Use of Lasers in Controlling Pest Algae and Corals

[Sun357]

Awesome idea if it can work out.

Possible putting the front of the laser in a 'flash suppressor' type deal but more like a box on all sides except the target side and then a single hole/scope right above it on the laser side...therefore light should only go out where you aim it and reflect out back towards the laser where you'd be wearing safety glasses and be able to make sure no fish or other critters are in the way easily.

Kind of just rambling on but if it is submersible that type of idea I think could work. You seem to be the genius here so I doubt i'm saying anything you haven't thought of! =D

Definitely going to keep tabs on this.

~Fred

[CalmSeasQuest]

This may sound like a dumb question but are you able to use this through the glass? Or is it submersible?

As long as the glass is clean, it will work fine (the laser focusing lens is made of glass.) My initial research shows the same is true for acrylic as it's optically clearer than glass. In theory, it might also be possible to build a waterproof version that would allow submersion (although I don't think it will be necessary.)

Protecting the livestock from eye damage resulting from viewing the beam endpoint can be accomplished with as little as a section of smoked or frosted acrylic pipe placed on the end of a long rod or dowel. Even with this, extreme caution will be required as an 1800mW laser would instantly badly burn or slice through any living thing that happened to encounter the beam.

[jolson10450]

from working with lasers before i think this is completely possible but the only downside is i never worked with a laser underwater. the laser can work on frozen parts so i dont really see a difference in using a laser under water other than the water contents its self could scatter the laser some but it shouldn't be enough to effect the focus. problem would be getting the proper focus for each point of your tank to accurately burn things because not everything is at the same exact level. i guess the way to achieve this is to attach a focus stick to it so when you place the focus stick next to what you want to burn it shoots at the exact focus each time for it. so yes i believe it to be possible but it will also be expensive and take a lot of time but for those pests you dont want to come back it may be worth it or at least a fun project.

one thing to take into account is what types of toxins the coral or object could potentially release if you were to burn it underwater. if you burn down a few zoas then they may release an enhanced palytoxin into the water and cause mass death in the tank.

curious to see how it turns out, most lasers i worked with burned labels and 2d codes in parts and they were priced anywhere from $40,000 to $1,000,000

[CalmSeasQuest]

Laser light will penetrate fine in clear water. Focusing is variable and done with a low power targeting laser affixed to the primary laser. The targeting laser also identifies any potentially hazardous reflections prior to firing the primary laser.

I'm not sure what is meant by your term "enhanced Palytoxin". While I've not been able to locate much research on this use, existing research indicates heat does destroy Palytoxin. I don't beleive there would be an increase in toxin release compared to any other in-tank eradication method, perhaps even less. The laser focuses light energy up to 100,000 times, thus the 1800mW laser being utilized is is the equivalent of up to ~180,000 watts of energy being delivered to the focus point. I suspect that potentially toxic compounds would be quickly broken down by the localized intense heat

[jimsflies]

Any chance that the reflected light or a misfire could break a tank?

[CalmSeasQuest]

Any chance that the reflected light or a misfire could break a tank?

It doesn't seem so. As the glass is clear, the laser light (or reflection therefrom) simply passes through it, having no impact whatsoever. Any reflection would also have significantly less energy, posing even less threat.

I do think it will be effective at removing Coralline. Just have to monitor the temp and limit burn times to prevent the heated Coralline from heating the glass. I doubt it will be any concern based on the localized nature of the laser and the amount of cooling provided by the water.

All that said - I won't know until I try

[Sir Patrick]

A video if the initial test will be awsome!

I am really looking forward to the results!

[jolson10450]

Laser light will penetrate fine in clear water. Focusing is variable and done with a low power targeting laser affixed to the primary laser. The targeting laser also identifies any potentially hazardous reflections prior to firing the primary laser.

I'm not sure what is meant by your term "enhanced Palytoxin". While I've not been able to locate much research on this use, existing research indicates heat does destroy Palytoxin. I don't beleive there would be an increase in toxin release compared to any other in-tank eradication method, perhaps even less. The laser focuses light energy up to 100,000 times, thus the 1800mW laser being utilized is is the equivalent of up to ~180,000 watts of energy being delivered to the focus point. I suspect that potentially toxic compounds would be quickly broken down by the localized intense heat

yeah true, but in most cases when people want to get rid of zoa's and paly's they just remove the rock and replace it or scrub it outside of the tank, not much work is actually done to remove the coral inside of the tank that is why i brought it up. i know if you take your finger and flatten a colony of zoas in the water they release the toxins and you have to run fresh carbon everyday and do good water changes to not cause death but not to sure what happens to the toxins when they get heated that hot? and if it did burn away the toxins is there a bi-product from it and could that potentially be hazardous?

[CalmSeasQuest]

yeah true, but in most cases when people want to get rid of zoa's and paly's they just remove the rock and replace it or scrub it outside of the tank, not much work is actually done to remove the coral inside of the tank that is why i brought it up. i know if you take your finger and flatten a colony of zoas in the water they release the toxins and you have to run fresh carbon everyday and do good water changes to not cause death but not to sure what happens to the toxins when they get heated that hot? and if it did burn away the toxins is there a bi-product from it and could that potentially be hazardous?

Hence my use of the phrase "in-tank eradication" in reply to your earlier comments Justin. In many cases, it's not feasible to simply remove and scrub the rock - if it were, use of a Laser certainly would not come into play.

Obviously there are many unknowns as Lasers have not been used in marine aquaria in this manner. This is how we learn and advance the hobby/science - through experimentation.

Perhaps you should start another thread if you want to advance your theories regarding heat created "enhanced palytoxins"

Thanks for helping me keep this one on topic

[jolson10450]

Your Welcome