Egg crate leaching phosphates?
- Thread starter KirbyBTF
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uncleof6
Active member
That is utter nonesense. Plastic is inert, it does not disslove in salt water, therefore it cannot leach anything into the water. Aragonite is inert at normal marine pH values, therefore it cannot dissolve, and does not leach anything into the water. Silica sand does not leach silica into the tank, for the same reason the aquarium glass does not leach silica into the system... does that make it clear enough that some people will agree with/believe ANYTHING if it is posted on the internet? 
power boat jim
Well-known member
If plastic leached things into tank water this hobby would not be possible. Nearly every item we use to support life in the system is some sort of plastic.
TruReef
New member
exactly......our internal overflows are plastic.....
mcgyvr
New member
Thats why you must wear the tinfoil hat.. :bdaysmile:
uncleof6
Active member
Burning plastic? Yes...
Roodler
New member
"The products that resulted in toxic water were soft to semi-soft products made from plasticised PVC or polyurethane, as well as epoxy products and textiles made from various plastic fibres. The toxicity was mainly caused by fat-soluble organic substances."
That's from Science Daily. Egg crate is made of PVC. Now having said this, I don't know if it's phosphates or not, but I figure it's worth mentioning.
That's from Science Daily. Egg crate is made of PVC. Now having said this, I don't know if it's phosphates or not, but I figure it's worth mentioning.
uncleof6
Active member
Black plastic eggcrate is made from ethylbenzene, which is a cocktail of benzene and ethylene. It is better known as styrene or polystyrene. White plastic eggrate is made from polymethylmethacrylate, better known as Acrylic.
The rumor that eggcrate leaches phosphate started on RC when someone noticed something growing on their white eggcrate. It was fueled when another noted a similar growth on their black eggcrate: red algae. Simply because algae grows on something, does not mean that something is leaching phosphate, rather it means someone is not managing their sytstem properly. Often these rumors are supported by "credentialed" chemists that are more concerned with not saying someone is wrong, rather than saying it is an obsurd conclusion...Rumors such as this can quickly get out of hand, due to the over obsessive fear of phosphate in the system, fueled by chemists/armchair chemists that refuse to call a spade a spade.
If acrylic eggcrate is leaching phosphate, well we better get rid of acrylic tanks too.
Predominantly, the PVC used in aquarium systems is unplasticized rigid pvc. It does not leach phosphates either.
Do support Reef Central as a place to get quality information, do not support the Rumor Central end of things....the place to look for causes of problems with your system is your methods, husbandry, etc. not some mysterious source of phosphates.
I am not commenting on the quote, I have not gone to look at it, and it is out of context. Could mean anything or nothing.
It is important to note that there is also vinyl and aluminum egg crate light diffusers. Neither of those products can be had at Home Depot AKA commonly, rather you have to go way out of your way to obtain them.
The rumor that eggcrate leaches phosphate started on RC when someone noticed something growing on their white eggcrate. It was fueled when another noted a similar growth on their black eggcrate: red algae. Simply because algae grows on something, does not mean that something is leaching phosphate, rather it means someone is not managing their sytstem properly. Often these rumors are supported by "credentialed" chemists that are more concerned with not saying someone is wrong, rather than saying it is an obsurd conclusion...Rumors such as this can quickly get out of hand, due to the over obsessive fear of phosphate in the system, fueled by chemists/armchair chemists that refuse to call a spade a spade.
If acrylic eggcrate is leaching phosphate, well we better get rid of acrylic tanks too.
Predominantly, the PVC used in aquarium systems is unplasticized rigid pvc. It does not leach phosphates either.
Do support Reef Central as a place to get quality information, do not support the Rumor Central end of things....the place to look for causes of problems with your system is your methods, husbandry, etc. not some mysterious source of phosphates.
I am not commenting on the quote, I have not gone to look at it, and it is out of context. Could mean anything or nothing.
It is important to note that there is also vinyl and aluminum egg crate light diffusers. Neither of those products can be had at Home Depot AKA commonly, rather you have to go way out of your way to obtain them.
To put all plastics into one group and say they will not leach is false. Some plastics will leach more than others. Chemistry labs wont just use any plastic they want because some plastics may leach impurities and cause false readings. Some labs won't use plastic containers at all or only certain plastics for certain liquids. Food service doesn't use any plastic they want, as some plastics may leach toxins into food. Some plastic water bottles may leach chemicals into the water that we drink. I'm not attacking anyone, just wanted to say that not all plastics are the same. As far as using eggcrate, if there is anything leaching from that it will more than likely be undetectable. I would go ahead and use it.
uncleof6
Active member
Most Chem labs I have been in use Pyrex glass, not plastic. 90% of the scares over "plastics" leaching toxins is hogwash. One of the larger hogwash hoaxes was over "Nalgene" bottles. In some liquids plastics are not inert, however salt water is not really one of the liquids. You have to use some high school chemistry here, not aquarium mis-chemistry. Just for starters, plastics are not water soluable. White eggcrate is acrylic. Is someone really going to stand there and say acrylic leaches "bad stuff" into the water, detectable or otherwise? Is it really even reasonable to say: "IF?" That is a rehtorical question...
nogascans
Member
I can't say that I believe the egg crating ( black or white ) can leach phosphates. That being said, I would have to agree that white eggcrate seems to attract more algae, whether film or coraline. My guess its simply optical in that the black obscures the detection, and the white being reflective is more conductive to growth. One reason I choose not to wear a white shirt when working on car, but rather my black "Geek" tshirt (OK, so maybe once or twice I wore a nice Guy Harvey tee, with less than optimal results!)
Another reason for the growth on the eggcrate could possibky be the reduction in flow due to the design as well as the inclusion of frags/frag plugs which further reduce flow.
I know personally I made my own DYI crates and use them in my DT (I know, don't hate). They have a good bit of green and pink coraline growth.
Sincerely,
David
Another reason for the growth on the eggcrate could possibky be the reduction in flow due to the design as well as the inclusion of frags/frag plugs which further reduce flow.
I know personally I made my own DYI crates and use them in my DT (I know, don't hate). They have a good bit of green and pink coraline growth.
Sincerely,
David
Just because something isn't soluble doesn't mean it won't leach. Wood isn't soluble but it's very porous and I guarantee it will leach. Rubber isn't soluble, but it leaches chemicals too. Plastics are also porous and depending what type of plastic and how long the liquid has been sitting in it, it will leach something. Most labs do use Pyrex or kimex, type 1 borosilicate glass for low volume preparations. However, for large volume preparations, 30L and up in most cases, plastic containers or carboys are used. Usually HDPE OR PTFE coated containers. Lower grade or lower quality plastics can yield different impurities during chemical analysis. In related compound analysis, unknown analytes are sometimes present and in some cases can be attributed to the plastic container or plastic centrifuge tubes used to prepare the diluent, mobile phase, or sample. Plastics do leach, it isn't aquarium mis-chemistry.
I'm in no way saying plastic is bad and don't use it. I'm also not saying that everything leached from plastics are going to harm the aquarium. I use it for everything and don't really think twice. I'm just trying to say that not all plastics are inert and that over time, they will leach something.
I'm in no way saying plastic is bad and don't use it. I'm also not saying that everything leached from plastics are going to harm the aquarium. I use it for everything and don't really think twice. I'm just trying to say that not all plastics are inert and that over time, they will leach something.
uncleof6
Active member
A very reasonable plausible assesment. Although I doubt flow rate has much affect on the growth of green nuisance algae, macros, etc which grow profusely regardless of flow rates, it does have a pronounced affect on the growth of cyanobacteria (red slime/red algae) where reduced flow and low oxygen levels will spawn outbreaks of cyano, where excessive phosphate is really not a factor.
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