Reef nutrition

Powerhead magnets. Why can't we use them for frag racks and stuff like that?

badbread

badbread

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So, after a day at BAYMAC, driving to UC then back to SF I finally get home and get to relax a bit. I'm sitting thinking about the day etc.. and many reef related topics go through the brain as usual. I get to thinking about magnets and mag racks and rust and stuff.

Any who, this could be a really mute/dumb question but why don't the magnets in our submersible power heads rust? Are they coated in something? I'm talking about the long smooth shafts (get your mind out of the gutter freaks) that rotate the propeller. Does something with the magnetic field it uses to spin inhibit rust buildup? Does that part even get wet or is it sealed off?

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IIRC the rust on powerhead impeller magnets comes from the ever so slight wear and tear they experience while they spin... a piece of sand, etc can take off the coating.

You most probably could use them for frag racks however, they're IIRC cylindrical magnets so the "grabbing" power of the pole is going to be on the side of the magnet and not on either side, if that's not a problem, then yeah go for it.
 
[quote author=badbread link=topic=5303.msg65890#msg65890 date=1227553553]
So, after a day at BAYMAC, driving to UC then back to SF I finally get home and get to relax a bit. I'm sitting thinking about the day etc.. and many reef related topics go through the brain as usual. I get to thinking about magnets and mag racks and rust and stuff.

Any who, this could be a really mute/dumb question but why don't the magnets in our submersible power heads rust? Are they coated in something? I'm talking about the long smooth shafts (get your mind out of the gutter freaks) that rotate the propeller. Does something with the magnetic field it uses to spin inhibit rust buildup? Does that part even get wet or is it sealed off?
[/quote]

chances are they are ceramic magnets, or ferrite magnets. Since the iron is already oxidized they do not corrode. These basic magnets are the hard brittle type, you can get them at HD for cheap. I made a rack with these magnets, no coating or anything, been in my tank for three or four months now, no rust, only coraline.

Rust build up could simply be iron from the environment accumulating on the magnetic prop. If you clean you the prop with some lemon juice or vinegar it will polish it up nice and since there is never pitting I would think that there is no direct corrosion.

Cheers,

Josh
 
In El Cerrito, just before Richmond on 80, but they are probably sold in all the HDs. Forgot the name of the exact section, but there was lots of "miscellaneous" stuff, like mail box and house numbers, For Sale signs etc.
 
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