# Zapping mojanos



## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I have posted ways to eliminate mojanos before but this high tech way is the baes, and most fun.
I use 24 volts DC which can't hurt you and I inject it into a mojano with this home made electrode. It uses stainless steel sewing needles in an acrylic tube sealed with a glue gun.

I thought it was the electricity doing the job but now I am now fairly sure it is the gas generated from one of the electrodes that destroys the mojano and not the current.
Here is a close up of the electrode emitting the gas. (I am not sure if it is oxygen, hydrogen or chlorine)
The anemone turns white and totally disentigrates and becomes part of the bubbles.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

The electrode is emitting chlorine, big time. I found a cheap way to make Clorox.
I tried it for a minute in a small volume of water and smelled it, it almost burned my nose off. This is the substance that is oxidizing the mojanos.
I replaced one of the stainless stel electrides with carbon because the stainless steel on the side that does not produce the gas corrodes very fast. The carbon seems to last forever.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Well the thing seems to be perfected. I used graphite from a carpenters pencil for the terminal that corrodes quickly. The chlorine emmitting electrode is still stainless steel but it is thinner now. The entire thing is small and compact with a push buton momentary contact. There is a light in it to tell you it is working. Of course the light don't work so it is back to Radio Shack for a different light but that is very easy to replace. I just don't know how long it will work.
The transformer is 18 volts which is rectified to give out DC.
I used a stainless steel spring to connect the graphite to a wire, it coils tightly around the graphite to give a good connection. The spring and wire are encased in clear 
"Goop" glue. I use Goop on another thing that I patented for the hobby that stays underwater so I know that will be no problem.
After I do a few more tests, and if they are successful, I will mail it to someone to test.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

When the bubbles get to the surface, you can faintly hear "OOOOOOOOUUUCCCCHHHH"


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)




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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

A friend of mine owns a LFS near my home and his tanks are loaded with mojanos. Very large ones, so I am going to try to go there today and test the device on larger mojanos. I may need to bring a larger transformer to generate more power for these suckers
but it will be a good test.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

A friend of mine owns a large LFS and his reefs are loaded with mojanos so I made the mistake of telling him that I built this mojano zapper. He had to try it so I brought it there today and he loves the thing. He destroyed about 75 mojanos in about 15 minutes. And in his tank they are huge. There is no chance of them returning because there is nothing left of them.
I had a hard time getting the thing back from him but he gave me a nice rock with yellow polyps on it so I told him I would build a larger one for his deeper tanks.
I built a different model and after it is completed I will try it again on his tanks.
This is in the store's tank, those spots you see to the left are the bubbles along with burnt up pieces of mojano


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## homerdave (Mar 24, 2010)

did you think of trying a led instead of the light, should last a very, very, very long time. Probably need a resistor ti limit the voltage or a small voltage regulator (zener diode). Looks great!


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Dave I eliminated the light, the water provides enough resistance with the transformer I am using. The new model has a small light in the tube right near the tip but it is more for looks than anything else and just lets you know that you are pushing the button and it's working. Of course you can now use it in the dark, not that that is a benefit.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

That store wants to sell them so I built another 4 of them. I hope to make another 20 or so next week if I have time.
Now I can mass produce them. If he doesn't sell them, I will need to grow a lot of mojanos so I can justify building them *r2


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I sold out, I love these things.
I guess thats why I love this hobby so much. There are so many facets to it.
Intertwined in the hobby is my boating, SCUBA, and inventing.
It just never ends.



>


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## dave in Iliamna (Aug 15, 2009)

So the bubbles are chlorine gas?
So is it reacting with the salt in the water or is some thing else going on?


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

If you pass electricity through salt water you get chlorine and hydrogen. It is hydrogen that is emitted from the needle.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I took a video of the thing working. The mojano becomes a little ball of slime that disappears in an hour or so.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)




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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Awesome trick, thanks for sharing.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Someone on another forum posted that on the model he was building he had to replace the graphite electrode in a few minutes so I did a test. I ran these two electrodes in salt water continousely for one hour. As you can see by the picture, there is no decay on either electrode. The graphite is slightly discolored because it is still wet.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

My wife who has no interest in reefing has found a new hoby, killing mojanos.
She wanted to use the zapper so I told her to leave me some mojanos because some people who come over like to try the thing.
She zapped all of my mojanos in a few minutes. Now I have to find some and feed them to make them grow so I can have other people Zap them.
My daughter loves this also.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I am having wierd occurances when I zap mojanos. It seems that I have more amphipods than I thought because whenever I zap a mojano, I see one or two amphipods running out of the holes near the mojano. But the wierd thing is that these stomatella, or shelless snails, seem to be atttracted to the zapper.
I didn't even know I had so many of these stomatella's but almost everywhere I zap, one of these "snails" comes practically running towards the commotion. They stop just before the mojano that is getting zapper and try to touch it with their antenna.
They don't like the feel of it as they pull back their antenna but they stay right there next to it and "hang out".
This happens about half the times I zap something.
I can't explain it. I am not sure if they are attracted to the electricity of the hydrogen gas.
Also those banded tentacles that you see sticking out of the holes which are mostly brittle stars, reach out to grab pieces of destroyed mojano. It seems that they only like to eat them after they are cooked as they never touch the living mojanos.

You can see a stomatella just under the chromis, he came out to "watch me zap a mojano right where he is


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Really neat Paul. Have you tried it on Aiptasia and I hate to ask but shrooms? I'd be interested to know if it would work on those critters.

Guess I'm old school but I still use Kalk paste and a long glass dropper.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Hank I personally never used it on mushrooms but I did send it to someone for that purpose and she said it works on her hundreds of mushrooms. I don't know how long it would take to kill a mushroom and If I find her I can ask her.
I also never used it on Aiptasia but out of the 80 or so that I sold many people bought them for aiptasia. I have about a dozen reviews about those creatures and so far no one said it didn't work, but I don't have any aiptasia so I can't swear by it.


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

A very neat item. I wish you the best of luck with it. It's nice to see technology advancing the hobby.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Thanks Hank. I am having a little more luck with it than I would like right now.
I broke mine by slamming it in a drawer but I made one last week that truned out to be defective, it filled with water so thats the one I use on my mojanos. It still works like that but I can't sell it.
Take care.
Paul


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I am still trying to figure this out why certain snails are attracted to this and would like to do a test by keeping a small amount of electricity going in one area and see if I can get a bunch of Stomatella to come running.
I can't tell if they are curious of if they smell burning mojano. I also wonder if this can be used to trap certain creatures.
I love to experiment.


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## njstillwell (Oct 14, 2010)

Was wondering if you could make me one as well... this is a major problem in my tank.I have atleast 50 plus small ones but i need to get them gone asap...please help me out lol...let me know thanks again Matt


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

njstillwell I pmed you


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Hey, everybody!

This is Paul B's wife, best friend, dive buddy and very rarely his critic. However, this time I must boast about this "Zapper" thing. I can't believe my husband, Paul B, finally got me hooked into this hobby in some small way and it was fun too--much to my surprise. I loved zapping with his new invention. Who would have thought? Our tank is looking better than ever now that I am involved with the clean up. You see fish is Paul's passion and mine seems always to be cleaning up something or another. Anyway, I am really proud of this guy and his latest invention. By the time I was finished, there was not even a hint of a mojano or tentacle in site of our 40-year old reef.


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