Plastic Substrate

[Zhewitt04]

As long as the pellets are over the specific density of 1.0 they will sink.

This is not a normal plastic. This is stuff your kids toys are made of. It's not a polypropylene as your bags and packaging are made of. It's a ppe plastic.

 

[Maritimer]

You selling? I'll take some white.

 

[viejafish]

Wouldn't plastic pellets too light for use as substrate even if they sink. When I set the elevation of my filter intake or vacuum my gravel, I have to be careful not to suck them out. Plastic will be lighter than gravel, and preventing them from getting sucked out will be hard. A few pellets sucked into the impeller will shorter its life.

 

[Zhewitt04]

Sand is much lighter than plastic pellets... again these are not polypropylene. They are a ppe plastic. They will sink and not be sucked up easily compared to sand. I mean sand is much much lighter and notorious for being sucked up into filters.

 

[boldtogether]

Sand is much lighter than plastic pellets... again these are not polypropylene. They are a ppe plastic. They will sink and not be sucked up easily compared to sand. I mean sand is much much lighter and notorious for being sucked up into filters.

I would love to see this in a tank...black especially.
I know you won't have a toxin issue, and the pellets will act just like most substrate imo...but rays eating it may be an issue if they can't pass it...

 

[boldtogether]

I work at a plastic injection molding facility. I can get my hands on some plastic pellets and I was curious if this would be ok for rays. I would cut down on debris in the filter and also I could run a powerhead over it without disturbing it too much. I could keep the substrate clean but yet light enough I believe a ray could burrow in it. The link below will show you what it looks like. I am going to use a natural color like a black or white or tan. All i have to do is make sure the specific gravity is over 1.0. Please let me know if you see any issues with this. I am planning on keeping a ray. I doubt anybody has used this but if you have please chime in. Thanks

https://www.google.com/search?q=raw...KEwjm967evLjJAhUBXh4KHUEsBfoQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=_

That stuff looks awesome.

 

[Wailua Boy]

On the subject of fish eating plastic, most will be able to pass an occasional indigestible item but a percentage will clog intestines and other GI issues.

I also have been using garden hoses and small sections of PVC for years, if anyone has info on the dangers of doing so; I'm interested to hear.

 

[koltsixx]

On the subject of fish eating plastic, most will be able to pass an occasional indigestible item but a percentage will clog intestines and other GI issues.

I also have been using garden hoses and small sections of PVC for years, if anyone has info on the dangers of doing so; I'm interested to hear.

PVC and Garden hoses are made of the same kind of plastic Polyvinyl Chloride. I mentioned in my previous post that plasticizers aren't used in all plastics however Polyvinyl Chloride is one kind of plastic that does use plasticizers. I also mentioned that many of the effects of leached chemical from plastics remain unknown. One known effect however is that BPA( Bisphenol A) which is leached by many plastics and in people mimics estrogen causing hormonal imbalances. These endocrine disruptors cause a slew of health problems caused by the imbalance including liver cancer. Water passing through Garden hoses has been found to carry 20% more BPA then the National Science Foundation considers safe. Again these studies are focused on people and the effects on fish are currently unknown.

 

[Wailua Boy]

Thanks for reply koltsixx . I just wondered how much BPA could be leached into water passing momentarliy thru a 15ft garden hose? I could see water being stored for extended periods of time in such containers absorbing such chemicals.

 

[koltsixx]

No problem Wailua Boy . While the articles I read didn't mention how long the water was in the hose or the rate of flow, I imagine the study was probably based on average use and therefore would be where the water is in passing thru the hose momentarily. I know BPA has been banned in the use of producing baby bottles and sippy cups because it's a big concern for us.