Vintage Razor Blade Magnetic Algae Scrapers...

[Magnum Man]

I haven't found anything like these... I think mine were Penn Plax & used the Injector style single edge razor blades, 2 of them on the scraper piece... I remember them working leaps and bounds better than any of the new magnetic scrapers out there, that I have bought recently... the only downfall I remember about them, was they did not float... and after years the blades started pitting, & they didn't scrape as well... I have several sets of these, & am buying a new pack of the injector style blades, expect they'll work great again, after replacing the 20 year old razor blades...

anything out there similar today...

 

[Essjay]

I've got this, but I don't know if it's available in the US. The photo doesn't show it very clearly but the business end is a double edged blade held in place with a central piece of plastic which clips through holes in the blade and into the holder.

GS 45 Aquarium Glass Scraper

For the simple and effective cleaning of interior aquarium glass panes.

www.tetra.net

Edit - found a video which shows it much better

 

[Magnum Man]

handle scrapers have their place, but these were small, 3 ish centimeters square with a matching size on the outside to move the scraper piece around, the scraper piece could slide apart, & it held 2, on apposite sides, single edge razor blades, & they scraped algae really well ( of course I couldn't use it on my acrylic tank ) but the magnets were strong enough to do the old thick plate glass tanks

I'll take a couple pictures, when I get home, I still try to use them, after I started my tanks up, but the blades are too pitted to do a good clean job

 

[Magnum Man]

wow... this looks like a tough one... even looked through e-bay used aquarium stuff, looking for a picture... if I replace the blades, & they work like before... I'm going to have to take care of them, as there doesn't seem to be anything around similar... maybe it was a safety hazard, as the 2 edges stuck out of the magnetic block a few mm, so maybe some children got cut or???

and of you fish keepers as old as I am, remember these???

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Razor blades can really scratch up glass. One moment of carelessness and that scratch is yours forever. I use Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for normal maintenance (be sure to get the kind with no cleaning chemicals, just the sponge), and an old credit card for really tough stuff like black beard. It works just as well as a razor blade, and won't scratch your glass or cut your finger!

 

[GaryE]

I will never ever ever ever ever allow a magnetic scraper near any of my tanks. Did I say never ever? I have ruined a couple of tanks by missing tiny pieces of sand caught in magnetic scrapers. From now on, my arm gets wet.

The scratches when you want to take photos. Grrrrrrr. I'd buy balloon glofish flowerhorns before I'd ever buy another magnetic scraper.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Agree with Gary...tried the mag scrapers once...trapped sand = scratched glass

I use the Magic Erasers during WC day, when the water level is low, so that only a bit of my hand/arm gets dunked

 

[Magnum Man]

In all fairness, I never had a sand bottom aquarium back then...

 

[GaryE]

All you have to do is sit on a beach ... oh, you said sand bottom AQUARIUM. Sorry.

 

[Back in the fold]

I use a paper towel for most algae and a Scotch-Brite pad sometimes . I have few plants in three of my aquariums and none in two . The planted ones never have an algae problem because of my very light stocking and the plantless ones get a film of brown algae that builds up slowly over a couple months . It’s always been this way for me my whole fishkeeping days since 1965 . I used to have one of those Penn-Plax razor blade jobbies and I used it a lot until I discovered it was really overkill . I used the other end mostly for chasing fish into the net when I had frisky fish that didn’t like to be caught .
I think @Byron covered this algae thing once and explained very well that algae should never be a problem with healthy plants and correct stocking levels . Guess what boys and girls ? He’s right .

 

[Magnum Man]

right now I'm trying to incorporate floating plants in as many tanks as I can... I knowingly have too many hours of light on in my tanks, but right now I only get to see my fish a few times a day, so I like it, when they keep the same hours as I do... I have cut the intensity down a little, & may have the light come on like twice a day, & be off the rest of the time, if I have problems... right now, for the most part they are pretty good... but with the tanks being built in to the walls, with a work area behind them, cleaning the fronts of the tanks is harder when working from the back side... the magnet scrapers really work great in that instance...

 

[Back in the fold]

@Magnum Man - Those magnetic dealios do work in places that are hard to get to and in places where a guy might have to move accessories unnecessarily.

 

[Uberhoust]

I have magnetic scrapers but for whatever reason they freak my fish out so I don't use them anymore. If I clean the glass by hand the fish nibble on my arms but if I try to use a magnetic scraper, they start dashing around the tank trying to put as much distance between them in the cleaner. I suspect it is the noise they make as they slide over the glass. It can take a couple of days after a cleaning event before the fish mellow out again.

 

[Magnum Man]

I leave mine in my tank, & some of the bigger scrubber ones, the fish actually rest on the "shelf" it creates

 

[Byron]

right now I'm trying to incorporate floating plants in as many tanks as I can... I knowingly have too many hours of light on in my tanks, but right now I only get to see my fish a few times a day, so I like it, when they keep the same hours as I do... I have cut the intensity down a little, & may have the light come on like twice a day, & be off the rest of the time, if I have problems... right now, for the most part they are pretty good... but with the tanks being built in to the walls, with a work area behind them, cleaning the fronts of the tanks is harder when working from the back side... the magnet scrapers really work great in that instance...

There is nothing wrong with a different period of day/night. When I was working, the tank lights came on in the mid-afternoon and remained on until say 9 pm. The period is up to you, but it must be sufficient combined with the nutrients to provide only what the plants require.