mineral accretion vs. aragocrete

[kaskiles]

I searched a bit on the mineral accretion technology and came to the conclusion that it probably would just make a mess in a reef display tank.

But it did seem like an interesting way to create near net shapes of calcium carbonate. Basically setup the anode/cathode in an isolated tank, allow the process to run until no further mineral deposition is noticeable and then disconnect the power and move into a display tank. Something that hopefully wouldn't have all the pH stability issues of the aragocrete/cement structures.

Do you guys know if someone has tried this deposition process to just produce a structure for a tank; maybe with specialized water chemistry (instead of IO salt mix, just some of the 2-3 part mix constituents)?

 

[bertoni]

I don't know enough to comment much, but I wouldn't want to leave a metal wire in a closed tank, so that'd be one major issue for me. That's an interesting technique, and it might be fun to try.

 

[TekCat]

pretty cool techique.... instead of metal wire you could try graphite I know it is a conductor, however don't know if it is reef safe.... should be, because really it is just another form of carbon.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

There's be no problem with graphite in a tank, but I do not know if it is conductive enough for this application.

Overall, I'd guess this idea to be way more trouble than its worth.