# Mr. Clean "Magic Eraser"?



## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

Does any of use it to clean acrylic aquariums? 

I've read that it is truly safe to acryl and 100% effective in removing algae and gunk. Some people in other forums claim that Magic Eraser keeps acrylic aquariums look brand new. But we all know that the user-provided information on the Internet is not always reliable. 

I have a cracked acrylic tank in the garage, so I might just buy a pack ($2.99) and test it.


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## reddragon1977 (May 30, 2007)

lots of stuff can be said about "magic eraser". they havent even proven it safe for use on food surfaces. UNless someone with actual experience with this can reply my fist instinct is a huge "NO" for use with aquariums. I mean no disrespect but adding any unknown chemical to an aquarium IMHO is a recipe for disaster. If you look at my crappy tanks , there is enough to ballance without forieghn chemicals. It is way better to learn why you are having problems than using chemicals to help you. Dont give up, just keep reading! This forum has saved me at least 1 or 2 dollars:smile:


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## tnsser (Sep 23, 2009)

Magic eraser is not a chemical. I have read that it is safe for aquariums too.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

someone should send Procter & Gamble an email.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I used Mr Clean Magic Eraser pads to help clean my 10 gallon, de-rimmed tank. They are simply a microfiber cleaning sponge, containing no chemical solvents at all, unless you consider the minute traces of various chemicals that can remain in any plastic type material. I wasn't impressed with the cleaning ability of this product for removing the hard water haze from glass. But, it is a very effective way to clean stuff in the kitchen. I suspect it would work well for cleaning algae off of aquarium glass, but I haven't used it for that.


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## marrow (Feb 4, 2007)

You may want to check the reef forums as they use acrylic much more then planted tank people and in general are quicker to embrace and actually use novel materials.


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## DragonFish71 (Nov 26, 2009)

I use them around the house and for cleaning water spots off the tanks. Our 80g is the worst for water spots because it's a brackish tank. That dried salt is hard work. But for cleaning inside the tank? I think I'd just go with the algae scrapers from the LFS.


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

I just checked a few reef forums and found no negative remark about it. In fact, some people are raving about its algae cleaning ability.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

If you can verify that Magic Eraser material won't scratch acrylic, not even microscratches, then this is a major advance. When I had an acrylic tank the microscratching from my use of plastic pot scrubbers to clean off algae eventually made the tank unacceptable to me.


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

I'll apply guitar polisher to a small area of my cracked acrylic tank to remove all microscratches first and scrub the area as hard as possible with Magic Eraser. I'll report the result.


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## JDowns (Mar 6, 2008)

Yes it works great on acrylic. The original non scented. Do not use dry though. I use it as an applicator for Novus 2 and 3 when needed. It also works great attached to a MagFloat. Use a razor blade or foam cutter and slice into 1/8" - 1/4" thin sheets. Nothing I've ever used cleans glass/acrylic quicker. I'm surprised a company hasn't come out with a product already cut to size for mag floats yet, and charged the typical hobby 1000% increase


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Would this possibly be safe enough in a canister filter to possibly use as fine filtering material if you were to cut and layer to make a fit? To use these as a temporary "micron filter" would be awesome.


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

Bingo, Magic Eraser didn't make microscratches. 

I used "Guitar Swirl Remover" to make a small area of my cracked acrylic tank crystal clear devoid of microscratches as far as my eyes could see. Then, I scrubbed the area hard with moisturized Magic Eraser for 3 minutes. Next, I examined the area from different angles with different lighting sources. I did NOT find microscratches. 

I'm glad that I didn't throw away the cracked tank!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Chrisk-K said:


> Bingo, Magic Eraser didn't make microscratches.
> 
> I used "Guitar Swirl Remover" to make a small area of my cracked acrylic tank crystal clear devoid of microscratches as far as my eyes could see. Then, I scrubbed the area hard with moisturized Magic Eraser for 3 minutes. Next, I examined the area from different angles with different lighting sources. I did NOT find microscratches.
> 
> I'm glad that I didn't throw away the cracked tank!


That is very good news! Now I may some day be willing to consider an acrylic tank again.


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

Interesting...I have a glass tank that has some bad algae stains that won't come off. Is it safe to use on glass? Can you use it while the tank is set up, or just when it is empty?


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

Magic Eraser isn't good at removing hard stuff like coralline algae. For glass, I'd use a razor blade. You may want to check out Reef Central where many users deal with tough gunk.


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## jreich (Feb 11, 2009)

dont magic erasers have soap in them? i beleive guitar polish is just a carnuba wax. so when you buffed your scratches out you basically just filled them in. so the scratches are probably still there just filled in with wax.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

No, there is no soap, or any other substance in Magic Erasers. They are just pads of microfiber sponge. I'm not at all sure why they work so well.


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## Aubzilla (Mar 2, 2008)

There are several different types of Magic Erasers- you want the plain, unscented, original Magic Eraser. There are some types that have soap, degreasers, etc, so make sure you read the package.
You can use them on empty tanks or tanks full of water. If you use them on dry tanks, make sure that the magic eraser is fully saturated. They work AWESOME on green spot alge.
We use them at work every day on Acrylic tanks. I use them every day at home on glass and cheap plastic tanks.


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

Nothing in the original Magic Eraser. The scented one has chemicals in it. Obviously, only the original one should be used for aquariums.

I've read at Reef-Central that the Magic Eraser is basically like 5000 grit sandpaper.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Magic Erasers are just extremely high grit sandpaper. I couldn't tell you the grit.

That's why they work so well.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

jmhart said:


> Magic Erasers are just extremely high grit sandpaper. I couldn't tell you the grit.


Estimated at 2500-3000 grit, per a discussion I read years ago where people were using it for restoring pinball playfields.

Some vigorous scrubbing was able to uniformly remove the time-yellowed surface of varnish, without removing a significant thickness. As I recall, everyone found it superior to anything else they'd tried.


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

They work great to shine up chrome sinks. I'll def try on my tanks....


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

I've been experimenting with Magic Erasers on my "test acrylic tank" for 5 days. I'm positive that Magic Erasers don't make microscratches as far as I'm concerned.


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