ampullae of lorenzini and aluminum

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serafino

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Ok in my quest to research my shark pond and all I thought since the frames of most above ground pools are made of steel. I'm pretty sure the pressure on the tank would require metal poles to sustain the tank long enough instead of pvc which will change shape much more rapidly. A problem though is sharks and rays have the ampullae of lorenzini and public aquariums have had problems with metal and sharks. Has anyone tried using aluminum. Since aluminum is not a ferromagnetic material. Has there been any research done on this. If it did end up not effecting them it could be ground breaking. Who wants to do experiments with me? Only joking I wish I had my pond to do the tests with. So any information would be appreciated.
Thanks
 
Hmmm ... Think you may be forgetting one thing about above ground pools.

That is they usually have plastic or rubber liners - although the liners may not be "Fish Safe".

Ultimately - for anyone using an above ground Swimming pool as a Fish pond/lagoon - I would suggest using a good "Fish Safe" Pond Liner. In the case of sharks I would suggest at least double lining the pool.

This would also have an effect of preventing the Aluminum of having direct contact with the salt water or the sharks.

Still the best above ground pools for sharks are ones that have walls made of either hard plastic, resin, or Fiberglass.
 
None of any tank support should ever be in contact with the water. Aluminum is soft... very soft. I'd say PVC is better choice for long term strength when comparing those two as structural support.
 
Zoodiver;1598962; said:
None of any tank support should ever be in contact with the water. Aluminum is soft... very soft. I'd say PVC is better choice for long term strength when comparing those two as structural support.
Click to expand...
I completely disagree Aluminum is much harder and stronger than pvc. Also if you are not aware the molecules in pvc are always moving around kind of like glass so the pvc actually changes shape with constant pressure over time.
My point and question in this thread is about aluminum and the ampullae of lorenzini. I never actually plan to use anything above ground anyway that is just way to much pressure. I'm talking about major public aquarium exhibits using it to reinforce concrete. Not in the water that always equals a no no;).
 
Well, first off, if it's not in the water, you're second post about it not oxidizing underwater is completly pointless. Second, public aquariums use steel reinforced concrete in the tanks - were the concrete is thick enough to offset the magnetic fields that you are worried about.

I'm going to argue my point about aluminum vs PVC some more for you. ALL material is constantly in motion. As a person who deals with both materials and as a keeper of sharks the concept of aluminum is not a good choice. It's not a 'strong' metal by anymeans when used in this application.

For above ground set ups, PVC frames on soft liners work well. For long term, fiberglass tanks work well - like Red-E-Wall tanks.
 
I'm going to argue my point again. Don't take this as disrespect because you are doing what I dream of doing and I have the utmost respect for you guys. The difference between pvc and aluminum is that one is a solid and the other is in more of a liquid state. Aluminum is a solid and will bend less over time it can also handle much much more stress than pvc can. However pvc is in a liquid state of matter believe it or not similarly to glass. So pvc will warp very easily and snaps even more easily and pvc also becomes brittle when exposed to UV and infrared light. So I'm going to have to disagree with you unless you can convince me otherwise.

Off topis
Oh also I love your signature! Its my inspiration.
 
Ok, you stick with your theroy.
I'm very familiar with both products. I'll explain why:

Aluminum: I own a company that makes performance parts for cars. I'm well verserd in various types of metals, there properties and how they react under certain conditions. That information leads to some of the best parts money can buy. My cars hold several records for power, performance and being the "first" of a kind using some new methods of manufacturing parts. My primany designs are aluminum based engine parts. In order to produce the best parts I can, I've had to research many various consistancies of that metal and learn about heat tolerance, strengths and weaknesses of them.

PCV: I've designed and built very large scale fish tanks - including sharks tanks. I've spend the last 8 years working with sharks. I've had to learn about PCV in all it's various schedules - and what composite is best for each application based on ambient air temp, water temp, pressure, flowrates and several other factors.

We started talking about private sized tanks. For which PVC frames supporting a liner work the best. It's been proven. You do not need metal in these situations at all.
We jumped to large scale tanks - in which steel would be the better choice due to strengthing concrete.

So far you've said the aluminum doens't oxidize as fast when put in contact with water. Then I explained your main structure won't be in contact with water.
You offered that the magnetic properties of the aluminum would make it better to use than steel when building large shark tanks.
Then I explained that tanks large enough to require support as we are discussing use thick enough concrete to block what sharks would be picking up on.

So either we are talking two different things - or somehow missing something.

My points:
Small liner tanks are best supported with PVC (sch 40 would work, but sch 80 would be better, yet twice the cost or more).

Above ground style holdings of a larger scale that tend to get too large for liner set ups are also done in fiberglass with fiberglass reinforcement. Those work well and are VERY strong.

Large tanks will need rebar to support the walls, and if you tank is that large, you will be using enough concrete to seperate the steel and it's electromagnetic properties for the water column.
 
Any plumbing shop will have various schedule PVC. They are color coded for easy ID. For example, sch 40 is the typical white pipe you see, sch 80 is dark grey.....

Another thing you should read up on is fiberglass/fibergrate composites. They're super strong, don't wear down with salt or water and can be made to fit any shape.
 
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