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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Hello everyone! Looking for advice on what lasers to use in an aquarium.

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Hello, nice to meet you all! I have been lurking for quite some time and am very excited to join the community on a higher level. I currently only own a few basic radio shack quality lasers, but I am looking to learn how to build my own and gain the knowledge to purchase one smartly.

What has drawn me to join and reach out specifically to you knowledgeable folks is a recent infestation of aiptasia (weed like anemones that can kill my beautiful corals) in my show aquarium. I have tried many ways of ridding my tank of these harmful pests but they keep coming back and in force! I stumbled not too long ago on youtube some people who were using lasers to literallt burn and kill the aiptasia from outside the tank. Not only, is this incredibly awesome, but also incredibly practical!

My fish tank is about 50 gallons and the aiptasia are all over the place. I will need to penetrate 1/2" acrylic and two feet of salt water to reach some of these pests. What would you all recommend for me to be able to kill these buggers fast? :gun:

What I know so far:

I need at least 1.2W
I need protective eyewear
All the videos I saw were of blue lasers (do these burn better?)
They also seem to be 445nm and focusable (is there an advantage to this nm for my purposes?)

Thanks for the help!
 
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ARG

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Re: Hello everyone! Has anyone used lasers in an aquarium?

Welcome to the forum!

A lot of people have used lasers to zap aquarium pests, the reason 445nm is the prefered wavelength is because it's cheap, visible and comes in high powers.
Check out Blords or Apex Proxy's blue lasers, you can get those on the cheap.

Do not skimp on everywear though. These lasers can cause permanent blind spots with ease.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/hit-eye-1000mw-445nm-blue-laser-69469.html#post1002347

I recommend laserglow, thorlabs or OEM laser system eyewear.
 
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Re: Hello everyone! Has anyone used lasers in an aquarium?

I'd stay away from the cyber, basically the only laser I'd recommend from lazerer is the 445nm rifle, I like the case and effect caps. do like ARG suggested and go with Blord or apexproxy. blord built most of my lasers, he's really great, I can't recommend him enough. nothing against apexproxy. Blord can make 445nm starting from $110

I'd imagine the ability to focus would be vital for your purposes. 1W+ lasers (445) can burn focused to infinity, but a fine focal point, adjustable out to a few feet, would be ideal for you. this way, you could adjust the focus to make a point at the same distance the pest in the tank is, and zap em. the focal point really concentrates the burning power. don't blind your fish.
 
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Re: Hello everyone! Has anyone used lasers in an aquarium?

you would have found many answers on your own by using the search -this topic has come up a few times already.

many here also do not reply much to members who do NOT put their location in their profile or fail to make an intro thread in our WELCOME section.

The advice of eye protection is EXTREMELY important- personally I will not send any laser out until I have proof of eyeware ownership and age of the buyer. JETLASERS has recently offered thier new EQ series= and you can get one in 445 blue which uses two 18650 li-ions=

welcome to LPF & keep reading I think yyou have barely scratched the surface- try google search too and of course you have all the stuff at Sam's.

I like everything that Blord builds.

The glass of your aquarium can do serious harm to your eyes with a single reflection- forget sunglasses or eye ware that it NOT made for 445nm-
The only eyeware that covers ALL wavelengths is VERY expensive- if you are at all serious about lasers you will get your eyes protected BEFORE buying any laser.


hak
 
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Thanks, i will definitely be getting a few pairs of the correct eyewear. From what I have seen most of the places who sell these lasers have an option to get the correct wavelenth eyewear with purchase. I would like to know exactly what laser i will be buying first before I order all of the accessories. What is Sam's?

For everyone's placation, here is my welcome thread:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f37/new-guy-saying-hello-85008.html
 
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If you go with Lazerer, get glasses elsewhere, the ones they send with the units blow, big time, better than nothing, but these are your eyes we are talking about
 

Psi

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Just sayin' ... is that necessarily a capture of the most current tech? That thread is a little dated? I don't know as I am new to the tech as in not watching for several years.
 
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Psi

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Yes. I use google search, bing, duckduck, baidu and other searches often and for years. "Sam's laser" has never jumped out. But, following up on that ... for someone that is all about "... a wealth of useful (not just textbook) information... " certainly disguises the information in no less than a million words. Talk about trying to find the forest for the trees!?! Rants about web site links that no longer exist ... I do not care about. That is a personal problem and not on topic.

I don't know, that site might have everything about lasers. If not, then a link to everything somewhere in it. But, so does google, bing, ask, baidu, duckduck and every other net resource. I go to forums of a specialty for the focused understanding and knowledge and a polite discussion there of.
 
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You guys are a tough crowd (hakzaw)! Thanks Apexproxy, this is the discussion I am looking to have. Have you had feedback from any of these customers about the ideal power level? Would 2.7w be overboard for this purpose, or would it be able to get the job done faster and thus be more efficient? I'm thinking that I should get the most powerful laser I can so I can get the job done more quickly- that would mean less time for one of my fish to catch a glimpse of the laser doing its work.

Thanks all!
 
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The more power you have the faster it would be of course. Anything over about 1W will work but the higher you go the better it works. More power makes it faster and more through. The 2.7W laser would smite them extremely easily and quickly. Also with the 2.7W laser with the G2 lens in the bundle i am offering it is a lens that burns extremely well, and is actually the lens I advise for this use.
 

Psi

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Thanks Apex ... and reasonable. The 2.7W is what I will do.

I also have some flatworms that are usually only seen on the tank walls. And, typically quite low on the wall. Therefore, to prevent singing anything directly behind these targets an attenuator or some type of lens that spreads the beam would be useful.

What is the spread of the beam without a lens? Or, is there a lens that places the waist of the beam very close, about 10mm or less, so the beam diverges into the tank more quickly?

Is there a way to pulse the laser on/off?
 
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The laser is fully focusable with any lens I have. This means if you focus in on something very close the beam would expand rapidly after the focal point. The beam is capable of being focused up to somewhere between 5mm and 10mm from the lens itself.

If you are targeting something without a backdrop I would suggest using a sharp angle so that the beam is pointed at the bottom of the tank maybe. The laser is quite powerful so you should take caution to avoid hitting anything important.

The switch can be clicked on and then you can partially press it to momentarily turn it off without fully clicking it which is what I do when I want to turn it on and off repeatedly.
 




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