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Magnets for Cleaning

There are a number of ways to clean algae off of aquarium glass, such as razor blades or scrapers. Perhaps the most convenient method is to use cleaning magnets. The greatest advantage to cleaning magnets is they allow your hands to remain dry. Cleaning magnets come in pairs. They are plastic-encased magnets with an abrasive surface on one magnet. Magnetism holds a pair together across aquarium glass, and the user slides the outer magnet over the outer glass. The abrasive surface of the inner magnet scrapes away algae. Aquarium cleaning magnets have seen gradual improvements over the years, and newer magnets have few of the disadvantages of early magnets.

Early Cleaning Magnets
- Early aquarium cleaning magnets worked fine for most aquariums, as most tanks have fairly thin glass. For aquariums with thick glass, though, these magnets were generally too weak to remove serious algae buildup. Thicker glass resulted in a less forceful scraping action.
Stronger Cleaning Magnets
- Developments in cleaning magnets in the 1990s allowed a more forceful scraping action on thicker glass. Still, some were ineffective on 1-inch glass. Magnets strong enough for such thicknesses of glass could be prohibitively expensive.
Rare-earth Cleaning Magnets
- Rare-earth magnets are perhaps the strongest aquarium cleaning magnets currently on the market today. Rare-earth magnets contain Neodymium Ion Boron. They have enough force to thoroughly scrape even 1-inch glass.
Floating Magnets
- A common problem with cleaning magnets is the tendency of the cleaning half to come loose from the glass and sink to the bottom of the tank. A floating magnet has a buoyant cleaning half, so if it becomes detached it will float to the top. This is a great improvement, since retrieval becomes much easier.
Warnings for Using Cleaning Magnets
- To avoid injury, do not allow strong magnets to snap together on your fingers. Do not let the two halves of stronger magnets come together without foam or glass between them, or they may be very difficult to pull apart again. Do not let strong magnets snap forcefully together on glass, as the glass may break. Be careful not to get abrasive particles such as dirt on the scraping surface of a stronger magnet, as scoring of the glass may result.

Animals & Science