Where to buy reef safe black abs pvc

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iroll253

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I want to drop an intake pipe for a closed loop in my display but i want the pipe to be black. A friend at aquarium paradise said that the black isn't marine safe. I have a hard time believing that and am just looking to get some back up information. :confused:

Thanks.
 
not sure on the pvc (which should be reef safe, no reason i can think of why it won't) but you can just use some black locline
 
i need one like 20inch black pipe with a couple black T's so theres one low intake one middle and one 4 inches below surface.
 
I just spray painted the PVC for my return line black. I also painted my Tunze black too and no ill effects that I can see.
 
its actually abs they use it for drains because it's not pressure rated like pvc... there was a rumor for along time going around that it was treated with a algacide but this is false check the msds. sheet if you dont believe me.... i use it all the time with no ill effects since pvc sanitary tees are hard to come buy and abs is readily availible i used it on my 500gal with tons of sps and no problems what so ever.....;)
 
I have heard the same rumor. It's nice to know that there are people that have used black pipe with no effects.

I also did not know you could get away with painting the PVC. Do you just use Krylon Fusion for that?
 
I've used abs pipe in my tanks before and saw no harm.
I've also spray painted pvc pipe many times to match the color of my background color.
Krylon seems to be the brand of choise.
It will scratch off over time. It's not permenant.
 
Another option would be dark grey Schedule 80 PVC which is pretty easy to come by

Todd
 
I would prefer black but have thought about grey..

I don't know if i could bring myself to paint the pvc and put it in a tank as small as a 29..

I might just do white and wait for the coralline to cover it. It seems to cover white fast anyways.. I dunno yet. I have time as i am still looking for a mag 18-24.
 
+1 to the krylon, I have used it in both warm and cold water tanks with no problems. If you sand lightly first and do two light coats, you can't scratch it with your thumbnail after it cures. It may soften with time, but so far so good ~1 1/2 year in cold and 6 mos in the reef.
 
I would imagine that as long as the ABS pipe is suitable for potable water it should be fine for an aquarium. ABS is a common plastic and i'm fairly certain that it is used for many submersible pump housings.
 

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