Magnetic algea cleaners

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ReefRaff

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
2,158
Location
Cleveland, Oh. USA
I have heard of some people epoxying ther Power heads to a Magfloat. I was wondering if this would interfear with the moter in the powerhead?

Special precautions have to be made for handling and transportation due to their high magnetic attraction of metal parts and destructive effect on electronic parts.

this was copied and pasted from the discription area of the tunze cleaner at marine depot.

what do ya'll think? I am so sick of my Ph falling because the suction cups don't work as they are expected.

Thanks
 
well the "electronic parts" bit relates to anything with magnetic memory, such as cassette tapes, floppy disks or computer hard drives so thats not an issue. however they do typically have pretty potent magnet but I don't think it would be powerful enough to interfere with the electro magnet that the PH uses to drive the impeller. It deffinitely won't damage anything but may interfere... so try just leaving the cleaner next to the PH and see if you notice any change in the PH.

As far as the PH's falling down... I don't use the suction cups anymore, I use the plastic over the tank clips for all my PHs now.
 
I just had another thought though... around my area... those magnet cleaners cost apx $20+/- each (at least for the ones big enough to hold a PH). Thats a lot to pay for a PH mount. If you mount your PH to it... you're not going to use it to clean algae any more :D

You might consider a trip to HD. Find some cheap piece of plastic that has J shaped bend at one end and mount your PH to that and hang it over the lip of the tank. It'll be a lot cheaper than $20 per PH.
 
as did mine. They were even adjustable to tank glass thickness and the height you wanted the PH to be. :)
 
mine has a glass lid, and the PH's hang on the sides. and aside from that, those j pieces don't fit my tank. they would have to be about an inch wide at the J. the Loop part of that peice is only like 1/2 wide and pushes itself back off.
 
ReefRaff said:
I have heard of some people epoxying ther Power heads to a Magfloat. I was wondering if this would interfear with the moter in the powerhead?

Special precautions have to be made for handling and transportation due to their high magnetic attraction of metal parts and destructive effect on electronic parts.

this was copied and pasted from the discription area of the tunze cleaner at marine depot.

what do ya'll think? I am so sick of my Ph falling because the suction cups don't work as they are expected.

Thanks


I've never had my suction cups come loose..

Do you clean the area your going to put the power head before hand?

Cause it won't just stick to the glass, cause theres algae and slim there that you can't see that will prevent suction.


I just take my magflaot and clean an area 2x larger than the footprint of the power head, and stick it to the glass. And it sticks just fine. One powerheads been in the same place without falling since I got my SW tank.
 
ya mine dont move. but i also have my resting right next to the bottom of the tank. if it did fall it would fall and inch.
 
You could custom make some J hook brackets out of PVC and 90 degree elbows. Cheap and you can make them whatever size you want. Plus PVC gets covered in coraline in no time :wink:
 
Why not use neodymium magnets? They are extremely strong yet small. And when I say they are strong - I mean that they are strong with a capital "S" . They would not be as noticable as larger algae magnets.


Here is just one link to a supplier - if you surf around there are lots of them.


www.rare-earth-magnets.com
 
Not sure if they would rust - they are usually coated in nickel. If they were placed above the water line .....? You might even be able to find some that are coated in a plastic. Worth a look - they are used everywhere
 
I use Neodymium. Be carefull of the size though. I have to push my full body weight against it to get it to move. I encased mine in epoxy. Nickey isn'y the best thing for saltwater organisms.
 
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