Hydor Koralia NANO Magnet Warning

[Professor]

Quick fact finding trip to wikipedia reveals:

 

Rare-earth magnets are strong permanent magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements. Developed in the 1970s and 80s, rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made, substantially stronger than ferrite or alnico magnets. The magnetic field typically produced by rare-earth magnets can be in excess of 1.4 tesla, whereas ferrite or ceramic magnets typically exhibit fields of 0.5 to 1 tesla. There are two types: neodymium magnets and samarium-cobalt magnets. Rare earth magnets are extremely brittle and also vulnerable to corrosion, so they are usually plated or coated to protect them from breaking and chipping.

 

The term "rare earth" is misleading; these metals are not particularly rare or precious, and as of 2007 rare earth magnets give the best cost/field ratios of any permanent magnet.[citation needed] Interest in rare earth compounds as permanent magnets began in 1966, when K. J. Strnat and G. Hoffer of the US Air Force Materials Laboratory discovered that YCo5 had by far the largest magnetic anisotropy constant of any material then known.[1]

 

Also under Neodymium (the most common and affordable typr of Rare Earth Magnet):

 

Neodymium metal dust is a combustion and explosion hazard.

 

Neodymium compounds, like all rare earth metals, are of low to moderate toxicity; however its toxicity has not been thoroughly investigated. Neodymium dust and salts are very irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes, and moderately irritating to skin. Breathing the dust can cause lung embolisms, and accumulated exposure damages the liver. Neodymium also acts as an anticoagulant, especially when given intravenously.[4]

 

Neodymium magnets have been tested for medical uses such as magnetic braces and bone repair, but biocompatibility issues have prevented widespread application.

 

There are also other components in the composition of these magnets that I will research later.

 

Some have pointed out that rust from iron is not harmful. I understand the rational behind that but iron is only one constituent in the fabrication of rare-earth magnets. It is the other components and there potential toxicity long term that concern me.

 

-Prof

[begin2117]

The k2's i have are sealed, the magnets are inside the plastic pieces as you said but they have a piece of rubber covering the other side. I guess I just have the new ones.

yeah, thats what i meant. you cannot even get to the magnet in the new ones...

[evilc66]

Right. Neodymium magnets are made of a neodymium iron boron composition. The neodymium itself may create issues with mucous membranes as stated in the wiki entry above. I know it limits it to powder and salts, but if it corrodes, it could have the same effect. Boron seems to be relatively safe. The iron could still be a big contributor. We don't know how pure the iron is, so impurities could lead to other issues.

[Wawawang]

Ill check mine when i get home. I have a older nano that i bought 2 years ago.

[Bonsai]

Just talked to a nice gentleman at Hydor, I send him my pics and pointed him to this thread.

 

-Jason

[Pickle010]

So is the consesus here that this only affects Hydor Nano's? Or are the K 1 - 4's afffected as well? I don't own a nano but I do own some 2's and 3's.

 

 

Just talked to a nice gentleman at Hydor, I send him my pics and pointed him to this thread.

 

-Jason

 

 

Jason -

 

Can you PM me that number? I need to call them and couldn't find the number.

[Wawawang]

Just talked to a nice gentleman at Hydor, I send him my pics and pointed him to this thread.

 

-Jason

 

What did he say?

[Bonsai]

What did he say?

 

He thought that it was very odd that the magnets looked the way they do, and that he'd never heard of this happening. He mentioned that the magnets haven't been changed since they introduced the Koralias, and that they are not rare-earth magnets, just industrial strength magnets.

 

He seemed to think that even if they were rusting, it wouldn't affect the water quality, but I'm not sure ... in an 8G BioCube (which has probably ~5G of water), a small concentration of anything seems potentially harmful.

[ihatesears18]

Eek! I checked my nano on lunch break and sure enough, rusty magnet! This is not good!

[FishOnTheBrainCoral]

Okay, how do you pop these puppies outta there?

I'm trying to get my K1 magnet out of the wet side and I can't get it out.

Is there a trick to it?

 

I hope this is the simple fix for your problems there Wettabix.

[Pickle010]

Can someone - ANYONE - PM me the numbner for Hydor - I'm told it's on their site but I can't get to it from work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[corallineadam]

####! i have 3 koralia nanos!

what did the rep at hydor say? this is a horrible situation!

[Bonsai]

####! i have 3 koralia nanos!

what did the rep at hydor say? this is a horrible situation!

 

FWIW, the rep said that even if it is rust ... that rust shouldn't affect the system.

[ihatesears18]

I demand they buy us all brand new MP10s for our (potential) troubles!! Anyone with me??

[Jacobnano]

So is the consensus that the nanos are at fault? I have some K1's guess it's time to check them...

 

 

Edit: +1 to the above, if this is proven to be bad, how is Hydor going to fix it???

[Bonsai]

So is the consensus that the nanos are at fault? I have some K1's guess it's time to check them...

 

I don't think anyone is saying that anything is at fault. This is just an observation that we're all seeing with our Koralia Nano magnets. Whether or not it affects our systems in a negative way is unknown ...

[Pickle010]

Thanks for the number...

 

 

I just spoke to someone over there about another issue I was having and I have to say that the customer service is pretty awesome.

[Jacobnano]

O ok. Well that is good and bad. Hopefully it has no effect on our systems.

 

I just opened up my K1 and I can't seem to get the magnet out. I got the rubber part off but now the magnet is really in there, is mine a sealed on or what?

[Bonsai]

O ok. Well that is good and bad. Hopefully it has no effect on our systems.

 

I just opened up my K1 and I can't seem to get the magnet out. I got the rubber part off but now the magnet is really in there, is mine a sealed on or what?

 

WTF - don't take the magnet out with force ... read the title of the thread brother, we're talking about the Nanos ...

[Jacobnano]

I know, I was just checking

 

 

It wasn't gonna try haha, I was just saying it was stuck in there, I have bad luck sometimes and just wanted to be safe.

[corallineadam]

I demand they buy us all brand new MP10s for our (potential) troubles!! Anyone with me??

im with it!! i want my mp10 shipped overnight!!

or AT LEAST replace my nanos with koralia 1s the flow rate is not that diff, esp with a little algae stuck to the pump

 

in the last few months i bought THREE k-nanos!! thats like $80 i spent on hydor crap... and to find out they can cause detriment to my LS is killing me!

[HydorMan]

Thank you for bringing this to my attention Bonsai. I sent this concern to the technical department.

 

In the mean time, let me get some information out there.

 

The magnets are all sealed. The magnets themselves are never in direct contact with the salt water. This is the first time I have ever heard or seen any issues with corrosion of the magnets. There are tens of thousand of nano being used by hobbyists with absolutely no issues.

 

If you have a concern with your magnets, feel free to contact Hydor Customer Service. The phone number is on the website, and no you dont have to call Italy. We are located in California.

[hcsceo]

Very interesting. I had two 10 gallon frag tanks that did great for 6 months then just stalled. I finally broke them down a few weeks ago cause they were taking too much time and not producing for me. I could never figure out what was wrong with them. The tank design, lighting, pumps, etc were all used on a couple of tanks at my office with great success. I finally broke the tanks down and moved all the livestock to other tanks. Within a few weeks everything from those frag tanks came back to life. The ONLY difference in the tanks is I'm not running the nano's now. I haven't looked at my nano's yet but you can be sure I will tonight. I'll post pics if I find anything. I've heard all the arguments on rust in tanks, pure ferric oxide is one thing, random rusting stuff seems very different to me. I'm no scientist but it would make sense that rust itself might not be bad (ie Phosphate removal) but the process of rusting could release contaminants within different types of metals. No matter how you break it down, a rusting ship in the middle of a reef can't be good for it.

 

Steve

[StevieT]

in the last few months i bought THREE k-nanos!! thats like $80 i spent on hydor crap... and to find out they can cause detriment to my LS is killing me!

 

I love these kids of posts

 

No matter how you break it down, a rusting ship in the middle of a reef can't be good for it.

 

Steve

 

They sink ships on purpose to make reefs for corals and fish. Divers pay top dollar to see them

 

 

[corallineadam]

FWIW, the rep said that even if it is rust ... that rust shouldn't affect the system.

wtf! "even if its rust"?! what the heck else COULD it be! ahahaha

and who are they to tell us what affect it may or may not have on our systems! we have hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars of LS in them! and did they do a study to see if the rusty magnets really have NO effect whatsoever? i think not...

 

I love these kids of posts

well i didnt spend the money to buy some faulty equipment, i spent it on stuff i thought was quality andwould help my reef THRIVE, not potentially create a toxic situation!