Of course your LFS is gonna recommend such an item.....and old credit card wil work just as well and it will not scratch the tank any more than the 50 dollar scraper will. The best though is go to wal mart and look in the automotive section for Autobody (bondo) applicators. They are a soft and pliable yet stiff enough to use as a scraper. They are usually a pink or off white color and come 3 different sizes or so to a pack for under $2.00.........Been using them for years on acrylic tanks.Any automotive store would have them as well like Advance Auto, PEP boys, Auto Zone etc etc. They are easy to cut with a scissors if need be, but they should work just fine as is out of the package.

I assume your LFS is like mine as you get free parasites with every fish purchase!

I'll look for those bondo applicators, I appreciate your suggestion. I do need something with good reach because my arms aren't long enough for the new tank ;=) but $50 for a plastic scraper seemed really steep. I've been using a scotch brite sponge on my glass tank but didn't think I could continue that practice on the new one.

I don't know much about the fish stock from my LFS, my moores have been really healthy. I bought them when they were 1 1/2" long and now they're 6" so maybe I've had good luck. Actually, now that I think about it, I treated them with methylene blue the first two weeks I had them because they looked a little fungusy. Then I read that methylene blue is usually for fish eggs so I don't know if it really did anything. But other than that they've seemed (knock on wood) fine.

I'd never buy fish from the big box pet stores though!

Keep that scotch brite pad as far from your tank as possible. It will make very fine scratches all over the sides so that the tank looks like its foggy inside. The best tank cleaner I have found is to get one of those long handled algae sponge cleaners made for acrylic tanks. Always start at the top of the tank and work your way to the bottom. I have an Seaclear acrylic tank that I bought back in 1987 and it is still clear and has almost no scratches at all. The special acrylic tank scrapers cost about the same as the ones for glass tanks but only use tank cleaners for acrylic tanks. I had a tank once that my ex wife used a scotch brite pad on so I speak from experience, the fancy pad looks just like a regular pad but regular pads are bad news indeed.