Lasers vs reef pests....

[dz6t]

with all 5mM of laser zap into the pest, it will not kill it.

 

[vinny]

5mW laser is not weapon grade.

Did you see the video's where they cut thru a 3" black foam and they pop balloons from a distance and they light a cigarette and a book of matches.

 

[Dragon2115]

I work for a medical laser company and I threw this one out to my boss who is a senior scientist. He feels that in order to accomplish what you're describing it would require a laser with a power level in the megawatts. He also doubted if enough energy could be focused on the target due to the impurities in both the aquarium glass and the saltwater and to overcome the thermal dissipation that would occur from the water. With enough power to kill the target you'd vaporize the water the beam passed through causing a really interesting reaction within the aquarium.

Steve had the best idea with using a tube to minimize the distance the laser would have to travel through water. That way the final lens could be fractions of an inch from the target. It would still be very dangerous with the scattered light and would probably blind everything in the tank that has eyes.

I suggest investing in Joe's Juice or a CBB for aiptasia control.

 

[smcnally]

I suggest investing in Joe's Juice or a CBB for aiptasia control.

But neither of those are nearly as fun as LASERS

 

[Dragon2115]

But neither of those are nearly as fun as LASERS

Sadly they are not. But at least the clownfish will chase the laser pointer dot on the rocks. I know it's not nearly as fun as vaporizing an aiptasia along with a gallon of water but at least we've got something.

 

[Bobbofin]

Perhaps Myth Busters can investigate for you. They can blow it up at the end of the show and your pest problem would be gone!

 

[Sean Irwin]

Maybe a high energy UV lamp linked to a nice fiber optic tube and a very good set of goggles. 20 min of UV-B or C could do whole lotta damage.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Sweet
https://lasers.llnl.gov/multimedia/video_gallery/burn_through_slow_motion.php

 

[alpha0r]

Sweet
https://lasers.llnl.gov/multimedia/video_gallery/burn_through_slow_motion.php

Cool! I'm glad the government is doing something useful with out tax dollars.