tank set-up question

[abaigael04]

After a long search for quick filters, I finally have all my parts to set up my 'river tank' for my clowns. Bought the CPVC (for hot and cold water) and bought some of that PVC cleaner and cement stuff. - I bought the kind that says good for use on PVC and CPVC figuring it would be OK for water - is that correct? Or is there some special kind I should use for an aquarium? I didn't see anything there specific for water like that but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist .

[BotiaMaximus]

I'm not an expert on the PVC for fish by any means.

I had been reading through some other articles because I have some similar plans myself.

I had run across people saying NOT to use pvc cement at all "our sysytems are low pressure and shouldn't need it anyway" they suggested using silicone sealant if you needed to use anything at all.

It got me curious - so I have been checking out the set-up at the LFS's as I go around and all the ones whose plumbing you can see clearly have used the regular cement that turns purple - makes sense to me - it is drinking water safe and cures instantly.

The downside I can see to it is that it is completely permanent and cures instantly which means no adjustments or being able to take apart to clean and such.

My suggestion is to get the confirmation from some of the experts on here as to the safety of the cement for one and then really think through your set up and decide if you really need to lock it down that tight before you commit.

The silicone idea didn't sound bad to me. You could re-apply if you needed to after a modification.

Hope that was helpful.

[abaigael04]

but the silicone wears of (or some such thing), no? I have glued plenty of rocks in my tank and some are fine but some are not actually glued / siliconed together anymore - so would silicone hold everything together long term? I do have the silicone here, too - so either is OK for me. I am going to put it all together and make sure it all fits first, too so hopefully there is no problem with cementing and having it not fit! It makes one wonder which is better for use. It is good to know it appears to be safe, though!

[BotiaMaximus]

but the silicone wears of (or some such thing), no? I have glued plenty of rocks in my tank and some are fine but some are not actually glued / siliconed together anymore - so would silicone hold everything together long term? I do have the silicone here, too - so either is OK for me. I am going to put it all together and make sure it all fits first, too so hopefully there is no problem with cementing and having it not fit! It makes one wonder which is better for use. It is good to know it appears to be safe, though!

Silicone never really permanently sticks to anything. But I imagine that by "smearing" a thin film of this around the pipe end you would get an adequate seal and enough adhesion to hold everything in place for your use. It is going to be low pressure such as provided by an aquarium sump type pump correct??

The silicone would be the type of seal that if you took it apart, you would have to peel it off dry the pipe and re-apply a fresh coat before re-assembly. Silicone does need a solid 24 hours dry time as well - maybe more in a sealed environment with no air contact. The cement is instant.

I would still double/triple check with the experts on here about the PVC Cement safety before committing to it. It might be ok after X amount of time to cure and vent off any gasses, maybe it is ok when you are running thousands of gallons in a central filter system where it is diluted well enough, but not necessarily in a single tank. I would get positive confirmation before I went for it.

I'm going to follow this one myself since I need the same answers.

[abaigael04]

I am using 2 AquaClear power heads.