Mini Magnetic Glass Cleaner...Pico Style

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Master Er

New Member
I accidentally woke up at about 3:30AM and couldnt sleep anymore. I was looking at my Pico and thought that it needed a glass cleaner that was small enough. I ended up making my own...its 2/3"H x 7/8"L x 1/4"W. Using the following materials:

5ml Syringe
Super Glue
Sand paper
Velcro Pad/Filter Pad
Magnet from an old Glass Cleaner
Plastic from a CD case
And some Basic tools


This is what it looks like from the inside.....


And a view from the outside.....


I cut the end of the syringe and used it as the holder for the magnet, attached a piece of plastic to seal the flat side, and cut the round end of the plunger and sealed the round end. Sandpapered it then painted everything black. For my acrylic tank I had to use the filter pad instead of the male side of the velcro pad. The one inside the tank has 1 magnet while the one outside has 2 magnets plus I attached an extra piece of plastic for a bigger grip,.....I know I should have taken picture but I wasnt thinking of it while I was making it. I did try to repeat the scenario with pictures but I didnt want to do the cutting stuff all over again. You'll be able to guage how small it is based on the first picture. Whats cool is these magnets are so strong, its capable of going through the corners.
 
M

Master Er

New Member
Oh man....I'll make another one....that floats. Thanks for the new idea.....however, these magnets are really really strong, even through 1-1/2" of wood they would still attach....even with a 2" inch gap between the wooden divider they would still interact. But not to worry, I already thought of making one that floats....need to get new magnets. I cant redo the first one I did since its totally sealed already.
 
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Master Er

New Member
Yup....thats why instead of using the male velcro side inside, I used a micro filter pad inside and the soft side of the velcro on the outside......

Incysor-I just made another one with an air chamber for bouyancy but the mini magnet is still too heavy for it...if I make the air chamber any bigger, then it wouldnt be that "mini" anymore. If I use a smaller magnet thats lighter, then it wouldnt be that effective for cleaning the glass. But I'm still figuring out a way for it to float and still retain the mini size.
 
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mikeguerrero

Active Member
I wouldn't worry about the floating part. Floating is a good idea if you have a really deep tank, were if it fell in, you'd need to climb in to get it.

With a pico, you could just reach right in and get it or use a pair of tongs to fish is out.

Nice invention....

Mike
 
djconn

djconn

New Member
That is awesome. Keep this up and I will be asking you very soon to be the DIY moderator.

Your ideas kick ass!
 
M

Master Er

New Member
Mike- You've got a point there.....

Djconn- Are you sure? What would a DIY Moderator do?

Incysor- Correction on my measurements, 3/8"H x 1"L x 1/4"W, my past measurements were off by 1/16". Anyway, I finally came up with one that does float. I will post a picture as soon as the paint dries....I tried it without the paint. The measurement is almost the same except for the height and width (1/4" H x 1"L x 3/4"W)....I would have wanted the same size as before but it just isnt possible unless I could find this certain magnet that I had before which was 1/4 the size of a pea. The contact was so powerful, it would take alot of effort to get them apart. Anyway, everything is dry now, so check it out...its a tad bigger but hardly noticeable even if compared to the first one.

Floating in a glass of freshwater....more bouyant in saltwater...


Beneath the surface....


I may use this but I think I'm satisfied with the first one. Thats because it was the first I made. The second one though was more fullfilling to do.
 
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Master Er

New Member
Okay so I tried it out....as I thought, though it does float, the cleaning action is not as effective as before. So just scrap the second one as I would consider it a failure. Unless I do find the magnet I was refering to. They were supposedly the strongest magnets in the world. You cant pull them apart but you can slide them along.
 
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incysor

New Member
Master Er said:
Yup....thats why instead of using the male velcro side inside, I used a micro filter pad inside and the soft side of the velcro on the outside......

Incysor-I just made another one with an air chamber for bouyancy but the mini magnet is still too heavy for it...if I make the air chamber any bigger, then it wouldnt be that "mini" anymore. If I use a smaller magnet thats lighter, then it wouldnt be that effective for cleaning the glass. But I'm still figuring out a way for it to float and still retain the mini size.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I've been thinking about ordering some of the ones that the guy over on nano-reef makes out of cast resin. His don't float either, but they're nice and think and small, and the magnets are very strong as well.

He had the same problem, if he made enough of an air bubble for it to float it wasn't very thin anymore.

As awesome as your DIY is, I thought perhaps you'd found a way around it.

B
 
M

Master Er

New Member
Really thin, I assume its about the same height as the one I made except that they are longer and wider though I think his are stronger due to the fact that he is using twin magnets. Nice though!!!

I will send my friend an email and see if he could send me a couple of these magnets on November when my cousin comes in for a visit. Unlike the natural magnets that Jerome used, these magnets are synthetic. Hence the size is minute, less than 1/8". The only thing needed to make it bouyant is to make the air bubble 3 times the size and that would give a total size of 1/2"L x 3/8"H x 1/4"W....thats about half the size of the first one I made. Incredibly small!!! I think that would be crazy. Though just perfect for .75 gallon tanks and smaller. I will give it a shot :D .
 
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sadielynn

New Member
I think that the earth magnets are available at lowes and at radio shack.
For the floating what about the stuff that they use to make eye glass lanyards that float ? or the floating key chain material
 
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Master Er

New Member
Probably...but I think the container to make it float isnt going to be a problem...the main weight will be coming from the magnet itself.

Here are a few picture to show the scale of the magnets I did....if I were to use the smaller synthetic magnets I described earlier, imagine how small these would be...it would float yes. It would be half or less than half the size than the one pictured....would anyone still be interested in something too small? Anything bigger and it wouldnt be a mini anymore.





But it is a challenge for me to do. I will try again.
 
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Master Er

New Member
Nice collection of links!!! I went through them and tried to figure out which one I was refering to...its the NdFeB though they are called "rare earth" magnets, they are synthetic. These are the ones I'm looking for....my friend lives near a factory that manufacture these and his fiance works there...after reading the manufacturing process.....which were exactly as described by my friends fiance. The piece I got was just a scrap piece.
 
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Master Er

New Member
Incysor- if you could get me a tiny piece, I wouldnt mind making one for you that floats....since you suggested it. Preferably the NdFeb type.
 
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