Black PVC Pipe

Mudfrog

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 3, 2005
3,199
55
81
45
VA
I've seen people use black PVC pipe in the past. I wanted to get rid of my white PVC pipe so I picked some up and lo and behold it floats.. :irked:

Whats the trick? Besides laying heavy objects on top because my fire eel will just move those.
 

Trippingpara

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 10, 2008
268
0
16
New England
Sounds like you have ABS pipe (which is black) not PVC pipe. The ABS pipe is two very thin layers of plastic molded over foam - hence the floating. Most people that I know with "black" pvc have white pvc that they painted black with Kyron Fusion spray paint which is supposed to be fish safe.
 

dmopar74

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Mar 24, 2006
5,080
154
120
44
Tri cities washington
Trippingpara;2068113; said:
Sounds like you have ABS pipe (which is black) not PVC pipe. The ABS pipe is two very thin layers of plastic molded over foam - hence the floating. Most people that I know with "black" pvc have white pvc that they painted black with Kyron Fusion spray paint which is supposed to be fish safe.
the only time i run into foam core abs is at home depot. been plumbing for 9 years and never used the stuff, im not saying its inferior but just not common to my trade, atleast in my area. go to a plumbing supply house and they should have full abs pipe, or try other hardware stores. if the pipe has a white core it will proboably float.
 

benzjamin13

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
MFK Member
Sep 12, 2005
31,542
546
201
Los Angeles, CA
I used to have some...those are ABS pipes and yup...they float. No way around it except putting some type of weight in there.
 

pumagrif

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2008
27
0
0
Voorhees, NJ
there is actually Black PVC. You can find it at speciality stores that sell lawn sprinklers, small hard ware stores or even ata gardern center.
 

stevietennis

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 28, 2008
51
0
0
Los Angeles, CA
From what I heard ABS pipes can leak chems into your tank. I don't know if it is true or not but that fact that there is some possibility of it happening keeps me away from them. Good luck.
 

dogofwar

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Jan 3, 2006
5,083
953
174
49
Maryland
www.capitalcichlids.org
stevietennis;2068728; said:
From what I heard ABS pipes can leak chems into your tank. I don't know if it is true or not but that fact that there is some possibility of it happening keeps me away from them. Good luck.
I think that this is one of the self-perpetuating myths that has no basis in actual experience.

Lots of filters and the like are made of ABS.

Has anyone ever had black PVC/ABS kill their fish?

Anyone up for mythbusting this?
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store