You can buy sponges on a stick to help clean, I think they have one rougher side and one smoother side; I've only seen Aqua One do these; although I am more than sure other places do them. I don't have one of those; I have a magnetic cleaner like howard_hopkinson; on one side it's rough (the inside of the tank) and on the other side it's smooth (outside of tank) - the theory is it will remove all the dirt from inside and shine the outside. Brilliant invension.