Jason Hughes

We acquired "Snappy" in June 2017.  He/she has been living in a 20 gallon coral tank for the past five years, building a network of tunnels and changing the layout of the sand bed in general.  A quick search on the web suggests they live about four years, I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar shrimp live longer than average life expectancy?

Hey Mike, Chipp.  Tim and I did some experiments with a waterproof concrete sealant on a PLA part some time ago.  It was a cone for a small LED star.  The part was easy enough to sand and the coating seemed to work well, but not intended to be submerged.  Fine tuning the slicer software to reduce print lines, as well as some light sanding can certainly smooth the surface of prints.  Parts like a strainer would likely add more time to post production if you intended to sand them down.  There are products used by print enthusiasts such as XTC 3D two part resin for masking layer lines and creating a very smooth surface.  I've used it (still have some I think), although I do not know if it is food safe.  It's cost more, but certainly less fumes than fiberglass resin.  I did find a product from Alumilite called Amazing Clear Cast that states it is compliant with FDA 21 CFR 175.300.  Don't know how far of a jump that would be to "aquarium safe". 

Side note, the overflow on my 20 gallon is still going strong.  I believe you printed that one in PLA.  I'll typically use a toothbrush dipped in H2O2 to cut back on any algae growing on top.