# Magnetic Riparium Planter mod



## Beeya (Mar 29, 2010)

As far as the potential to crack the glass goes, could you use the nylon washers they came with, or a piece of thin acrylic, between magnets and tank? Given how strong they sound I'd doubt the added thickness would present a problem.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Hoppy - what about applying some tool dip (plasti-dip)? should lessen the chance of breaking or scratching and will add extra grip.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

macclellan said:


> Hoppy - what about applying some tool dip (plasti-dip)? should lessen the chance of breaking or scratching and will add extra grip.


I vaguely recall seeing an ad for that stuff. Does Home Depot have it, and in what department? I like the idea.

The nylon washers separating the magnets are about 1/16 inch thick, too thick to use for this. Magnetic force drops exponentially with distance. (That is the danger from playing with magnets. The force increases exponentially as the magnets get closer together, so they can be jerked out of your grip and smash your fingers as they slam together, or crack glass.)

One of the standard magnets that company sells has a grip, magnet to magnet, of 160 pounds! One would have to be crazy to have one of those in their possession.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Yes, HD carries it. By the tools, I imagine.

160lb magnet? Some of us like the thrill of hanging off the things


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

rare earth magnets normally come with a warning label telling you not to get your fingers between two of the magnets, they can injure you pretty badly because they are so strong. Not that what you have are rare earth magnets--but it reminded me of those when you talked about how strong they were.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

macclellan said:


> Yes, HD carries it. By the tools, I imagine.
> 
> 160lb magnet? Some of us like the thrill of hanging off the things


Put one in each shoe and you are Spider Man:wink: At least until you put your feet too close together.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

shane3fan said:


> rare earth magnets normally come with a warning label telling you not to get your fingers between two of the magnets, they can injure you pretty badly because they are so strong. Not that what you have are rare earth magnets--but it reminded me of those when you talked about how strong they were.


Actually, they are rare earth magnets. Quoting from their website: Neodymium magnets are a member of the Rare Earth magnet family and are the most powerful permanent magnets in the world. They are also referred to as NdFeB magnets, or NIB, because they are composed mainly of Neodymium (Nd), Iron (Fe) and Boron (B). They are a relatively new invention and have only recently become affordable for everyday use.

Until I found these I wasn't aware that we could buy that type of magnet.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I second the plasti- dip. You don't want any nasty corrosion going on in your tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> Actually, they are rare earth magnets. Quoting from their website: Neodymium magnets are a member of the Rare Earth magnet family and are the most powerful permanent magnets in the world. They are also referred to as NdFeB magnets, or NIB, because they are composed mainly of Neodymium (Nd), Iron (Fe) and Boron (B). They are a relatively new invention and have only recently become affordable for everyday use.
> 
> Until I found these I wasn't aware that we could buy that type of magnet.


Neodymium magnets are always fun. Some places sell them in different shapes like spheres. Have you ever seen the football shaped ones that you throw up in the air, and they buzz together upon contact?
They bought some hockey puck sized neo. magnets on mythbusters, and even one that is twice as thick as a hockey puck with the same diameter to divert the path of a bullet when it was shot by them. Pretty cool stuff.
here: http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?cPath=11&products_id=173
on another site I saw a 3 inch thick version of the one above. 
I couldn't imagine what this one would be used for.
http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=458


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Put two of those 680 pound force magnets together and they will be together permanently - the ultimate marriage?

Anyway, back to the project:








I drilled a couple of holes in the back of the planter, thinking one magnet might not be adequate to hold this.









With the single magnet, installed in my 10 gallon (thin glass) tank. I can easily push the planter down, so this isn't strong enough.









With two magnets installed. Using a steel screwdriver on these is a little tricky.









The two magnet version mounted on my 15H tank (thicker glass than the 10 gallon tank). It seems strong enough this way. Possibly the bigger planter cups would need a third one to be strong enough for the extra weight.

I think it will be worth it to look for the plastic dip stuff at HD, and I notice they say they carry it, just to get the added friction to stop the planter from sliding down slowly.

This isn't something to do on a planted cup, because you need access to the inside to tighten the nut. I had hoped I could just replace suction cups with magnets without replanting, but that isn't going to work at all.

This is a fun project, but it may end up costing enough, and resulting in an inferior planter, so that just buying new magnet versions would be a better choice. That plastic dip stuff isn't cheap.

A better way to do this might be to get bar magnets, magnetized face to face, and use one of those for the outside the tank magnet. It would be even stronger, thus more hazardous to work with.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Another possible option would be to attach a ss metal strip to the back of the planter, and just use stronger magnets on the outside of the tank. Not sure if there would be any real benefits to that, though.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

If you don't need the countersunk hole (perhaps glue them to the inside of the planters) you can get thin ones for very little cash here: 

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5964

Or get a 100-pack

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13516



> Other Thoughts: excellent for DIY fridge magnets, magic tricks and pranks..
> If you keep a single one away and approach it with rest of the magnets slowly, it'll jump the 2" (4.5 cm apprx), join the rest & break in to pieces...


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Those DealExtreme magnets are certainly a lot cheaper, but without the countersunk hole I don't see an easy way to use them for this. Gluing to the planter cups would require a better glue than I know of right now. And, it is hard enough to keep the ones I got from being broken, without using even thinner ones that would break easier.

So, my cost per planter for this mod is going to be a little over $8 in magnets (4 of them), a few cents for screws and nuts, and whatever the plastic dip costs, if I decide to use it. That's going to end up being close to $20 for a pair. Guess what I can buy magnetic planter cups for? Anyway, working with magnets is always fun.

One more thing, I tried using a thick steel washer in place of the outside magnet. That results in a much too weak magnetic attraction. I had intended to us a piece of steel bar stock for the outer piece, so I would only be using 2 magnets per planter, making the cost a lot lower. The glass thickness separating the two magnetic materials really reduces the attractive force.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hoppy, you could always use a ~1/8 inch (or more) thick piece of metal on the outside of the tank, and use one of these for the planter on the inside http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?cPath=123&products_id=423
That would take the cost/ planter down, and should hold pretty well. Plus, it's pre-drilled, countersunk, and it's already coated to prevent corrosion. :thumbsup:


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Those bar magnets will have such a strong attractive force that it would be hard to work with them. One slip and you break a magnet, chop of a segment of your finger, and/or break the glass. Plus, if two of them ever attach together you probably couldn't separate them without breaking them. I think to use magnets you have to use those big enough to get adequate attractive force, but not a bit bigger. And, to attach one of the bar magnets to the planter cup you need to either glue it on, or have a countersunk hole for a flat head screw - the one you linked doesn't have the countersunk hole.

I am pretty sure I have a few alnico disk magnets somewhere in my work bench drawers. If so, I might be able to use them for the outside magnets, and still get adequate force. That would cut the cost for me considerably.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I agree, it is pretty powerful, but is this not a countersunk hole? (I honestly don't know)
http://www.magnet4less.com/popup_image.php?pID=423I=0


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

I think that if you glued them inside the planter, super glue would be more than sufficient.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

CL said:


> I agree, it is pretty powerful, but is this not a countersunk hole? (I honestly don't know)
> http://www.magnet4less.com/popup_image.php?pID=423I=0


Yes, it is countersunk. I missed that. $4+ per magnet instead of 2 @$2 per magnet, so no savings there.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

over_stocked said:


> I think that if you glued them inside the planter, super glue would be more than sufficient.


But, if you glue a magnet inside the planter you add the thickness of the plastic to the thickness of the glass for the magnetic force to go through. That requires a much stronger magnet, and much more hazard if you mishandle them, which is much more likely for stronger magnets. I will have to use two magnets as it is, because of the glass thickness.

The more I play around with this the less it seems like a workable idea. I will be using a suction cup planter cup to make a magnet supported planter cup, but if I bought a new magnet supported one I would still have the suction cup one. And, if it takes me 4 of the magnets per planter, that is $8 plus just for the magnets. I can buy a new magnet supported planter for $10-$11 from Riparium Supply, a sponsor here http://ripariumsupply.com/store.html . And, that one I know works well. As I commented before, I'm enjoying playing with the magnets, but as a $$$ saving idea it hasn't worked out at all.


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## redman88 (Dec 12, 2008)

CL said:


> I couldn't imagine what this one would be used for.
> http://www.magnet4less.com/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=458


car theft prevention.


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## redman88 (Dec 12, 2008)

you can always rip the magnets out old computer hard drives. they are fairly strong.


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## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Would these be safe in a soft water shrimp tank? Is nickel a toxic metal to shrimp?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

goddessjen said:


> Would these be safe in a soft water shrimp tank? Is nickel a toxic metal to shrimp?


Nickel is a noble metal that doesn't dissolve in water to any degree that would be a problem. Nickle alloyed with steel makes some of the stainless steels.


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