Moving a 120 gal tank any advise

[1eyedjyde]

Not really what I wanted to hear but...

The overflow drains are mostly PVC rated for potable water. The issue i ran into was on the closed loop where the bonding of PVC pipe to ABS fittings (PVC fitting selection is limited in town) resulted in leaks so I changed all the PVC pipe to ABS and no more leaks, searching the internet resulted in more rumors some people use it with no issues some people prefir to use only PVC. The PVC is rated for potable water but in the actual amount of ABS im using the benifit of a quality connection out weighs the leaching of any chemicals in my mind. I have also run it for a few weeks with fresh water completely draining the tank several times and I will probably do it again now that its in the house as one final leak test. I also dont notice any odor from the pipe now that it has been thouroughly flushed, at the time when cutting the two different pipes the ABS smelt slightly worse then the PVC but at the same time melted PVC is still not healthy.

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Its recommended not to use ABS plumbing on our aquariums. During manufacturing they add something to the plastic to inhibit the growth of bacteria on the pipe. Its not a really potent effect so you can get away with a little but it might not be a good idea to have all of your plumbing done with it. If I didn't need to leave for work right away I'd find some information for you... but I'm running short on time so maybe someone else will chime in.

[1eyedjyde]

Here is a post from another forum just some food for thought

Still doing some reseearch on the ABS pipe subject and found this, hope it is helpful to someone: I pinched it off http://www.reefaquariumguide.com......

so black ABS pipe is bad?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

been doing a little reading and see some people are against using the black abs pipe out of fear of leaching something into the tank

ABS pipe is black rigid, non-pressurized plastic pipe used to drain your sinks, tubs, showers, toilet and washing machines. It is also used to vent the drain and waste pipes.

is there another black pipe not ABS? that is safe to use?

a quote from reef central on black ABS pipe safety


Quote:
just got a reply from a abs manufacturer:

Please find the attached with regards to the ABS request you had. For your
information we have never heard of any leaching from ABS system.

<>

Kevin Webb
Ph: 905-403-0264
Fx: 905-403-9195
kevweb@ipexinc.com
IPEX Inc. ~ Clarkson

i checked with ips (the makers o weld- on products),and ALL of there ABS cements are suitable for potable water .however,some of their cements,in particular some of those used for flexible pvc,are NOT safe for potable water.be carful what you pick
weld on 795 ,both blu and clear are not safe
weld on 747 is safe

here is more stuff:

ABS (acrylonitrile butadíene styrene) is an extremeiy robust thermoplastic pipework system used by many industries in systems for food and beverage production, sewerage and water treatment etc. ABS is extremely resistant to impact with good resistance to chemicals, is non-toxic, conforming to the toxicological requirements of the British Piastic Federation, British Industriai Biological Research Association Code of Practice for Food Usage 45/5, and EEC requirements for piastic materials in contact with foodstuffs. These systems are light, strong and simple to fit using a solvent cement.

and this 'chemical resistance guide for water potable materials notice that abs is rated the same as pvc cpvc...A

Thermoplastics PVC A
CPVC A
Polypropylene (PP) A
Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) A
Polyethylene (PE)
Polyethylene Cross-Linked (XLPE)
Teflon A
ABS A
Gaskets SBR A
Viton A
EPDM A
Neoprene A
Buna N (Nitrile) A
Hypalon
Alloys 316 Stainless Steel A
304 Stainless Steel A
Titanium
Hastelloy C

[whatcaneyedo]

Andrew Sherrit has pretty good selection and pricing for PVC. Have you been going there or somewhere else?

[1eyedjyde]

I ended up going all over however the most conveinient for me up the hart was the home hardware. Afterlooking for a few harder to find pieces I did hear about Andrew Sherrit. Probably should have started there but now i know.

[1eyedjyde]

Its been a while sice my last post but not much has really happened. Work has been crazy so things have been on hold at the moment.... however this week started off with some "forced progress" as my "temp" 29gal desided to give out at 12:30am monday morning. The bottom of the tank cracked end to end luckily I was still up and managed to have only a "few" gallons of water hit the floor. In the 120 I will be placing egg crate on the bottom for sure now, lesson learned. Luckily I have been cycling the remainder of the liverock in rubbermaids so a quick check of temp and salinity and all the live stock from the 29 has been placed in the tubs wich will likely help with the cycling of the liverock. After 3 days no losses and am getting some extension of the coral, so far so good for the getto reef.

As for the 120, this week I have wired a new circut so now I have 15 amps dedicated to the 120 and the seal kit for the snapper came in so I installed that, so it looks like there will be water in the tank in the next few weeks. Have to start figureing out how I want the rock laid out now, still now sure exactly how I want it to look.

[whatcaneyedo]

Are you putting some ridged Styrofoam between the tank and stand as well?

[1eyedjyde]

I wasnt going to since the tank actually sits on the brack plastic trim around the edge, if the glass sat directly on the stand then for sure I would, th other reason I,m not too worried about this one is the thickness of the glass, the 29 gal had 3/16 or so thick glass and I had it stuffed with rock upwards of 50 to 60 pounds granded the 120 will have closer to 100 lbs it will be spead out more. however I am now thinking about the foam suggestion.... hmm

[Madreefer]

Did Levis have styrofoam underneath it? If the sides of the tank go farther down than the bottom peice than I wouldnt use foam. If it's totally flat all the way across the bottom than you'll be fine.The reason being is that the bottom is designed to have a little flex in it. If you put that foam in there the sides sink in further and take away that flex and the bottom will crack.

[whatcaneyedo]

Total Pet had a large tank (180gal maybe?) in their store for a few months that had a black plastic bottom trim and sat on an uneven metal stand. The first time they filled it the bottom cracked immediately. In some cases putting a layer of rigged Styrofoam underneath is necessary. The rest of the time its just a good precaution.

[1eyedjyde]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

Did Levis have styrofoam underneath it? If the sides of the tank go farther down than the bottom peice than I wouldnt use foam. If it's totally flat all the way across the bottom than you'll be fine.The reason being is that the bottom is designed to have a little flex in it. If you put that foam in there the sides sink in further and take away that flex and the bottom will crack.

Levi did not have styrofoam under the tank and the top of the stand is a single sheet of 3/4" plywood. I have also already had it full for several weeks outside with fresh water.