# Electronics "in" my tank



## DSchro18 (Jul 27, 2009)

I am having a problem with an idea of mine that I thought would be pretty neat. what I am wanting to do is to take a broken motherboard from an old computer and submerge it in a tank (also considering trying to wire in some leds in just for fun). The problem comes in when i try to find a sealant to protect it from corrosion and the tank from harmful heavy metals. I have considered many things. GE silicon I would be safe for the fish but could ruin and discolor the electrical components. GE silicon II would be safe on the electronics but would kill the fish.... according to the one guy at the GE sealant call center ..called twice same guy answered. I also heard that Krylon Fusion spray paint was safe but it dose not come in clear and how cool is it if its painted blue. I am looking for any option but would like to stay in a lower price range but i really want this to work ... come on internet machine don't fail me!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A lot of clear epoxys are fish safe. Or maybe a heat-shrink film. Have you called 3M an DuPont? Or how about submerging it in a glass or plastic bubble full of air. They sell these DIY x-mas ornament balls. I thought about filling one up with toy people and sealing it with aquarium sealant and attaching it to some slate.

Considering what you said. Could you seal it SI II and then seal in SI I?

Easiest thing to do (copout) is to make a black 3D box with circuit boards and flashing lights and use as the background behind the tank.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Wait... what is the point of submerging a motherboard in a fish tank?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Why a skull, a skateboard, or any of the other things we are asked about? Because the person who want to do it thinks it 'looks cool'. Most of them grow out of "cool stuff in the tank' along with the blue & orange gravel. But let them have fun while it lasts. 

You could just put stuff in unsealed and let it rust and kill fish and call it a modern Chinese biotope.


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## DSchro18 (Jul 27, 2009)

can i get any links for the epoxy or the heat shrink


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Oh, I see. I was thinking that the motherboard would be functional. I now get that it would just be submerged as junk.Not my cup of tea, but, I guess... whatever works.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

ok, a functional, underwater, fishtank-cooled computer would be pretty cool. But I think making a computer the shape of the tank-side and a few inches deep and using it as a background would be kinda neat, too. 

Search for food-grade epoxy sealant. If you can put it on a bowl with lead-paint and make it safe to eat out of, its likely to be fine in a fishtank. Really any food-grade sealant, acrylic or silicone, too. 

By the second or third tank, most of us give up on putting cool-looking stuff in a tank and concentrate on stuff that make our cool-looking fish fish happy.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

why even bother with fish...just dump in a few motherboards and watch them swim around..
sounds like one of them folks that dumps their tras in the rivers because it looks cool floating around in the current..


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2009)

Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

sorry folks ; but i am a little touchy about this kind of stuff..for me ; the focal points of an aquarium are the fish and plants.if one wants to put things like motherboards or bones or dubs or whatever ; then why even bother with the fish or plants..
to me ; there is nothing more beautiful and pleasing than an all natural tank.
so if youwant to sit and watch a computer motherboard ; just leave everything else out of the tank..
com was much nicer about it ; but i am with him..."not my cup of tea"


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2009)

i agree Loha. nothing more soothing than an all natural tank. but some people have diff tastes....like the old saying goes....to each thier own.


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

if you get the right size tank you can use a functioning motherboard as a background. Or if you google oil cooled computer, you can make one of those.


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## spencer25 (Aug 29, 2008)

maybe im wrong here, but i used GE silicon II (with bio seal) to stick sand to the top of pvc pipe "for decoration" and its been in the tank now for a year with no ill happenings. The fish even rip it off from time to time and its in thier mouths' and around their gills, so i would use it again if i needed to. Just make sure you let the silicon cure for at least 2 days, i usually let it cure for at least a week to be safe. Also, it does say mildew resistant but there is not mention of mildewcide and its 100% silicon, so it should be safe.


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

I have seen computers in fish tanks without fish before. I don't think a working PC would work. For functioning marine computer they submerge them in either distilled water or mineral oil. I would say it is very unsafe to have a fish in it. If it brushes against any of the electrical components your fish could get fried. Also and impurities may cause your pc to blow. Maybe you could make a false back with mineral oil (distilled water is kinda sketchy for use with working electronics) so there would be no other complications.


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