Mag-Frag Plugs

[gthorpe2]

I would so buy the mag rocks, but for $30 a pop... That's a little expensive.  If you could do it cheaper nikki, I would so buy the mag rocks, and mag frag plugs too.

[joelbegt]

maybe about a years worth of growth.  I took forever to start shelfing but it took off when it started to shelf.  It was also easy to move up or down to adjust for the new lighting.

[gthorpe2]

Any updates?

[Reefd Up]

The magnets are coated (boy was that a lot of work).  You never realize how much metal is around you until you start working with powerful magnets covered in goo.  Ugggh.  I haven't had a chance to make the actual plugs since the weather isn't cooperating.  It's supposed to warm up this weekend, so maybe I'll have some results this weekend.

[ohioreef]

I'd be interested in a couple. Putting the new cap I got on the back glass would be awesome!!

[Reefd Up]

Well, with the wedding, this project was put on hold.  Now, it's back to play-time!

Ok, so silicone-coated magnets don't work well.  The silicone just rubs right off with the slightest shear force.  No-go there.

Plasti-dip is pretty much the same.  It's more difficult to work with since it globs up on the magnet.  But, any shear force, and it'll tear right off.

So...my solution...

Plasti-dip encased magnets hermetically sealed in reef-safe epoxy.  Unless you really really really try hard to break these things open...there's pretty much no way the magnets will ever touch saltwater.  Plus, it's reef-safe.

Unfortunately, since the epoxy is thicker, I've had to use more magnets to get the strength up.  I played around today to see what worked with what thicknesses of glass (I'll post the pictures later.)

Small, encrusting frags (mushrooms, GSP, etc) for glass thickness 1/8" - 1/4" = $2.50 each
Medium, encrusting frags (acans, favias, etc) for glass thickness 1/8" - 1/4" = $3.00 each
Large, small SPS frags (3" or shorter) for glass thickness 1/8" - 3/8" = $3.50 each
XLarge, medium SPS frags (4" or shorter) for glass thickness 1/8" - 3/8" = $4.00 each
XXLarge, SPS colonies (4" around) for glass thickness 1/8" - 1/4" = $4.50 each

Keep in mind, this assumes the coral never grows onto the glass.  If the coral grows onto the glass, the magnet will support less, and the coral can grow larger without problems.  

The Aqua-Mags are $8.45 each or 3 for $19.95.  I'm not sure how much they can hold through differing thicknesses of glass.  I'd be interested to see how my strongest ones compare to theirs...see what the price difference is.  

As far as Mag-rocks, I'm not there yet.  I needed to see how many magnets it'd take to hold through different thicknesses of glass.  I'll play around with that later.

So, if anyone would still like some Mag-Frag-Plugs, please let me know the quantity and size.  It generally will take 24 hours for them to cure, but I'd like to wait a week just to make sure the epoxy has set (and for me to have time to make them.)  Once again, I'll post pictures later.

[Reefd Up]

Here are the pictures as promised! 

Top part (they are low profile...won't stick out far into the tank)


In action:


Reflection


Back-side


XXLarge Mag-Frag-Plug holding a 4"x4"x4" SPS colony in high flow:

[Reefd Up]

...

Please don't tell me I bought all this stuff and now no one wants them.... 

Are they ugly?  Are they fat and need to lose weight?  Do you just not love them anymore?  Is it you and not them? 

[JoeAyers]

I'm lost on the glass thickness 

My tank is pretty thick. Not going to work?  Still may want some for my overflows.

[rayviv]

Huummm

[Reefd Up]

I'm lost on the glass thickness 

My tank is pretty thick. Not going to work?  Still may want some for my overflows.

Unfortunately, I didn't make any larger to test with.  So, until then, I can't list them.  If you'll let me know what your thickness is...and what you're wanting to keep on the plug, I'll experiment.  The Aqua-Mags are only good up to 5/8"...so I'm wondering how powerful I'll have to go to get above that.



Basically, if your tank is a 55g or below, it's probably using 1/8" or 1/4" glass (I haven't experimented with acrylic yet).  Some of the older tanks might be 3/8".  If it's a typical 55g tank or smaller, a "small", "medium", or "large" would work fine.  I'm not sure what size tanks use 3/8" glass. 

[Wall_Tank]

MY 90gal is 3/8"

[Kenn]

Please don't tell me I bought all this stuff and now no one wants them.... 

Are they ugly?  Are they fat and need to lose weight?  Do you just not love them anymore?  Is it you and not them? 

From another post...   Oh...btw...I'm an engineer.  If anything, these might be over-engineered.  laugh

Very well thought out ... I like !

I most definitely want a few and by-the-way ..... NOTHING is ever OVER engineered when it has a chance that it could fall on something

[Reefd Up]

Thank you very much! 

I'm going to start experimenting with 3/8" and 1/2" glass now. 

My 40g has 3/8" glass, but it's a really really old tank.  My 55g has 1/4" glass...go figure.

[Reefd Up]

Is anyone else still interested?  I'm going to have more than I'll ever need.  Anyone just need some powerful magnets to play around with?

[jd]

I'll take a few of the small ones.

[Reefd Up]

I'll take a few of the small ones.

Cool.  I'll let you know when I finish them. 

[TechGuy]

I would like to try some. Would free up some room in my tank for frags, and an experiment.

But my glass is too thick. I believe its 5/8's on this 120.

[Reefd Up]

Hm, yeah...my glass is that thick on the 150g...so I need to play around some more.  I'm sorry they weren't as strong as I was expecting.  Having to seal them really brought their strength down.  I was really expecting the Plasti-dip to work better, but it just peeled off.

Anywho, when I make JD's batch, I'll try to make some stronger ones.  Thanks for the encouragement.  At least I have plenty of magnets to play around with! 

[jd]

Nikki, Don't worry about making mine just yet. Get your technique down first.

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=164

I emailed those guys a while back asking about those magnets to use in saltwater tanks and they said they are fine. They are coated in polypropylene. They are a great company, I ordered some stuff from the for work and they sent me a fridge magnet and sample magnets. They might be worth checking out.

[TechGuy]

Have you roughed up the magnets? Still not sticking?

[Reefd Up]

Nikki, Don't worry about making mine just yet. Get your technique down first.

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=164

I emailed those guys a while back asking about those magnets to use in saltwater tanks and they said they are fine. They are coated in polypropylene. They are a great company, I ordered some stuff from the for work and they sent me a fridge magnet and sample magnets. They might be worth checking out.

JD, that's where I ordered the magnets from (just not the same ones).  The way those are coated...the cost/benefit analysis just doesn't work out.  I'd be buying an $11 magnet for a similar strength of what I bought.  The cheap magnets (like $1 each) are low quality neodymium...and have a pull force of about 4 lbs.  For this application, you'll need about a 30 lbf magnet...on each side to deal with the airgap. 

Plus, this was a DIY experiment.  Professional coating costs a lot extra, and I was trying to keep the costs down.  But yeah, KJmagnetics is a good company...I was pleased with them.

[Reefd Up]

Have you roughed up the magnets? Still not sticking?

You never want to scratch, chip, or rough up the surface of a magnet.  It can cause magnetization reversal. 

[jd]

Well ho-hum Nikki!

I see you have put way more thought into this than I did 

When I was only looking to use them on my tank which it only 1/4 so I was just going to use the smaller ones.

[UDJustin]

you can make me a few of the larger ones