DIY Aiptasia Zapper

[disaster999]

There are quit a lot of aiptasia in my tank, partly due to me ignoring them, and partly because nothing ive tried will kill them.

 

i read about the zapper and saw videos of it melting aiptasia and wanted to get my hands on one, but its freaking $100 bucks for something so simple. Went online to look for DIY plans and made my own for $10 bucks

 

 

heres a vid of it in action

[spham24]

dope!

[LarryMoeCurly]

I don't get it. Does it shock them? Wouldn't that shock everything in the tank? or does it inject them with something?

(if you explained it during the video, I had the sound off.)

[disaster999]

basically i have a needle and a piece of metal in the tank which is hooked up to a 12V 500mah power supply. the positive goes to the needle and the negative goes to the piece of metal.

 

it's like electrolysis. remember in high school where you make hydrogen and oxygen from water. same principle. place the needle onto the aiptasia and flip the switch the switch. current flow through through the aiptasia killing it in the process.

[mmcguffi]

sweet.

 

post the plans you found!

[disaster999]

oh right,

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/diy-aip...sis-103865.html

[beefus]

I was under the impression it was not the electricity but the gas bubbles (ozone?) coming off the tip that kills.

[mmcguffi]

I was thinking about it and a device like this would be perfect for controlling things like GSP and clove polyps.

 

 

 

 

I was under the impression it was not the electricity but the gas bubbles (ozone?) coming off the tip that kills.

From the linked article

The power source is such a small amount it does not have the power to conduct through the tank. This is almost the same thing if you were to throw a 9volt battery in your salt water tank. The only difference is you are isolating the Hydrogen and Chlorine to the 2 conductors.

[beefus]

I was thinking about it and a device like this would be perfect for controlling things like GSP and clove polyps.

From the linked article

 

So it's safe to say that this does not exactly zap anything, it gases them to death?

[Lawnman]

Nice helicopter your dog was like what the heck.LOL

For those wondering what I am talking about I was watching his other youtube videos.

[cptbjorn]

i read the article and the way he has it hooked up (prod side is anode), it is producing oxygen gas as well as a localized acidic area around the probe.

 

and it does conduct throughout the whole tank, just nowhere near enough to do anything

[mmcguffi]

I suppose so. Im not 100% what that dude meant but my guess would probably be oxidative stress from the ozone formed from the dissociation of hydrogen and oxygen like you said

[cptbjorn]

nah there's no ozone (O3) produced, just oxygen gas (O2). ozone takes a lot more energy and/or chemicals that don't exist in significant concentrations in seawater

[owlbassboy]

that looks awesome....$10 is certainly better than $100 anyway lol

[mmcguffi]

nah there's no ozone (O3) produced, just oxygen gas (O2). ozone takes a lot more energy and/or chemicals that don't exist in significant concentrations in seawater

Nope I would think it's O3. Think of it this way, if you stick an aquarium bubbler it isnt going to kill everything it touches, O2 is harmless (obviously). Only the O3 has the harmful oxidation power.

 

The electrolysis of water creates O3 as well as O2. Also the running of electricity through O2 creates O3

Wikipedia

In the laboratory, ozone can be produced by electrolysis using a 9 volt battery, a pencil graphite rod cathode, a platinum wire anode and a 3 molar sulfuric acid electrolyte

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone

[cptbjorn]

huh i've just never heard about regular old electrolysis producing ozone in any significant quantity, it seems like something that one of my chem professors would have brought up way back when.

 

i would assume that the platinum anode is necessary but i'm away from all my chem textbooks for the weekend so it will be a bit before i can read up. i've done a number of things that produce ozone though (anything with big sparks creates ozone) and it has a distinct smell to it that i've never smelled when doing any kind of electrolysis.

 

i don't think this aiptasia zapper makes ozone, i think it is the chlorine and oxygen gases and acid formed at the anode that kill the aiptasia.

[Louey]

So, does this thing work? Does the Aiptasia come back latter?

 

Looks cool. If it works on Aip's, I'll bet it would work on Majano and nuisance anemone;s and polyps that get out of hand,.

 

It would be cool if it worked on all of that.

[mmcguffi]

huh i've just never heard about regular old electrolysis producing ozone in any significant quantity, it seems like something that one of my chem professors would have brought up way back when.

 

i would assume that the platinum anode is necessary but i'm away from all my chem textbooks for the weekend so it will be a bit before i can read up. i've done a number of things that produce ozone though (anything with big sparks creates ozone) and it has a distinct smell to it that i've never smelled when doing any kind of electrolysis.

 

i don't think this aiptasia zapper makes ozone, i think it is the chlorine and oxygen gases and acid formed at the anode that kill the aiptasia.

Sounds right to me I dont know that much about inorganic chem--Im a biology dude. I was just basing my opinion off of wikipedia and my internal logic lol

[WillWork4Frags]

Wow. I just saw one of these last night retailed for $100! I'm going to build one myself now. Thanks for sharing!

[disaster999]

after a few days of zapping them. i dont think it really works. the big aiptasia is still there. its nearly impossible to kill the small ones since they will retreat back to its hiding spot.

 

others have told me i should use graphite from a pencil on the negative side so i will switch that out to see if it makes a difference.

 

i really hope i can get this to work