A PFC question

[strout]

I read in my fish book that you can take pvc pipe and build a structure with it and put it on the bottom of the tank to help elavate your LR. My question: What kind of glue do you use to hold the fittings together, has to be some glue that wont kill the fish.

 

[Okayamapiper]

Would not PVC cement do the job? Plumbers use it for household water lines, and I've used it for years in my tank with no ill effects.

 

[strout]

I didn't think of plumbers using for drinking water,lol. After I posted the question, I was looking at 1979 Camaros pics of his tank building photos and he used the grated coverings off of a florasent light fixture. Guess I need to quit posting and just read. LOL

 

[Lorna]

the light diffuser stuff can be picked up at Lowes or HD for $10 a sheet. These also make great tank covers rather than using the glass covers which hold in heat and open covers allow for better surface gas exchange

 

[Chris_A]

If you do use Egg Crate as a lid just remember it has a direction. One way will block a fair portion of light and the other focuses it. The focusing can be an issue if you plan to run more than one type of light.

Chris

 

[1979camaro]

As for the pipe supports, PVC glue is definitely the way to go. Reefers use it in their plumbing all the time with no problems. Just make sure it is cured before you start putting water through it.

 

[Lorna]

you mean the light diffuser has a right side and a wrong side????? how can you tell the difference?

 

[Lotus]

If you feel the plastic in the holes, you can feel one edge is wider than the other. The wide side goes up (facing the light).

I read a while back that eggcrate in the tank can cause algae problems if it's the polystyrene type (the usual cheap one from hardware stores). Some people have switched to acrylic eggcrate (bought online) for use inside the tank. I'm not sure that the algae growth is significant on polystyrene eggcrate, and it probably won't be an issue if it's buried in the sand.

 

[Chris_A]

Yeah the difference in thickness is very small. The easy way is if you have access to calipers (doesn't everyone have a set or three lying around ) just measure it.

Hadn't heard that about the different material types... I'll have to keep that in mind. I'm switching my reef to a raised BB. Just got the plumbing for the manifold today and was going to get the egg crate next week.

Chris