady December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 Good question!! I will be closely watching the answers on this because I am now in the same situation as you..... also just exactly HOW is the coraline removed from the sides without scratching?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite December 13, 2007 Author Share December 13, 2007 my 45 got scratched so badly over the years.... looks like a nightmare. People often use razor blades and that's what I was doing that got the 45 like it is now. I told myself I wasn't going to take a razor inside of this tank, so I've got to find alternatives so that I can get off anything that evolves out of laziness that is hard to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 i have much success with a handheld acryllic ice scraper but find that I have to have my hand very close to the scraping part in order to get enough torque to chip away the coraline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 I have a 90, so this may not be the same. But, I like looking into the sides of my display tank. Because there's so much going on in there, it gives me an extra 36 linear inches of view instead of the 48 inches available only in the front. It also lets me see more clearly what's going on in the sandbed behind the rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 I would just add a ton of turbo snails and you won't have to worry about it too much. Personally, I like looking in the sides.......it gives you a view of what the critters can be doing behind the rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 Personally, I like looking in the sides.......it gives you a view of what the critters can be doing behind the rocks. Gosh Steve, getting your kicks out of seeing what the creatures do behind closed doors now? Next thing you know you'll be setting up a tank with just the back showing, and then of course taking it down soon there after.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 Gosh Steve, getting your kicks out of seeing what the creatures do behind closed doors now? Next thing you know you'll be setting up a tank with just the back showing, and then of course taking it down soon there after.............. Hey, I can't let Howard be the only dimented one on the boards!! I'm going for the Guinnes Book of Records for the most tanks set up and broken down in a five year period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rioreef December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 Clean the sides, it is worth it. You paid a lot for that tank and all the life in it, why limit your viewing. I have a chair next to mine and it is a great place to sit and observe (or in many cases, the fish observing me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 Another vote to keep them clean. I use a special metal scraper with a long handle to clean the coraline off. Every LFS on the planet carries it, and you can change out the "blade" section. Scratches far less than when a chunk of sand gets stuck in the magnet cleaner! Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 13, 2007 Share December 13, 2007 I have been impatiently waiting for the little specks of green to turn into little specks of pink, which is now happening. Now I need to decide whether or not to let the coraline cover the side walls. I was originally planning to let the side walls go crazy like with the 45, but now I'm not so sure. The 45 was only 12", but this tank is 18 so looking in the ends is like looking into the front of a small tank, and I can see everything everyone is doing in there. Of course letting it cover over allows me to have less work to do I guess I'm just looking for opinions on having the side walls covered with the stuff. I vote for keeping it clean. And start NOW - because it is MUCH easier to clean little tiny specks of coralline than the quarter-sized pieces you'll have by next week! For a glass tank - use the 'yellow' scrapers that you get at any LFS. Be gentle, but insistent. Don't make long, sweeping passes, get fresh blades when needed; don't use them if they are bent. If you can't get it off holding the end of the handle; hold it right up next to the scraper part. Prevention: Keep that green stuff from sticking with your regular tank cleaner magnet. Then it can't turn into little pink spots. In my tank right now - if I don't run the cleaner over the walls about every 3 days - it's time for the scraper. Stuff sneaks up on you ... nothing.... nothing... nothing... little spots... BIG spots! Gotcha! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite December 13, 2007 Author Share December 13, 2007 I need to get a magnet cleaner... I have a small old one that isn't so great. I do have a plastic ice scraper for in the tank already, lost amongst tank junk so I'll look for it. Thanks for the tips on how exactly to use the tools. Part of the hesitation about leaving the ends free of coraline is that having it there will prevent scratches because I won't have to deal with cleaning them off, so knowing proper use helps a lot with this. I hadn't thought about the sandbed... very good reason for keeping the ends viewable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now