Electrocuting Mojanos

[Paul B]

I have been working on this for a long time and I saw it on another forum so I decided to complete the thing.
So far it seems to work great and after two days I still don't see the mojanoes I zapped.
I use 24 Volts DC in series with a rear light bulb from a car.
But if I had to recommend this to anyone, I would say to use a 24 volt battery so there is absolutely no chance of any mistakes or shocks.
No, a battery of that size will not hurt you and it should have the power to zap some mojanos (although I have not tried it with a battery)
If I find a battery, I will try it that way.
I just stick the prongs of this into a mojano, (or your neighbor, your spouse,
or your boss)
Actually it will not shock them in the least.
And the thing bubbles as it produces a little oxygen and hydrogen gas.
No, not enough to blow up your house or anything else.
The anemone immediately shrinks and turns kind of slimy looking.
I am curious to see if they return (and try to zap me)
Also, "No" it will not shock your corals, fish, you or anything else.
My hermit crab was actualy standing on a mojano as I zapped it and I think he kind of enjoyed it as he went and had a cigarette afterwards.

 

[returnofsid]

LOL Paul, you're NUTS. So, where would one find a 24V battery?

What are you using as a power source for your "light bulb?"

 

[fishoutofwater]

interesting.

 

[Paul B]

They sell them for lanterns and some smoke detectors. This is a prototype, the finished model uses stainless steel pins. This one is using tinned copper.
I would like to make a self contained battery operated model.
I love this stuff

 

[tcblightning]

I should probably start a new thread for this but this reminded me of what I have been doing and my question applies to this anyways... I have been boiling water and using a syringe to pipe it down to kill them. The question is what ever way you kill them do you have to remove them? I'm not worried about the decomposing factor but rather can is there a chance they ren't completely dead and float around and establish a new one? ...It's annoying to have to catch these things as they float around in the current!

 

[edwing206]

I'd think you would hook that thing up to a car battery. Real power!

 

[trido]

Nice Paul... Here's a blog I wrote up with step by step instructions on how to build one with a door bell transformer. It uses 16V AC at 10 amps. If you have wet hands, my version will give you a little buzz. I have the same results as youve described though. Slight bubbling, melting aptasia's and majano's, zero affect on the rest of the reef.

Ive been using it for quite some time witt much success.

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

So this works on Aptasia too? i seem to be having an issue with them lately. Very cool idea!

 

[Paul B]

I'd think you would hook that thing up to a car battery. Real power!
__________________

Actually that is only 12 volts and in seawater 24 volts works better. Although you can get 500 amps or so with a car battery.

Trido, your thread is what made me finish mine. Very nice.
I have a bunch of half built things laying around and yours kicked me a little to get working.
Mine is DC but almost the same. I am making it with stainless steel sewing needles to keep the copper out of the water. When you apply current to copper under seawater, it does get some copper in the water.

So this works on Aptasia too?

It works on elephants if you have enough voltage. :badgrin:

 

[trido]

Im glad I've inspired someone to get creative with this idea. Your idea of stainless sewing needles is a great one. I hope you can whip up something that has a nice look and ease of use. Maybe then, this aptasia/majano prod will become mainstream in our hobby.
The original builder used a 12 volt flashlight battery but I wanted something more permanent and less cumbersome. The transformer, if by chance failed, could potentialy cause harm to the tank and user. It was suggested to me to install a 15 amp glass fuse between the transformer and switch. Ive considered it, but my version works fine as is. Mostly, I'm too lazy to go to the auto parts store for one.

 

[DBM Reef]

Nice Paul... Here's a blog I wrote up with step by step instructions on how to build one with a door bell transformer. It uses 16V AC at 10 amps. If you have wet hands, my version will give you a little buzz. I have the same results as youve described though. Slight bubbling, melting aptasia's and majano's, zero affect on the rest of the reef.

Ive been using it for quite some time witt much success.

i made one of these that duane wrote his blog on and it worked last night
on a test run but im still completing
Right now its kinda make shift because i forgot the parts i got at work .
it was like 22$ total for the stuff that duane shows in his blog at mclendons.

 

[trido]

i made one of these that duane wrote his blog on and it worked last night
on a test run but im still completing
Right now its kinda make shift because i forgot the parts i got at work .
it was like 22$ total for the stuff that duane shows in his blog at mclendons.

Im glad your putting one together. I lent mine to a friend and broke out some kalk paste the other day. I killed two majanos I was worried about and a few aptasias since I has some mixed up. But I was also busy with a turkey baster cleaning off certain corals. The next morning my cali tort was near dead. Likely from kalk paste landing on it.

 

[Paul B]

It was suggested to me to install a 15 amp glass fuse between the transformer and switch.

I have the probes in series with a car brake light bulb. This limits the current no mater what happens.
The probes will only get the maximum current that can go through that bulb, which is not much. If you don't use a resistor of some sort like a bulb, you are creating a dead short which will cause your battery to go dead very fast. The bulb will also protect you if you use a transformer, as I do.
When I have time, I will build a self contained battery model.
I have all of this stuff in my workshop and it is just a matter of finding time.

 

[trido]

This is the fuse holder I'll use when I get around to it.

 

[ac7av]

I have an idea that may help with the quick battery draining problem. You can get these at most electronic stores or even car stereo stores. Using a capacitor and a trigger switch could give you a burst of very high amperage on the offending critter and save that shorted battery from almost cretin death after a while. You may be able to go back to a more common 12 volt system with this or maybe you already tested for something like that. Just a thought, those 1 farad capacitors can pack one hell of a punch. I use to use them for arch welding stuff in school.

 

[trido]

Burning them requires more than a short burst. Closer to ten seconds to totally melt one to oblivion. Thats exactly why I chose to use a permanent power source for my version. I didnt want to recharge batteries or buy new ones.

 

[Paul B]

This is the fuse holder I'll use when I get around to it.

I have a bunch of them laying around but I prefer to put it in series with a light bulb. That will limit the current and keep the battery charged for a long time.

ac7av, I have a bunch of very large capacitors that would work but I am not yet sure it is the electricity that kills the anemone or the gasses generated.
I could generate a hign voltage charge in a capacitor to zap them but that would also zap you.

Burning them requires more than a short burst. Closer to ten seconds to totally melt one to oblivion. Thats exactly why I chose to use a permanent power source for my version. I didnt want to recharge batteries or buy new ones.
__________________

Trido, I agree and I also use a transformer but I am looking into something that I could either build for people to use or have them build something safe to use for the general population. For my tank I will always use a large DC power source but I would not recommend that to most people.

 

[trido]

I I am looking into something that I could either build for people to use or have them build something safe to use for the general population. For my tank I will always use a large DC power source but I would not recommend that to most people.

Keep up with the research Paul!!
Frankly, after seeing the effectiveness accompanied with how safe it is for my reef inhabitants, I'm real suprised that one of the big outfits hasn't made these things available for the general public in our LFS's.

 

[Paul B]

Give it time

 

[Paul B]

The finished tool uses sewing needles encased in shrink tubeing to keep the copper out of the tank. The eye of the needle allows the wire to be inserted through to make a solid connection.
I have found that a little more current makes quick work of the job. When the tip is inserted into the mojano, it begins to bubble profusely with the anemone disentigrating and floating away with the bubbles in a white sticky mess.
I don't know how much amperage I am using but the next time I try it I will put an amp meter in series with it for a test.