Best Algae Scrapers

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Handle length is the first thing to settle, because it decides whether you can clean the bottom corners without putting a shoulder in the tank, and this category splits sharply. The long-handled scrapers measure around 25.6 to 26.5 inches, enough to reach the substrate of a tall tank from outside the water, while a 3.5 inch handheld version exists for spot work and for getting in behind hardscape where a long handle cannot pivot. Owning one of each is not extravagant. The blade material question is the one that ruins tanks: a stainless steel razor takes hard green spot algae off glass in a single pass and will scratch acrylic permanently, so an acrylic tank needs a plastic blade regardless of what the listing implies. On glass, steel is the correct answer and the risk moves to the substrate, since a blade dragged all the way down picks up a grain of sand and drags it across the pane, so stop short of the bottom and finish that band another way. Packs of ten replaceable blades reveal the real consumable, because an edge dulls and, worse, starts to rust once stored damp. Check that the head pivots or locks, as a fixed head at the wrong angle skates rather than cuts, and look for a guard to store it in.