If you are at all a fan of the Mag-Flip magnetic aquarium glass cleaner and scraper, then you are going to love the Fl!pper. At first we were confused as to how the Fl!pper was on the market with such a similar design as the Mag-Flip, be we eventually learned that the Fl!pper is made by the owners of the flipping aquarium magnet scraper, and where at first this invention was licensed by the makers of the Mag-Float to make the Mag-Flip, that device will no longer be made and now it’s all about the Fl!pper. The Fl!pper shares a very similar design with the Mag-Flip but subtle new tweaks to the Fl!pper will make this magnetic aquarium glass scraper more attractive for even more aquarium owners.
The first obvious difference between the MagFlip and the Fl!pper is the incorporation of a replaceable metal blade in the latter, where the former only had a plastic blade. The incorporation of the metal blade alone is great for owners of glass tanks wishing to efface some tough-skinned algae, but the use of stronger magnets actually helps make use of the strength of the steel blade. The use of stronger magnets in the Fl!pper really helps to make the flipping action even more responsive, and it helps to keep that metal blade down against the glass so that you can actually apply some force against coralline and other encrusting undesirables.
The final major detail about the Fl!pper that surprised us was that it floats! The mag-Flip doesn’t. Somehow the company who become known for making floating magnets had a sinking version of the flipping magnet product, but the new company that came up with the flipping design is offering the Fl!pper which both flips and floats. It is unclear how this conundrum came to be but we’ll take it.
There are two other small changes to the Fl!pper which are slightly less desirable than the MagFlip. The wetside is slightly thicker due to the stronger magnets but the handle / dry side is less thinner, making it less ergonomic and harder to grip. A quick test confirmed that the MagFlip handle does work with the Fl!pper scrubbing side, but this is really not such a big issue.
