Is polypropylene aquarium safe?

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Feb 12, 2007
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Just wondering. I need to build a wet dry setup and I've got some pretty specific dimension restrictions but I also have access to tons of free 3/4" poly and an extrusion welder. I'm pretty sure it would be but I wanted to check and make sure before I get stared :)
 
where did you buy the welder and how much?
 
I was always informed that polypropylene is the chemical that Leaches out of Garden hoses and is harmfull to fish. Thats why Everyone buys vinyl tubing, it doesnt have polypropylene
 
AndrewMack said:
I was always informed that polypropylene is the chemical that Leaches out of Garden hoses and is harmfull to fish. Thats why Everyone buys vinyl tubing, it doesnt have polypropylene
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Were you informed by someone credible or is it just something you heard? Polypropylene is about as inert as plastics get and doesn't leech. It is used in laboratories for this reason, as well as your plastic milk jugs, 2L pop bottles, plastic water tanks, and so on. It far outperforms any type of vinyl as far as reactivity and leeching comparisons are concerned.

As for garden hoses, I think a bit of investigation will reveal that they are made of butyl rubber and vinyl.
 
Polypropylene (PP next to the recycle symbol) is probably one of the most common plastic along with LDPE, HDPE and PETE. They are all used as containers for liquids and foods and other items. I bet alot of filter housing are made from it as well but not sure. Tubbing isnt normally made from PP, nor is PP usually clear, so not sure why you have compared it to vinyl.

For more info google is a great place to go. Hit #1 on my screen with google is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypropylene
 
darksoul said:
where did you buy the welder and how much?
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I didn't buy it, the owner of a company I used to manage did. The how much is about 5k, which only covers the welder. Add another 1.5k or so for the blower you need to give it an air supply.
 
Shocker6966 said:
Were you informed by someone credible or is it just something you heard? Polypropylene is about as inert as plastics get and doesn't leech. It is used in laboratories for this reason, as well as your plastic milk jugs, 2L pop bottles, plastic water tanks, and so on. It far outperforms any type of vinyl as far as reactivity and leeching comparisons are concerned.

As for garden hoses, I think a bit of investigation will reveal that they are made of butyl rubber and vinyl.
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I would hope so because I called the manufacture of the water hose I wanted to use for my WC's
 
AndrewMack said:
I was always informed that polypropylene is the chemical that Leaches out of Garden hoses and is harmfull to fish. Thats why Everyone buys vinyl tubing, it doesnt have polypropylene
Click to expand...
I used to work in a plastic recycling center, polypropylene is about the most comon plastic out of over 30,000 varieties on the planet, my proffesional opinion....
100% fish friendley .I'd bet your filter intake is probably p.p.
 
Ok but better safe then sorry. another reason why i thought P.P wouldn't be fish safe because the water hoses for an RV do not have that chemical in it and thats what supposedly makes them safe for human consumption
 
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