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Cultivated Reef

Just say no to the magic eraser


Kungpaoshizi

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Do people actually use a magic eraser IN their tanks? I've heard for the stands and the outside of the glass for salt creep, but IN the tank? No way...

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What even is the magic eraser?

... by mr.clean...

... for stoves and stuff....

why use this in tank? or near the tank? im lost. but good read.

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What even is the magic eraser?

 

Mr. Clean product. Essentially a plastic version of steel wool. Used for general house cleaning. People use it for acrylic because it doesn't scratch acrylic. This means it is softer than acrylic and breaks apart when rubbed against acrylic. Releasing nano particles of plastic into the water. It has been shown that nano particles are detrimental to marine life. I read about a study where they found that nano particles of plastic would clog up the gills of bass, causing them to suffocate. I doubt this happens in reef aquaria as long as you aren't scrubbing for hours a day.

 

Edit: They don't use the scented stuff.

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Welcome to N-R.com Kungpaoshizi.

 

So it seems like they will ingest anything that size. I assume that this would include other particulates like fine particles of sand. Are we just assuming that if the particulates are plastic that it's bad? I mean, maybe it is, maybe they can deal with it.

 

 

What even is the magic eraser?

It's a melamine foam (kind of works like an extremely fine sandpaper). It can wear away when used (sort of like a pencil eraser).

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Welcome to N-R.com Kungpaoshizi.

 

So it seems like they will ingest anything that size. I assume that this would include other particulates like fine particles of sand. Are we just assuming that if the particulates are plastic that it is bad? I mean, maybe it is, maybe they can deal with it.

 

 

It's a melamine foam (kind of works like sandpaper).

 

I imagine as long as the plastic doesn't bind to anything organic, block any organic processes, or is too big to pass, that it is fine. But we don't know if this is the case.

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jedimasterben

I've been using them for years now as recommended by Matt Wandell from the Steinhart Aquarium. Good enough for them, good enough for me.

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I use them to clean my ato tank every few months, which obviously gets rinsed before refilled. They disintegrate so quick you would have to be nuts to use them inside a live system.

 

I use teflon safe dish sponges in my planted FW tank to clean the glass and they work great. They don't disintegrate like the magic erasers.

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I use them on my pico to clean the acrylic while it is empty, but have never used one while it was full - I know tons of people swear by them in a tank with water and never read any horror stories.

 

If you are worried about corals ingesting the micro particles, it is pretty low on the list of inedible things they eat. Corals ingest all kinds of non-edible things all the time. Just look around at all the pictures people have of LPS eating snails, crabs, rocks, sand, accidental frags of stony corals, etc. They ingest them and then spit them back out a few days to weeks later (or don't).

 

Just last month an acan of mine swallowed a live hermit with a big cerith shell and if that didn't damage the coral, I don't know what will.

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For the people who use them, do you use them IN the tank or just on the outside? I mean as long as there are no chemicals and the microplastic fibers are not coming off into the water to be consumed, I don't see the problem.

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I've used them in the kitchen and they pretty much erode away like a pencil eraser with use. I tried one dry on the outside of the tank near the top rim and fine dusty particles were coming off it and going into the water so I stopped using it. For those that use it wet, doesn't it crumble away into the water?

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The use in tank, under water while full, got into good rotation about 2005ish was the first time id heard it. there are enough years of use I believe it can be deemed safe, i realize thats contrary to the article but for me its a leap to go from that right to melamine being a causative agent of doom, its really well established like ten yrs now.

 

agreed plastics may be bad per article

 

how that extrapolates to melamine isn't established imo. When anything stays in good rotation on web boards for a decade, its not fake, we weed out crap by then

 

example, google "eco aqualyzer in the reef tank"

 

see how long that held up. We are good filters. We challenge science lots of times to try and show why something they said wouldnt work does...i think you can run melamine cleaning in any reef tank for any amount of time and have no bad outcomes, based solely on a decades worth of thread feedback. i have no idea why it is tolerated

 

OTS in my opinion was resultant of the hands off DSB phase of late 90s reefing and no other factor. we have totally beaten ots now just by either cleaning out or avoiding a sandbed. there is no more age limit to nano reefs, only luck and hardware luck needed.

 

I dont think the collective posts of anecdotes are useless as many say, we are amazing filters for what works and what doesnt. patterns emerge that are worth gold regarding aquarium knowledge

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Anecdotal internet forum evidence aside, it really isn't necessary to use magic erasers at all. I will choose not to use something that by design erodes away into the tank--even if totally benign.

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Anecdotal internet forum evidence aside, it really isn't necessary to use magic erasers at all. I will choose not to use something that by design erodes away into the tank--even if totally benign.

 

I'll chime in at this point - why are you guys using them inside your stocked tanks?

 

Is there something in there that you can't get off with a normal scrubber stick or wad of filter floss?

 

I'm not particularly concerned with the risks, just curious why they would be used in the first place... seems expensive when other things can be used.

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I dont use them either lol, I chemically burn off my micro algae. we are all a bunch of funnies. people liked the non scratching aspect of the melamine pads, it had a way of grabbing micro algae that was quite amazing. one pad might last a year or more, not expensive just among other optional equipment we use. I rate them as neutral, not bad or good just a cleaning option. not as common nowadays, everyones into starving the microalgae w gfo

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I'll chime in at this point - why are you guys using them inside your stocked tanks?

 

Is there something in there that you can't get off with a normal scrubber stick or wad of filter floss?

 

I'm not particularly concerned with the risks, just curious why they would be used in the first place... seems expensive when other things can be used.

 

This puzzles me too! I don't even use Magic Eraser in my regular household cleaning routine...

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I'll chime in at this point - why are you guys using them inside your stocked tanks?

 

Because they work exceptionally well and don't require scrubbing a single 8x10" panel for 5 minutes or more - a couple swipes and it is clean. The better reason is that even "acrylic safe" pads do eventually scratch the panels if you scrub too hard or too long and the magic erasers don't do that.

 

Plus, I use them for EVERYTHING in my apartment and they work incredibly well and are very, very cheap. At HD you can get a 3 pack of the big bricks for 3 or 4 dollas. After you use them a lot, you learn to know when they start to break down and they hold up very well for a short period of time, then break down very quickly. If you stop using them before they start to break down, no worries.

 

Plus, I only use them when the tank is drained so there is no risk, but I wouldn't hesitate to use them in a filled tank if it were needed.

 

This puzzles me too! I don't even use Magic Eraser in my regular household cleaning routine...

 

Try using one on the backsplash behind your stove or on your cabinets or walls where there is stuff splashed on - one or two swipes and it's gone. Whenever I use pencil on the wall for things like hanging shelves or pictures or whatever, one or two swipes and it is gone.

 

I also have a sub-micro RC heli and when you smack the wall with it, it leaves nasty black marks and it is literally the only thing that'll get them off.

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I've used these since I've gotten in the hobby, also know many people who use these. Up until now Ive never heard anything negative about them.

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