Automatic Cascading Planktonic Feeder System

[Mouse]

Something like this in a little box with airline tubing running through it.

Autunite/ Uranophane massive ore that measures 6 X 3 X 3 inches. The count rate is 22,000 + CPM combined beta/gamma against the probe. The specimen is from Blythe, California.


$45.00 includes shipping domestic
Item BAU-1


SOLD

Just think, no electrisity cost. The cultures wont crash as your bulb dies, and you have nothing to replace. Just need to find someone who can tell us the neccessary shilding to keep 22,000 CPM at bay, and wether 22,000 CPM is sufficent to sterilise through airline tubing. Its gamma beta mix, so im sure it will penerate.

I think its a more "natural" solution

 

[Mouse]

Still, it would make a change from the usual "my tank sprung a leak and then..............

 

[Adam1]

Mouse,

You might want to learn a little more about radiation. You were correct in your assesment of the relative "harmfulness" of alpha, beta and gamma radiation, but they are not just three different strengths of the same sort of "stuff". Some forms of radiation are pure energy, some are actual particles.

Containing different types of radiation requires very different techniques, and each has differnent abilities to accumulate in a material.

Please understand, I think you have the beginnings of an idea with potential, but it really scares me that any one of us (or someone much more stupid or dangerous) can buy any kind of radioactive material on line.

Anyway, UV is probably impractical, because it is very unlikely that 100% kill rate could be achieved even with the painstaking maintenance that would be required to even come close.

Heat is extremely impractical. Even with the relatively low flow rate desired, that much heat plus a mechanism to get rid of it later (fans, chiller) would be very energy intensive. I would also be concerned about changing the chemistry of the water. Carbonate salts (CaCO3, MgCO3, SrCO3, etc) precipitate more easily at higher temps, and who knows what else might occur?

Personally, I would look to micro filtration for the answer. A system could be designed with microporous membrane with a backwash mechanism. Such membranes could produce 100% sterile filtration, would require little or no energy, would be no more maintenence intensive than UV or heat, would not alter water chemistry, and best of all, no risk of mutant children.

Just my .015

Adam

 

[mr_exciting]

Just some more specific info regarding the common types of radiation:

a) Alpha-particles are Helium nuclei, i.e. 2 protons and 2 neutrons

b) Beta particles are electrons

c) Gamma rays are high energy photons


Beta particles are ionizing radiation, that can potentially harm DNA. While you will not grow another arm, you may become more succeptible to skin cancer. Of course any alteration of the DNA in sperm/eggs can pass on mutations to offsping. Keep in mind the vast majority of mutations are lethal.

Common radio-isotopes used in the lab include tritium (hydrogen), sulfur, and phosphorus. Typically radioisotopes are used because of the high sensitivity of devices that measure radiation. Consequently, you can detect minute amounts of, for example, metabolic products from some biological pathway, that would be very difficult to measure using other techniques.

I think some kind of chemical sterilization procedure would probably be better, i.e. ozone. If you could recirculate water by some fashion and keep generating ozone you could get around the flow rate concerns I would think.

 

[suckair]

Radiation levels required to kill organisims especialy in a water colum would be very high and unsafe to handle. The water would quickly absorb the radiation! Water is used to control radation in reactors and in many other applications. I remember looking down at the KU test reactor thru 80ft of water and see it glow! UV is the only way that is reasonable. They do make MH UV lamps that are high wattage. A 50-175w unit wold work quite well. Also good mechanical filtration could eliminate the large organisms allowing for lower wattage UV filtration! I know the calcium would be high but what about usint the output from a reactor? I don't think anything survives my reactor's low PH? As the Ph is returned to 7.0 on the 2nd stage you couse use that water thru the phytoplankton station. The tricky thing would be controling it's flow by using some sort of LED sensor to detect the density of the culture! This would however require continious cleaning of the culture bottle unless you developed a internal wiper in the detection window. Also a item that can be developed.

Just a few ideas

Randall

 

[Mouse]

Ahh, the brains have emerged, and sadly with a no. Thanks anyways guys.

Damn, and i was so keen to have an Atomic Plankton Reactor.

Theres some good ideas comeing back though, i like the one about reactor effluent. Could be good, but difficult to get the flow rates correct as it is without having other things to worry about. And id be worried about precipitation in the reactor. But we could be killing two birds with one stone here because the excess CO2 combined in the effluent would defenately benefit the Phytoplanctonic cultures growth.

If you were to use a single chamber RO style canister with a micro filter and flush device, how would we meet the required line pressure. Could a peristaltic pump push enough to effectively use such a screen. I prefer that idea to the UV as i think that having reduced output as an indicator is conducive to keeping the culture alive.

OK, mission objectives.

To maintain a Phytoplanctonic culture from the effluent of a calcium reactor and its effect on aquarium water chemistry. (just to make sure im not dumping calcium into the culture reservoir.)

 

[JoshF]

Has anyone tested the combination of O3 and UV? I like the idea of running hydrogen peroxide in a stream with tank water through the UV device to create active O3. The beauty of this, as Bingman points out, is that the microalgae in the first stage are incredible about being able to absorb and reduce small levels of O3, thus keeping ozone out of the main tank water. This could be a great feeding device as well as filter.

Josh

 

[tanzy]

I have a Beta radiation sterilizer in school. I think it uses Cobalt 60. We use it to sterilise medicinal products and surgical equipment. Personally never used it before but heard a cleaner got very bad burns after messing with that thing. Glad you gave up. 8O

 

[Anonymous]

Why not use X-rays? You can build xray emitters with stuff bought from the hardware store. 1/2" lead equivilent shielding provides quite a bit of protection.

 

[Mustang]

Hey guys you might be interested in a couple of threads over at Reefcentral


Here
Number 1

And this one
Number 2
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