Magnets instead of epoxy

FraggledRock

New member
Has anyone ever tried gluing magnets to their liverock to keep it stuck to other rocks as a temp/semi permanent solution? and when you want you can just snap the magnet off?

knowing me I may want to dis-assemble the rocks at some point, and epoxying seems rather permanent, but i do want a strong solid hold for the time being.

ideas?
 
Unless you seal it in epoxy or something similar, it's gonna rust away to nothing. If it happens to be a rare earth magnet, I don't think they make test kits for them.
 
I actually did do this, sort of :) I used 2-part epoxy, put a big blob on some rock rubble, placed the magnet on it and smothered it in more 2-part so it was completely encased. I attached Dragon's Breath macro to the rocks and used epoxied magnets on the inside of my overflow to attach the rocks to the outside of the overflow. I'll monitor the magnets periodically for corrosion but they're encased pretty well.
 
Some magnets are made of ferrite ceramic and do not rust. My Tunze skimmer has naked magnets that don't rust. Because the material within the magnet material is already in oxide forms, it cannot be oxidized further.
 
I do something similar, but not directly on the rock but rather on the back of the tank with acrylic rod. As long as you cover it well with at least 1/8" around it, you should be fine to use N52 magnets, which are very strong. Here are some pics of how I use them without issues for over a year.

IMG_20150117_165106.jpg


IMG_20150117_165043.jpg
 
I used magnets to make a Pukani rock corner shelf for my new upcoming build.
The magnets are plastic coated (from K&J Magnetics) and have worked well for me with magnetic frag racks.
The magnets are epoxied into small recesses in the rock; one on each side of the rock.

View of the rock shelf inside the tank.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shelf-MountedonRight.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shelf-MountedonRight.jpg" border="0" alt="Shelf - Mounted on Right photo Shelf-MountedonRight.jpg"/></a>

Views from outside of the tank.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shlef-OutsideView.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shlef-OutsideView.jpg" border="0" alt="Shelf - Outside View photo Shlef-OutsideView.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/MagnetDetail-Outside.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/MagnetDetail-Outside.jpg" border="0" alt="Shelf - Magnet Detail photo MagnetDetail-Outside.jpg"/></a>

Using these magnets may hold the rock work in place depending on the strength of magnet you use.
But the stronger the magnets, the tougher it may be to break the attraction bond once attached inside the tank.
 
I used magnets to make a Pukani rock corner shelf for my new upcoming build.
The magnets are plastic coated (from K&J Magnetics) and have worked well for me with magnetic frag racks.
The magnets are epoxied into small recesses in the rock; one on each side of the rock.

View of the rock shelf inside the tank.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shelf-MountedonRight.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shelf-MountedonRight.jpg" border="0" alt="Shelf - Mounted on Right photo Shelf-MountedonRight.jpg"/></a>

Views from outside of the tank.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shlef-OutsideView.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/Shlef-OutsideView.jpg" border="0" alt="Shelf - Outside View photo Shlef-OutsideView.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/MagnetDetail-Outside.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/Fluval%20M60%20Reef/Pukani%20Shelf/MagnetDetail-Outside.jpg" border="0" alt="Shelf - Magnet Detail photo MagnetDetail-Outside.jpg"/></a>

Using these magnets may hold the rock work in place depending on the strength of magnet you use.
But the stronger the magnets, the tougher it may be to break the attraction bond once attached inside the tank.

Nice thanks for the input!
 
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