Free delivery over £45Everything for cats, dogs, fish & birds, in one placeFast, tracked dispatch30 day easy returnsLoved by 20,000+ pet parents

Long Handle Algae Brush

Two faces: one scrubs, one wipes.

Two faces on one head: abrasive for the hard green spots and soft for the film underneath. The handle length means you clean the far corner without wetting your shoulder.

£8.99

Taxes calculated at checkout

  • Abrasive face for green spot algae
  • Soft face for the film left behind
  • 47, 57 or 67 cm handle
  • Grippy grip, hole for hanging
  • Will not scratch glass or acrylic

Size: 47 cm

1
Free shipping over £45
Free 30 day returns
Secure checkout

Why you'll love it

Made for happy, healthy pets

Algae comes off in two stages

Scrubbing alone leaves a smeared haze that you only notice once the light is back on. The second, softer face is what actually makes the glass look clean.

Length is the whole point

The algae you cannot reach is the algae that spreads. A 67 cm handle gets to the bottom back corner of a tall tank, which is exactly where it always starts.

Nothing metal touches the glass

Blade scrapers are quick and they are also how acrylic gets permanently scratched. Sponge and pad on both faces means it is safe on either material.

Good fit if

  • Tall tanks where the bottom of the glass is out of reach
  • Green spot algae, which a sponge alone will not shift
  • Anyone who dislikes putting an arm in the tank
  • Glass and acrylic alike, since it will not scratch either

Look elsewhere if

  • You have a small nano tank where a hand is easier
  • You prefer a magnetic cleaner that lives in the tank
  • You need something to reach behind hardscape

Two kinds of algae on glass

What grows on aquarium glass is not one thing. There is a soft green film that appears within days and wipes off with almost no effort, and there is green spot algae, which forms hard raised dots that are firmly attached and will not move under a sponge however long you rub.

Those need different actions. The abrasive face has enough bite to lift the hard spots, and the soft face clears the film and the residue left behind. Doing both in one pass is why a double sided head is quicker than a single sponge, which handles half the problem and leaves the other half.

Fixing the cause

Scrubbing treats the symptom. Persistent algae almost always comes down to too many hours of light, direct sunlight falling on the tank, or excess nutrients from overfeeding. Cutting the photoperiod to six hours on a timer and reviewing how much food goes in resolves a large share of cases at no cost.

Some algae is normal and a completely spotless tank is usually a very new one. The aim is keeping it in check rather than eliminating it, and a weekly pass over the front and side panels before a water change is a sensible routine.

Choosing a handle length

Match the handle to the tank depth plus the height of the cabinet rim you have to reach over. For a standard sixty centimetre tank the shortest handle is generally enough; for anything taller, or a tank on a low stand, the longer options stop you leaning in awkwardly.

Watch the corners and the silicone seams. An abrasive pad dragged along a seam can damage the silicone over time, and on acrylic even a soft pad will mark the surface if grit has been picked up. Rinse the pad before it goes in, and work with a light touch rather than pressure.

In the box

Everything you need

  • Double sided algae brush

How it works

Simple, from basket to doorstep

  1. 1

    Browse

    Shop by pet or category to find exactly what your cat or dog needs, no wading through thousands of listings.

  2. 2

    Order

    Check out securely with card, PayPal or one tap Apple Pay & Google Pay. Free delivery over £45.

  3. 3

    Delivered

    Fast, tracked dispatch straight to your door, and a happier pet before you know it.

The details

Specifications

Handle lengths
47, 57 or 67 cm
Head
Abrasive pad plus soft sponge
Handle
Stainless steel, grippy grip
Suits
Glass, acrylic and plastic tanks
Note
Sponge colour supplied at random

Size guide

HandleReachesBest for
47 cmStandard 30 to 40 cm deep tanksMost 60 cm community setups
57 cmDeeper tanks, or a low stand45 to 50 cm depth, or a deep cabinet rim
67 cmTall tanksAnything over 50 cm deep, and display tanks

Add the tank depth to the height of any cabinet rim you have to lean over. If you are between lengths, the longer handle costs nothing in use and saves leaning into the water.

Rinsing and grit

Rinse the head thoroughly after every use, in tank water rather than the tap where you can. The real risk to your glass is a piece of gravel or sand caught in the pad, which turns the whole thing into sandpaper, so check the pad by hand before each use rather than after you have scratched something.

Let it dry between uses rather than leaving it wet in a cupboard, and check the steel handle for corrosion where it meets the head. Replace the pads when the abrasive face has gone smooth, since a worn pad needs pressure to work and pressure is what damages seams.

Loved by real pet parents

4.5· 21 reviews
Tropical community tank

Second face is the clever bit

I always ended up with a smeared haze after scrubbing and never understood why the glass still looked wrong once the light came on. Flipping to the soft side and going over the same panel fixes it completely. The front pane is genuinely clear now rather than nearly clear.

Gwen R.· Canada· 12 February 2026

67cm is long for a small tank

I went for the longest handle thinking longer is always better and in a 30cm tank it is unwieldy. It does reach everything, obviously. If your tank is short then the 47cm version is the sensible pick, which I only worked out afterwards.

Aaron L.· United Kingdom· 23 September 2025
Acrylic tank

Safe on our acrylic

Our tank is acrylic and I have ruined one before with a blade scraper, so I was cautious. Pad on one side and sponge on the other means there is no metal anywhere near the panel, and after four months there is not a mark on it.

Sian T.· France· 19 July 2026

Got to the bottom back corner

Green spot always started in the one corner I could not reach and then spread across the back. The 67cm handle gets to it from outside the tank and the whole back panel has stayed clear since I started doing it weekly.

Michael O.· Australia· 17 November 2025
Marine tank

Sponge colour is a lottery

They do say the sponge colour is supplied at random and mine came in a shade of pink I would not have chosen, which is a silly thing to mind but there we are. Function is faultless, the abrasive side takes green spot off with very little pressure. The grip does not slide in a wet hand either.

Petra V.· United Kingdom· 31 May 2026
Large community tank

Steel handle has not bent

I lean on it quite hard on the stubborn patches and the stainless handle has no flex or bend in it at all. It hangs on a hook by the tank through the hole in the end, so it dries properly rather than sitting damp in a cupboard.

Lloyd C.· France· 3 January 2026
First aquarium

Fine on film, struggles on hard spots

For the general green film it is quick and pleasant to use. The really hard dots on the front pane, the ones that have been there for months, need far more scrubbing than I expected and two of them are still sitting there. Perhaps I left it too long before starting.

Harriet S.· United Kingdom· 7 August 2025

Weekly wipe takes five minutes

Abrasive side down the panel, flip, soft side back up, next panel. Four sides done in five minutes and the water barely clouds, because you are not stirring everything up with an arm in there.

Jamal E.· United States· 15 August 2026
Cold water tank

Better than a card and a cloth

I had been using an old bank card and a sponge held in my fingers, which meant a wet sleeve every week and only ever cleaning the top half. This does both jobs from outside the tank. I should have bought one years ago.

Donald N.· Germany· 2 July 2025
Loading

Good questions

Before you buy

The sponge ships in white or yellow and the supplier picks, so we cannot promise one. The tool is identical either way.

It lifts most of it. Hard green spot that has been on the glass for months usually needs a dedicated blade scraper on glass tanks, but never on acrylic.

57 cm is the comfortable middle. Go to 67 cm if the tank is tall rather than long, since depth is what defeats a short handle.

Usually, with the abrasive face and patience. Very hard deposits on old glass may need a dedicated blade scraper, used carefully and never near a silicone seam.

The 47 cm handle is generally enough. Go longer if the tank sits low, if there is a deep cabinet rim to reach over, or if the tank is taller than standard.

It is designed not to scratch, but acrylic is soft and grit trapped in the pad will mark it. Check the pad by hand before every use and work with a light touch.

Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Advice

More on this