Just say no to the magic eraser

[GokesReef]

 

Awesome stuff about the magic eraser

 

Alright - you've convinced me to grab a pack. If nothing else then for cleaning behind the stove!

 

And you're right, I forgot to consider the acrylic tank users. Totally makes sense in that regard.

[Red_Blenny]

I'm also a magic eraser because I have an acrylic tank and it works pretty damn good. It saves a lot of time wiping down the tank wall compared to other alternative means (like using shop towels). Plus, like what jservedio said, acrylic safe pads/blades overtime can scratch the tank wall if it's not replaced often, thus adding up the cost. Magic Erasers are dirt cheap and it's a pretty damn good house cleaner.

 

 

Though, I wonder if other plastics we put in our tank (powerheads, pumps, egg crates, suction cups, etc.) can degrade over time

[CrazyEyes]

They are also great to use in the corners of glass tanks where you don't want to use something else on the silicone.

[jedimasterben]

They're like One Wipe Charlies. One wipe is all you need for everything but coralline or algae that is REALLY tough.

[CrazyEyes]

One wipe Charlies ftw!

[jservedio]

 

Alright - you've convinced me to grab a pack. If nothing else then for cleaning behind the stove!

 

And you're right, I forgot to consider the acrylic tank users. Totally makes sense in that regard.

 

I use maybe one brick a year for my pico (maybe $0.50 worth) and probably 30 or 40 a year on my apartment. I hated them when they came out because they were absurdly expensive, but now they come in big blocks you can cut down to size for next to nothing (they are cheaper than regular sponges, though they don't last very long). They just work too well and save too much time not to use now that they are cheap. If you do any handywork or woodworking, they are really good for removing marks and stuff since you can use them with pure alcohol too.

 

It's just one of those things that works so well in everyday cleaning, you kind of have to try it on your tank. I scratched up one acryllic tank with so-called acryllic safe pads after about 6 months of being very, very careful not to pick up sand by scrubbing too hard (not to mention that pad was like $8) and used nothing but magic eraser's since (though I always drain the tank) and it is still scratch free.

 

The little vertex magnet cleaner I have is strong enogh that I don't need to use them while the tank has water, but every few months they come in handy when teh tank is empty.

[CrazyEyes]

They need to make an attachment for them so you can put it on something, because I honestly hate sticking my hands in the tank, I have extremely long arm hair, Robin Williams style, so everytime I pull my arm from the tank it's like a dripping wet mop.

[Acielot]

Wooden skewers work well with a small eraser on the end.

 

That's what I use in the Pico.

[brandon429]

chuck norris once bought some but found them too powerful.

 

if you google or youtube "how to clean sneakers white" guess what comes up a lot

 

also, this is what taints our cats and dogs beef jerky from china, same material. I agree the anti melamine crowd has some validity its basically a kidney killer where blood filtration applies but for some reason it has no demonstrable harm in reefs to the point any mortality is associated with it regarding any reef animal.

 

i bought some for cleaning the white area on soles of shoes it works pretty well. lots of bits came off seems like it would be messy in tank but I can see how it would grab very well. my only area of problematic micro algae growth is the top 1 inch water line where the light is bright, gets impossible hard green micro dots but its no prob for a little 35% rub down using tweezers, stage 4 hazmat suit and a papertowel. lasts a very long time in between burns lol. talk about in tank insult

 

i promised after someone discovered bug killer as a dip that nothing else was left to surprise me

[jazzman7838]

They sell a generic version cheap here:

https://www.spongeoutlet.com/

You can also find ones adhered to a coarse backing that will stick to velcro/cleaning magnets.

 

We buy packs of 300 here. They are perfectly fine to use inside of tanks, spawning jellies and fish and corals tell me so. The reason they work better than alternatives is that the micro structure gets inside of small scratches in acrylic really well and scours out the algae so it is less time between cleanings. Once you use them on an acrylic tank you understand.

[Azedenkae]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/study-finds-stony-corals-eat-plastic

 

Not even sure why they (Advanced Aquarist) didn't address this, but the microplastic is localised deep within the polyp, wrapped by mesenterial tissue - which makes it hard for it to be removed once ingested. The mesenterial tissue is the main tissue responsible for food digestion, so even the authors raised that as a potential problem.

 

But anyways, it is true that without specific, further research, at the moment it is not clear what the final result would be. Corals may indeed be able to release them. Or digest them. Or not.

[jazzman7838]

 

Not even sure why they (Advanced Aquarist) didn't address this, but the microplastic is localised deep within the polyp, wrapped by mesenterial tissue - which makes it hard for it to be removed once ingested. The mesenterial tissue is the main tissue responsible for food digestion, so even the authors raised that as a potential problem.

 

But anyways, it is true that without specific, further research, at the moment it is not clear what the final result would be. Corals may indeed be able to release them. Or digest them. Or not.

 

Not really--it's in their gut. Corals ingest and then expel food particles that they don't "like" all the time. You can watch it with a mesoscope. Researchers have known for years that filter feeding bivalves will ingest and then release small plastic styrene beads without deriving any sort of nutrition from them. There is of course an energy cost in catching food items so if they aren't getting energy from it it's a net loss.

[Azedenkae]

 

Not really--it's in their gut. Corals ingest and then expel food particles that they don't "like" all the time. You can watch it with a mesoscope. Researchers have known for years that filter feeding bivalves will ingest and then release small plastic styrene beads without deriving any sort of nutrition from them. There is of course an energy cost in catching food items so if they aren't getting energy from it it's a net loss.

 

Well that's the thing, these corals localize microplastics and then gets covered. That's a very interesting finding that should have been mentioned.

[Kungpaoshizi]

Sorry, as I've not been on the site in awhile

 

The main concern imo, is the loss of energy cost while dealing with a non-food item. If corals ingested more non-food items than food like some suggest as it is fairly common, but not overly-common, they would whither away and die. That's pure mathematics and biology.

 

If you're up to some more reading as to the severe negatives of microplastic exposure, look into the mollusk article. Apologies I don't remember the name, but they found in one area of an ocean/river, that more than half of the mollusks contained plastic particulates in their tissue and non-gut areas. The main concern is as plastic breaks down, some particulates are small enough to pass into the circulatory system and go a number of places. In most organisms this very well would lead to death in any number of ways. Right away it makes me think of a stroke. I'm sure it could cause tumorous growths or cancer in areas in which the particulate settles, such as asbestos, though not plastic, it's something the body "can't deal with" so it sets up camp, the body creates erroneous growth around it, and problems ensue.

 

In the last 6 months I've seen several other research names come across the feed which all concern the numerous new interactions we're finding with microplastics and marine life.

 

But yes, my main concern is that we don't know enough about the interactions to warrant saying, "I've not seen any negative effects by the use of the magic eraser in the tank". Of course you have not seen any negative effects! 99% of them will be at the microscopic level! lol... But saying, "I've seen no negative effects because I don't use it in my tank" is entirely factual.

 

There's always fads in every hobby, but this is one fad (even seen contemplated in this very post) that needs to be shunned for the benefit of our creatures, at least until we know more. But overall the more we're discovering, the more it seems like a pretty dumb idea.

[jedimasterben]

Reminds me that I am almost out of magic erasers for the tank, need to pick up some more.

[Hig789]

Reminds me that I am almost out of magic erasers for the tank, need to pick up some more.

Haha. Me too. I've been using them for 5 months on my acrylic tank. I guess people think we just scrub and scrub until the whole pad disintegrates into the tank before we get a new one. I replace mine regularly, they are too cheap not to. You can also fillet a thin slice off, rinse it good and put it between the magnet and the glass of a mag float. That works great.

 

 

And the scented ones make the tank smell nice...

[piano15]

I've used them around the house but find they break apart easily and leave white particles everywhere.

 

I like to be more safe than sorry so I stick to regular algae scrubbers and if need be, straight razor

[Murphs_Reef]

VERY VERY long thread for a "who cares" item... I just lost 5 mins reading about a "possibly" good sponge.

 

Kinda reminds me of a time I spent 20 mins cleaning my buckets, syphon, scrapers etc, then put them in the shed.. My wife asked how long I think they would stay clean with the spiders, mice and general garden stuff..

 

"Stuff" is going to get into your tank, some of it worse that bits of plastic.

[Kungpaoshizi]

Stuff will get into your tank. But some seem to think they need to keep up with the trend of humans around the globe and plastic is ok in the ocean.

 

Better safe than sorry is the major lesson, because you sure the heck won't know if anything goes wrong because of it.

I guess it's just a matter of maturity.

[SquishyFishy]

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.

I use the Dobie teflon sponges as well but I take the sponge out. Just cut them open and use the front and back now you have 2. Great and don't scratch glass. And also do not harbor bacteria.

[seabass]

This thread is about ways to clean acrylic, not glass.

[Hig789]

I don't think I have ever used a magic eraser to "scrub" in my tank. I wipe my acrylic to get the film off and the coralline gets taken off with a credit card. I'm sure they would break down if you tried to scrub a panel that was full of coralline but just regular wiping of the acrylic they look brand new for a long time.

[jazzman7838]

 

But yes, my main concern is that we don't know enough about the interactions to warrant saying, "I've not seen any negative effects by the use of the magic eraser in the tank". Of course you have not seen any negative effects! 99% of them will be at the microscopic level!

 

Um....what? That's like saying you can't see the negative effects of putting copper in your tank because it occurs on an atomic scale. Complete nonsense. Of course you can see the effects on your animals over time.

 

I've been using magic erasers every day in a system for the last 8 years that has large growths of sponge, a crinoid, non-photosynthetic gorgonians and corals, and lots of healthy fish. Tubastrea spawns and settles regularly in this tank. If the magic erasers are causing some negative effect on the animals, I have yet to see any evidence of it (macroscopically anyway).

 

All this fearmongering is based on googling and conjecture and zero experience. Stop doing it, please.