Spraypainting / PVC questions

S

Samcorp

New member
Hi. I want to spraypaint my overflow box for my 90 gallon aquarium black. It is the same spraypaint i was adviced to use to paint my canopy (from home depot). It is a "oil based" automobile spray paint, in a can.

1) Is it safe for reefs?
2) Should I use primer, then paint? Or does it not matter in this case?


- Also, I was wondering if pvc cement is nesassary for connecting parts that are "naturally" attached. For example, I have a 90 degree connector piece connected to a PVC tube, and when I pushed them pieces together I couldn't take them apart after. I just feel cement from home depot may not be reef safe, and its about 6$ (with primer). Could I just apply a small coat of silicone on the side (on the pvc) to be safe?


Thanks,


Sam
 
bump?

Also: I'm mainly spray painting my overflow because its a used one and is kinda gross. I can't even get the green algae off with my algae brush...
 
Do not use the spray paint any place that will have constant water contact IE inside the over flow or tank or sump. If this is an over the top over flow you can spray the outside of the outer box but not inside of the outer box or the box that sits inside the tank.

On the plumbing.... there is no such thing as "naturally" attached.

If you do not at the very least glue it with pvc glue it will leak!

I personally like using primer and glue some people don't primer and only glue. What the pvc primer and cement actually do is melt the pipe slightly and forms a chemical bond between the 2 pieces of pipe and make it essentially one piece. Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction
 
Oh also for cleaning things like overflow boxes and the U tubes for them, as well as pumps, impellers and anything else you care to clean. Use distilled white vinegar soak the parts for 24 hours then soak and rinse with RO water for about an hour then put it back into service.
 
Most people consider Krylon Fussion spray paint acceptable.

PVC glue and primer is reef safe.
 
Here we go again lol.....krlon fusion......is the overflow glass or acrylic???? Either way only paint the outside........now for the pvc you don't want to glue, where is it going and what is it doing????if its just a stand pipe inside a overflow that's fine if it drips you will never know.....if this pvc is outside the tank your crazy and if its pressurized your even more crazy, silly cone won't help it will prolly make it worse.....millions apon millions of people use pvc glue everyday on there tanks and homes with drinking water, don't sweat it.......
 
Okay. I did more research and it seems Krylon is the only spray paint acceptable. I will be using the vinegar solution on my ACRYLIC overflow. Do I really have to let it sit for 24 hours? Thats quite some time.

Also, with the PVC, theres a 90 degree joint and when i pushed it with the pvc pipe it got very tight. Using all my strength I coudln't take it apart. I really would like to save money and just use my aquarium silicone to leak proof it. Is this acceptable? Cement plus primer gets expensive.. running 12$+
 
If 12 bucks is expensive you picked the wrong hobby.....your gonna loose thpusands if you don't glue it....:)
 
+1

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15191456#post15191456 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by troylee
If 12 bucks is expensive you picked the wrong hobby.....your gonna loose thpusands if you don't glue it....:)
Click to expand...
 
only if you like water on your floor

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15191436#post15191436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Samcorp
Okay. I did more research and it seems Krylon is the only spray paint acceptable. I will be using the vinegar solution on my ACRYLIC overflow. Do I really have to let it sit for 24 hours? Thats quite some time.

Also, with the PVC, theres a 90 degree joint and when i pushed it with the pvc pipe it got very tight. Using all my strength I coudln't take it apart. I really would like to save money and just use my aquarium silicone to leak proof it. Is this acceptable? Cement plus primer gets expensive.. running 12$+
Click to expand...
 
silicone will NOT seal a pvc joint if it is going to be used with any amount of pressure. Even a low power pump.
 
Wait. The pump will use tubing to push water back up. The PVC is coming from the overflow, aka, minimal pressure if any.

However, if this is the case, I will cement it with the home depot stuff. It is reef safe, correct? (Any type of cement plus primer for PVC)

Also..
"If 12 bucks is expensive you picked the wrong hobby"

Kinda inappropriate comment. What if I told you to buy 10 cans of 10$ food? Not expensive? Or how about if I NEED to use the cement for multiple PVC joints.. aka.. use atleast 3 primer+cements?

I'm not trying to be mean, but if you consider 12$ to equal really nothing in the hobby, then YOUR the one who shouldn't be in this hobby.
 
I think the point was that, in the grand scheme of things, in this hobby, $12 is really not much.

Anything gets to be a big expense if you use multipliers like your example.

A can of primer and a can of glue will do around 100 joints of 3/4 inch before its gone. You would need to do a lot of plumbing to need three cans.

Not being mean, just there is a right way to do things and a wrong way. When it comes to plumbing, fitting PVC without glue, regardless of pressure is the wrong way. Unless, as was pointed out, the fitting will be submerged.

Hope it helps.
 
Thank you for clarifying luv951. Regardless of multipliers (I didn't realize that a can of primer/glue = 100 joints) I still believe that the MAJORITY of people who work on reefs do not simply throw 12$ into the trash can. I'm not willing to spend 12$ on glue unless its important, as pointed out. I did not realize that its this important, and the fact that this was said "If 12 bucks is expensive you picked the wrong hobby" only shows that the person probably is not on a budget like mine, or 95% of the other reefers population.
12$ can buy a lot of things, which, in my case, something more useful than "PVC" glue. Obviously now that I have the facts, this is an incorrect statement, although I believed this earlier.

--- To get back on track though..

I have decided to pour 1/4 cup vinegar plus 1 gallon water into my 5-10 gallon "wet/dry" (no bioballs) sump, to clean that up too. My idea is I will leave that out on the deck for a bit. I feel that the vinegar may smell very bad if I leave it in the house. Would this be true?
 
This is what I meant....12 bucks is 12 bucks yes you can use it on salt or 2lbs of live rock whatever you want....but if keeping water in your tank and off the floor is not important then skip the glue, a properly set up 100gal reef fully stocked can reach in excess of 10grand easy now do you want to jeprordize 10grand on your tank and thousands in damage to your home over 12dollar glue???as for a budget ha.....I don't think there a single person out there that can honestly say they stuck to a budget there is always something you need or want....unless that budget was crazy to begin with and if you got that kind of money you don't need a budget on a tank.....:)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15192288#post15192288 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Samcorp


I have decided to pour 1/4 cup vinegar plus 1 gallon water into my 5-10 gallon "wet/dry" (no bioballs) sump, to clean that up too. My idea is I will leave that out on the deck for a bit. I feel that the vinegar may smell very bad if I leave it in the house. Would this be true?
Click to expand...

Ya, leave it outside. It will stink. Also, if you have a powerhead that needs cleaning, throw that in there too to circulate the water. After you are done, rinse REALLY well. several times, at least. Make sure you can't smell any vinegar and you should be good to go.
 
Hi guys. I just filled up the sump. Theres one issue however. I have a bulkhead on one of the drilled holes and its leaking, due to the tightness of it.
Do I have to put cement on the bulk head and attach it to the acrylic sump or can I use silicone in this case? I want to fill the water level above the bulkhead (the bulk head has a cap on it, which is screwed on).

The hole was poorly drilled by the previous owner and is becoming a nuisance.
 
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