JBL Aqua-T Handy

JBL Aqua-T Handy is a hand-held glass scraper with a stainless steel blade and a 7cm cutting width. A blade is what shifts the hard green spot algae and the limescale line that a pad and a magnet will not touch.

Key Features

• Stainless steel blade: the only thing that reliably takes off hard spot algae and dried mineral deposits.
• 7cm blade width: wide enough to cover ground, narrow enough to control.
• Sturdy grip: you need a firm hold on a blade working against glass.
• Protective cap: goes over the blade when the tool is put away, which matters in a cupboard people reach into.
• Replaceable blades: JBL sells the spare blades separately, so the tool outlasts the edge.
• Glass tanks only: a steel blade and an acrylic pane are a bad combination.

Using A Blade Scraper Safely

• Work at a shallow angle, almost flat to the glass, and let the edge do the cutting rather than your arm.
• Keep the blade clear of the silicone seams in the corners, and switch to a pad or a cloth for the last centimetre.
• Stay above the substrate. A blade that picks up a grain of sand will score the pane.
• Check the blade is seated properly before each session, and take the cap off and put it back on away from the water.
• Unplug heaters and pumps if you are working near them, and keep the blade away from hoses and cables.

Good To Know

• Glass only, never acrylic. A blade, steel wool or a metal-threaded pad will cut straight into an acrylic pane, and the scratches do not polish out in a filled tank.
• Keep a blade away from the silicone seams in the corners. A nicked seam is a slow leak waiting to happen, and no scraper is safe against silicone whatever the packaging says.
• The usual way people scratch aquarium glass is to trap a grain of sand under the pad or the blade. Check the face of the tool before each pass and stay a finger's width above the substrate line.
• Replace the blade when it stops biting rather than pressing harder. A blunt blade is what makes people push hard enough to do damage.
• Keep blades and spare blades well out of reach of children.
• Rinse the tool in plain water after use and let it dry. Never clean anything that goes into a tank with detergent.