Diy - Algae Scraper

[Dr. Bogger]

Ok, well i thought i would share my DIY project i did.

Items Needed:
1. Fish Net
2. Razar Blade (Special Kind, See picture below)
3. Hot Glue Gun
4. Wire Cutters


Ok, For the razar blade, you need a special kind, with 2 notchs at the top.

Look at the picture below, do you see the 2 open notches? Thats the kind you need.

Now, take the fish net, and cut off the net part off of the wire/handle.

You should have a net, with no net (if that makes any sence ).
Now, with a pair of wire cutters, cut the cut the wire at the end of the square, So you have 2 wires sticking out.
Take one of those wires, and bend it aside (incase we mess up with the first wire).

Bend the wire in a curve, so the wire will go thru the two notches in the razar blade.
Once you have the wire bent so its securely in the two notches on the razar blade, Take your hot glue gun, and put as much glue as you can to hold it there.
Be generous, but try not to get any on the sharp part of the blade.

What i did to cool down the glue faster, was dip it in some cold water, that also helps make the glue so its stronger - Beleave me, this realy works.

Once thats is all set, you can cut off the extra wire that we didnt use.

At the end, you should have a algae scraper that looks like this:

I hope this works for everyone, it works pritty damn good for me!

if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[iairj84]

not a bad idea at all... FYI those knives are labeled or called box cutter knives in stores and can be found at most any hardware store... Seems like an interesting idea and I might try it when I break a net. The only thing I can think of is that the hot glue might not bond all that well with the metal on the scraper. I would probably use an epoxy but the hot glue might hold up.

 

[Dr. Bogger]

The hot glue on mine holds realy well

The trick to make it stronger, is right after you put the hot glue on it, (while its still melted), put it in cold tap water (as cold as possible).
This will make the hot glue dry very fast, and as a side-effect, it will make it much stronger than if it air-dryed.

I've used mine 5 times so far (on 4 different tanks) and it hasent fell apart yet.

The next trick, is to use the right kind of hot glue gun & glue. You can actualy buy the "extra strangth" hot glue stick at most hardware stores.
If you can get your hands on some of that, it will work even better.

However, i did not use the extra strangth when i made mine.

 

[Captain Retardo]

I found that a small amount of filter fiber (about $5 for a huge bag, which by the way is used for filter catridges) can be used effectively to scrape algae off, it actually works really well, algae sticks to the filter fiber, and you can just rub off the algae later. I have been using a piece about 6" by 10" for about a year now, still works really well. If you wanted to you could attach that to a stick

 

[cheesy feet]

That would scratch the glass

 

[Dr. Bogger]

Not realy... if you use acrilic tanks, it will scratch it - but a razr blade wont bother it, if used properly.

 

[Chunkmuffin85]

This is a great idea I really like it. I use to detail cars and we used razor blades on the windows all the time, especially on sap. Never any scratches, and we did it on all the cars, even a BMW M5

 

[matt93pgt]

If you want a scraper that will last forever and cost about 6 bucks then go to lowes or home depot and ask where you can find the scrapers/putty knives. They will have a various selection of sizes and qualities. I got the 6" stainless steel professional scraper for 6 bucks.