DIY Magnet Scraper

[geoj]

Thought I would share. After trying to clean the coralline off the glass for an hour with one of the old long handled scrapers and getting a pain in the neck I did a www search. I found many differing mods some for a reasonable price other much too expensive. So I picked a design that looked good but one thing I did not like is most had proprietary replacement blades that you would have to order or were not adjustable. So take a look at my mod on the design.

 

[xandrew245x]

That is down right genius...might have to try this!

 

[geoj]

It works and you can find all the parts in the local stores. Not very hard to make.

 

[scrapman]

Great idea..but I doubt that your magnet add-on is going to apply enough pressure on the inside glass to scrape off anything serious, especially coralline algea.
I also tried to beat the overpriced lame $4.00 scraper blades!
The best I could come up with is your hand maneuvering an old fashion razor blade.
Sorry if it doesn't sound high-tech but it works better than everythinh I've tried so far!

 

[geoj]

Great idea..but I doubt that your magnet add-on is going to apply enough pressure on the inside glass to scrape off anything serious, especially coralline algea.

I also tried to beat the overpriced lame $4.00 scraper blades!

The best I could come up with is your hand maneuvering an old fashion razor blade.
Sorry if it doesn't sound high-tech but it works better than everythinh I've tried so far!
Well I am sorry to hear that you don't believe me as it does remove coralline. And I did take into account the use of a razor blade in my mod of the design. The way I slotted the attachment means you can adjust it to fit most any blade. So I guess you would have to try it for your self.
PS: if you use a razor keep it away from the silicone in the corners or you will remove it.

 

[scrapman]

I like your idea. Don't misunderstand my post. I have tried for ten years different methods to keep my glass clean. The plastic mounted stainless steel scraper that sells for approx $4.00 is junk IMO.
Like I said, I use a wide double edge razor blade (carpet installer type) that I maneuver by hand. Of course I'm careful at the silicon joints.
How did you attach your angled blade plastic holder to the in-water magnet?
How do you keep enough pressure against the glass so the blade really digs in the corraline deposit instead of "surfing" over it?
With my hand I can apply all the pressure I want. You cannot with your in-water magnet.
Again: no criticism here. We're all "entrepreneurs" in this community.
I just try to make sure I did not miss anything.

 

[geoj]

I like your idea. Don't misunderstand my post. I have tried for ten years different methods to keep my glass clean. The plastic mounted stainless steel scraper that sells for approx $4.00 is junk IMO.
Like I said, I use a wide double edge razor blade (carpet installer type) that I maneuver by hand. Of course I'm careful at the silicon joints.

How did you attach your angled blade plastic holder to the in-water magnet?
I used pvc pipe glue
How do you keep enough pressure against the glass so the blade really digs in the corraline deposit instead of "surfing" over it?
The magnet must be the right size if it is weak it will not work as well and a new blade helps lots. It dose not take the coralline off in one easy pass it works almost as well as a long handled scraper.
With my hand I can apply all the pressure I want. You cannot with your in-water magnet.
Again: no criticism here. We're all "entrepreneurs" in this community.
I just try to make sure I did not miss anything.

You can look at the pics above and see in the background a side panel completely covered in coralline that took over 8 months to build up. The glass panel that the magnet is attached to in that same pic was also covered the same. I feel that cleaning with my magnet was easier then using the scraper.
You don't have to agree...