Forty Fathoms

[fish]

it's the name of the plumbing (pipe) that you would use

[leeworthy]

so ideally, I want to have one hole at each end of my tank correct?

[jimskoi]

Yes.Better to have 2 overflows than one,Just incase something plugs the one.There is another to take care of the water coming in.
_________________
"Its all fun and games until the glass breaks"

[alexp]

[rkelman]

ABS pipe isn't reef safe.. I know people say its fine but you could potentially have thousands of dollars in livestock. There is a reason its not for potable water. Spend the extra $ and go with spaflex or schedule 40. I'd sell that tank and get Jim to order one with dual overflows built in. They aren't that expensive. As for sump size. Go as big as you can fit in the stand. I'd say start the sump 1/2 full.

[leeworthy]

I bought the tank for 20 bucks. Im not going to get anything close to the price of a new one. Ill just have this one drilled, and it will work.

[alexp]

[rkelman]

Its made to be cheap to transport waste water and venting fixtures. I assume it leaches chemicals or it would be listed as potable. I see people use it but I wouldn't. Even my growout system is all schedule 40 pipe / fittings.

[alexp]

[rkelman]

The white / gray stuff is CPVC and PVC pipe that are for potable water (safe)

[jimskoi]

I disagree. about the ABS.I have used it forever.No problems at all.Lots of people use it.As long as you use safe glue or use the ABS glue and let it cure first.

CPVC is fine also.

I was talking to a guy who actually made it in a factory.He said there was nothing to leach from it.Its not made any different tat the others.Might just be a money thing.


The main chemical that is of concern with regards to leaching in ABS piping is Acrylonitrile. Water Conditioning and Purification Magazine (yes there is such as thing toothy5.gif ) says, "the general population may be exposed to acrylonitriles in plastic products. Regulatory safeguards are therefore in place to prevent consumption of acrylonitriles through consumer product usage. Many, if not most, DWTUs(drinking water treatment unit) utilize ABS components that contact water during the course of water treatment. Typically, the concentration of acrylonitrile in ABS copolymers is about 30 to 50 parts per million (ppm). The amount suspected of leaching from the plastic product to the water supply is considered to be extremely low."

IMO, this along with regular water changes means there is very little chance of any harmful substances leaching from ABS. I believe there are several grades of ABS as well, but a grade similar to the kind available at Home Depot is what is being discussed above.
_________________
"Its all fun and games until the glass breaks"

[JD]

I asked my sister, a chemical and environmental engineer, about possible issues with ABS piping and solvents(glue) with regards to my aquarium. She told me the possibility of leaching is very small. The only piping likely to leach would be those subjected to UV radiation or excessive heat(over 150 deg F). She explained that ALL plastics are made from nasty chemicals and they all could leach toxic chemicals if subjected to enough heat or UV. I described the 10% per week water change routing. She said I would NEVER accumulate enough toxins to cause any concerns.
Considering her education and non biased opinion I will continue to use ABS on my whole system. I have over 100 feet of 1.5",about 50 feet of 2"and half a litre of solvent in my current system.

http://fortyfathoms.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=1528

Have you ever considered all the plastics used in aquarium products? Think of just pumps, powerheads and filters. I'm sure some of that stuff has ABS in it, never mind the manufacturing standards associated with their third world origins.

I wish I had spent even half the time learning about Ich instead of worring about piping...time better spent I assure you.

[leeworthy]

Holy crap that system is amazing.

[alexp]

[rkelman]

If its not potable there is a reason. If its not good enough to drink from why would you want it in your tank? Just because there are no outward symptoms it doesn't mean there is no damage caused. What you aren't seeing is the possible lack of organisms / beneficial bacteria that would be there otherwise. There are chemicals added to ABS pipe to inhibit algae growth for one. While that may seem good for an aquarium if it comes to the surface to stop the algae it leeches. I agree regular water changes may stop any harmful chemicals from building up. For the small amount of money it costs to use a potable pipe why wouldn't you?

[alexp]

[JD]

Home Depot does not carry enough PVC pipe/fittings(white) to be worth going there. I didn't use PVC so I don't know who does have it.

[rkelman]

There's more than one way to skin a cat in this hobby. What works for me may not work for others. You'll find that there are very differing opinions of what's acceptable and what's not. I lean more to the cautious side. But why wouldn't I? I have a large Carpet Anemone that could conceivably be hundreds of years old. I take its care very seriously and would be very upset if something happened to it that I could have prevented by spending an extra $20 on pipe and or fittings. I would always wonder if I should have done something differently.

I used Schedule 40 stuff on my breeding setup and its nice to work with. (its white) I don't know if Home Depot stocks it.I buy mine at TSC. They can show you what's potable and what's not. (potable means you can drink from it safely basically) Some people even wash or sand the writing off on the pipes. I don't think its necessary to go that far. Alot of people use Spaflex pipe and its really nice stuff. They use it for hot tubs. It also is safe. (it has to be so the hot water doesn't cause chemicals to leech into your hot tub)

[JD]

I like the idea of spaflex. I have seen others using it. I especially like the smooth turn, less friction/restriction, and very quiet compared to hard piping. No splashing sounds, that I find VERY annoying.
If I were to replumb my system I would use it where ever I could. I would also use the PVC. NOT because of chemical leaching but because it's white and cleaner looking than ABS.

[rkelman]

I agree the smooth curves would be great so as not to slow the water flow. It would be alot quieter too I think on a system the size of yours it would quiet it down quite a bit. Mine is dang loud. My next thing is going to be to try and make it quieter.

[JD]

Most of the noise upstairs comes from the overflows. I had it pretty quiet taking the overflow water from beneath the surface and using 1/4" tubing to break the vacuum. I recently changed it to skim from the surface. Appearently the water on the surface is where the "protein" exchange takes place and is most desirable for more efficient skimming. Now it is noisier again, not oh my god or anything. I used 180 degree turns beneath the surface to give a liquid trap to seal off most of the pipe noise from the overflows.
My tank is rear centre drilled,twice times 1.5".
I might try to create a coast to coast style overflow...we'll see.

[alexp]

[rkelman]

Most of my noise is pumps. My calcium reactor is a beast. I need to cut my standpipe down so my system skims the top more. I get a pretty good film on top at times.