Quote:
Originally Posted by Sk8r
I'm willing to 'let Mikey try it' until I know if there are issues with the tank glass heating, or heating a rock by accident and blowing through the bottom of your tank... inquiring minds want to know.
|
I've used an 1800mW (the largest output I've seen tested in marine aquaria this far) on both glass tanks (both flat glass and a slight bow front) and an acrylic tank. I don't have a IR thermometer, but I was unable to detect any temperature change. I don't beleive that heat transfer will be a problem.
Even with prolonged exposure, I don't think we have to worry about any rocks exploding. A few thoughts,
- As I understand it, a laser focuses light energy up to 100,000 times, thus the 1800mW laser being utilized is the equivalent of up to ~180,000 watts of energy being delivered to the pin-point focus point. The energy is so focused, you can completely "vaporize" an Aiptasia polyp nestled in the middle of a desirable colony with little or no damage to corals in the immediate area (assuming your hand is steady enough.) All that said, we're still dealing with only 1.8 watts of energy.
- Add to that pin-point focus, the fact that we are lasing items under water. The cooling effect is pronounced. You can easily tell a difference in still water vs moving water. Lasing is much more effective with pumps turned off.
- Lastly, the lenses used to focus the laser itself is glass.
I'm not concerned at all about damage to the aquarium - I'm more concerned with the risk of damage to the operator, nearby observers or the livestock itself as aquarists rush to Lasers to rid their tanks of pests without proper training or equipment. While I beleive the use of Lasers in marine aquaria will provide significant benefit, I also think the risks are being underestimated.
i.e. Much is made of someone being subject to Palytoxin, from which a full recover is "usually"expected. Using high power lasers around glass and acrylic cubes full of potential reflection angles carries with it a high likelihood of eye damage (potentially permanent) to either the user or observers not properly protected - Especially since the laser operator (assuming he/she is using the appropriate safety goggles) by design, won't be able to see many of the reflections. Add to this the fact that the safety goggles are nearly $50, and I can see instances where observers are watching Aiptasia being "fried" without protection...very scary.
The tank inhabitants are subject to even greater risk, as they will not have the benefit of eye protection. I've also noticed the "sizzling" sound seems to attract fish, perhaps out of pure curiosity.
I'm excited about the use of lasers in our tanks, but watching it slice through cardboard almost instantaneously has me treating it with the utmost respect.