steel, concrete, plastic and the aquarium

psariandras

psariandras

AC Members
May 18, 2007
352
0
0
Steel
Putting all monetary and aesthic issues aside, would stainless or galvanized steel work in an aquarium?
Will salt eat away the surface of steel if it is stainless or galvanized?
I suppose it would be less desirable b/c it is not transparent but for the sake of hypothetical discussion could galzanized or stainless work inside an aquarium and will micro-organisms and bacteria live on the surface of steel?
How can steel be joined to glass or aycrilic?

Concrete
Can it be used in the aquarium in any way? Will the conditions of the tank be damaged by the presence of concrete, and if so can concrete be treated where it is safe for aquarium use? Will bacteria and other micro-organisms form on concrete in an aquarium the same as they would on sorts of rock?

Plastic
After looking at decorations at the LFS, I started to wonder if one could create their own tank decorations from pieces of plastic bound together with hot glue, chalk or silicone(I doubt I would want any plastic decorations in my tank, but I am curious about it nonetheless.
 
Stainless yes if it is VERY HIGH grade, galvanized no too much zink, concrete is done quitte a bit, and plastic plants look better from the lfs, making them would more than likly cost more also.
 
I agree with jojo...........to add to this discussion is copper and aluminum suitable for saltwater aquariums?
 
Nope!!! COPPER is the worst thing for a SW tank (except FO systems) Aluminum is not as bad in that it takes longer to kill but will eventually have similar effects as copper, I.E. DEATH to all LR and inverts/corals.
 
Thats a shame. I wanted to build a radiator for my future saltwater tank using those materials, as they pass through heat with least resistance.

I guess stainless steel or titanium my only other options, which are quite costly.
 
Titanium is usually the prefered method of heat exchangers. What type/size tank are you looking to build??? Chillers have become much more buyer friendly, and more efficent. I find that kicking the AC up a notch or two keep temps down and it keeps me cool also so the electric used serves two purposes.
 
Like I said, in the future I'd like something in the range of a 400g. Chillers for an aquarium that size are near $1000 and drain a lot of power. I could probably weld together four 4' lengths of stainless steel pipes in parallel to serve as a radiator and blow fans across them. Even possibly keep them outside during the winter.

1" diameter stainless steel sells for $6.50/foot, so t'would cost me about 120 dollars, still less than what a commercial stainless steel heat exchanger of that size costs.
 
I didn't see you say anything about a 400 Gal. If that is the case you may also want to research geothermal heating and cooling. I know a guy that has a 400 and I don't belive he runs a chiller or exchanger. Just the AC in the house and it has an open top canopy that also has a bathroom type fand pushing heat from the lights and tank right out the roof, cost him about 100 bux start to finish.

I'm sure a SS exchanger would work but thought I'd throw another idea into the ring.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom