# Plastic.. is it safe



## Z90a (Sep 25, 2011)

I recently moved a large amount of plants into a smaller tank while im moving the bigger tank. I dont have any more terracota pots, so i used plastic containers(tupaware). Would this be harmfull to fish? Could it possibly leak some toxin into the water. i have no fish in this tank, butt it is my qt tank.


----------



## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Plastic is perfectly safe to use in aquariums. It is chemically inert.


----------



## halffrozen (Sep 24, 2011)

So long as it isn't PVC, you should be fine.


----------



## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

PVC is perfectly fine too. PVC is used for plumbing filtration systems after all. And many people use sections of pvc pipe as decor items in breeding tanks.

There isn't a single plastic material that is not used as some component in aquarium filtration or construction products.

Andy


----------



## halffrozen (Sep 24, 2011)

Trust me, there ARE plastics and variations of PVC that are not fish friendly. Company I work for is a plastic specialty company, and I know for a fact that when we quote for hatcheries, not many plastics fit the grade needed for a fish safe plastic.


----------



## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

if its food grade its safe for fish


----------



## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Are they not fish friendly or are they not FDA approved for food fish? There is a difference. Most plastics found in the marketplace are perfectly safe for fish but not all of them have gone through the FDA approval process to be safe for use in systems that produce food fish.

In any case, a plastic pot is more likely to be HIPS or ABS and not PVC anyways.

Andy


----------



## pitdogg2 (Apr 10, 2008)

halffrozen said:


> Trust me, there ARE plastics and variations of PVC that are not fish friendly. Company I work for is a plastic specialty company, and I know for a fact that when we quote for hatcheries, not many plastics fit the grade needed for a fish safe plastic.


that is true BUT he asked about PVC.....Cpvc is unsafe as the C is Clorinated PVC it is Yellow in color. It was once used for drinking water and the clorinated part was to help keep bacteria buildup from happening. PVC cannot be used for drinking water by code in most of the U.S. only waste water. It's been awhile since I have seen it as most codes have banned the use of CPVC anymore.


----------



## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Other than CPVC being chlorinated polyvinyl chloride. Most of what you just said is not true.

A final note with regard to water quality is that, unlike metals, CPVC will never leach harmful chemicals or metals into the water. CPVC maintains water quality without contributing to water contamination. In fact, NSF International approves the use of CPVC in potable water systems at any level of pH deemed acceptable for potable water. In contrast, NSF restricts copper's approval based on pH levels, since low pH water supplies can cause copper to excessively leach into the water supply and compromise drinking water quality beyond acceptable EPA standards

For more information you can go here:
http://www.plumbingengineer.com/feb_07/cpvc.php
or here
http://www.lubrizol.com/CPVC/Documents/ ... r-News.pdf
or here
http://www.ppfahome.org/cpvc/index.aspx

That doesn't mean all CPVC may be used for potable water. Particular schedules (wall thicknesses) are required for different pressures.

This is neither here nor there as both CPVC and PVC have been used by hobbyists for years in all kinds of aquarium systems without any ill effects.

Andy


----------



## Similis (Feb 14, 2007)

Once its food grade it is fine. Certain plastics are unsafe and release toxins into the water depending on 1) the colour of the plastic and 2) the pH of the water.


----------



## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Can you provide any source for that? Because what you are saying really isn't true. Plastics are primarily not affected by pH. That is why they are preferred over copper piping. And colorants in plastic are primarily inert.

Need I remind everyone that the caps on your heaters (and sometimes the heaters themself), the filters, decorations, light hoods, aquarium frames, algae scrapers, protein skimmers, pumps are all made from just about every plastic material available and in every color imaginable? Very little of which is food grade.

Andy


----------



## Similis (Feb 14, 2007)

I was warned against storing RO water in green water butts because the acidic water can cause cyanide to leak into the water.


----------



## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Never heard of that before and I doubt it's true. Plastic buckets are typically made from HDPE which is pH inert and it's highly unlikely the colorant contains cyanide. Just about every plastic fish food jar, water conditioner, bacteria supplement, and even pH buffers are packaged and sold in HDPE bottles.

Andy


----------

