Reef safe acrylic dye

[Sushiboy225]

Hello everyone,

I recently designed a waterproof camera housing that you can 3D print. I’ll be uploading the files once I am able to fine tune the lens filter. I am also working on a more compact V2 that can hold a higher quality camera module but not sure when that will be done.

Currently, I have an acrylic half dome as the housing lens. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to filter out the blue light without using post processing. I thought I had found a solution which was to make a mixture of yellow food coloring and clear Elmer’s glue. Then pouring it inside the dome getting the surface covered and then flipping it over and letting the excess drip off and dry. It looked like it was going to work!

And did for a little bit!

But after about a week the glue started to turn hazy/foggy, I think due to the heat of the camera module.

My question is does anyone know a reef safe way to transparently dye/color acrylic so that if water does come in contact with it, say through a leak, I just lose the camera and not my camera and fish? I thought of spray pain krylon but the eeef safe paint doesn’t come in transparent colors

 

[StatelineReefer]

Spirit ink... also known as leather dye. Alcohol based, so it penetrates resin and acrylic well. Orange should work wonderfully, amber and yellow as well. Fieblings is the brand I use.

 

[Crustaceon]

Hello everyone,

I recently designed a waterproof camera housing that you can 3D print. I’ll be uploading the files once I am able to fine tune the lens filter. I am also working on a more compact V2 that can hold a higher quality camera module but not sure when that will be done.

Currently, I have an acrylic half dome as the housing lens. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to filter out the blue light without using post processing. I thought I had found a solution which was to make a mixture of yellow food coloring and clear Elmer’s glue. Then pouring it inside the dome getting the surface covered and then flipping it over and letting the excess drip off and dry. It looked like it was going to work!

And did for a little bit!

But after about a week the glue started to turn hazy/foggy, I think due to the heat of the camera module.

My question is does anyone know a reef safe way to transparently dye/color acrylic so that if water does come in contact with it, say through a leak, I just lose the camera and not my camera and fish? I thought of spray pain krylon but the eeef safe paint doesn’t come in transparent colors

I'd think you could use whatever paint you like so long as it's fully cured before being submerged in case of a leak and to be even safer, you could always add a coat or two of clear enamel over the tinted paint and wet sand to prevent any hazing. Either way, if this camera is under water while you're taking pictures of a frag or whatnot and let's say you do have a leak, five minutes of contact with tank water probably isn't going to be sufficient time to leech any detrimental. For example, I can dip an aluminum rod into my tank for a few minutes and the water won't suddenly come back from ICP with massively elevated aluminum content. As mentioned, Spirit ink would be a good choice and if you'd like, you can mix a little into some clear epoxy resin to get the desired tint and apply a coat to the dome. That would be pretty reef safe after curing.

 

[Sushiboy225]

Spirit ink... also known as leather dye. Alcohol based, so it penetrates resin and acrylic well. Orange should work wonderfully, amber and yellow as well. Fieblings is the brand I use.

Thanks! That sounds promising.

I'd think you could use whatever paint you like so long as it's fully cured before being submerged in case of a leak and to be even safer, you could always add a coat or two of clear enamel over the tinted paint and wet sand to prevent any hazing. Either way, if this camera is under water while you're taking pictures of a frag or whatnot and let's say you do have a leak, five minutes of contact with tank water probably isn't going to be sufficient time to leech any detrimental. For example, I can dip an aluminum rod into my tank for a few minutes and the water won't suddenly come back from ICP with massively elevated aluminum content. As mentioned, Spirit ink would be a good choice and if you'd like, you can mix a little into some clear epoxy resin to get the desired tint and apply a coat to the dome. That would be pretty reef safe after curing.

Thank you! I’ll play around with both options and see which is easiest/best. The reason I want it to be as reef safe as possible is because I want to live stream the tank for when I’m away from home and enjoy a in the tank water view. Makes my nano tank look bigger too. Anyway if it’s submerged for long periods and water gets in and I don’t notice I don’t want anything leeching into the tank. Actual water is about 24 gallons in my system

 

[Sushiboy225]

Spirit ink... also known as leather dye. Alcohol based, so it penetrates resin and acrylic well. Orange should work wonderfully, amber and yellow as well. Fieblings is the brand I use.

Would this be reef safe to use?

https://www.michaels.com/rit-dyemore-synthetic-fabric-dye/M10508358.html

Fieblings is hard to find around me.

what makes spirit ink the best option.

edit: it appears I can only get the Low VOC leather dye fieblings sells.

 

[mfinn]

If the camera you plan on using is your phone, why not just use one of the clip on filters available?
The newer orphek filters fit a 50 mm lens

 

[Sushiboy225]

If the camera you plan on using is your phone, why not just use one of the clip on filters available?
The newer orphek filters fit a 50 mm lens

It is not. It’s a camera module that is in a water tight 3d printed housing. Im trying to be able to live stream from inside the tank 24/7 without buying a Felix smart system. Almost like an aquarium security camera lol