Poll about PVC frames

[fillibar]

Should a PVC frame for holding live rock be open to the water or sealed up? If open, would it be more beneficial to just leave the ends open, or put small holes throughout it to try to limit what goes in to small copepods and critters? I do not want to have any 6ft worms or such living in my frame so I was leaning towards sealing it. Then I thought about how copepods might like the space within. I started this poll to get everyone's opinion for this DIY project. It is only open for 30 days so I can actually work on it soon, so please make your opinion known.

[pescadero]

i think that if you've got baby worm in your tank that is the same species as that ugly 6-footer, there's not much that you can do to PVC pipe to stop it. i think that since these guys eat through rock, they should be able to eat through PVC, no? If they find a hollow tube that they like, they'll either enlarge an existing hole or make their own hole if they want to get inside of the tube.

i was thinking that it might be better to use solid PVC rods. i haven't found them yet.

[heyfredyourhat]

I made a frame with drilled PVC .5", million 1/8" holes every where, but it left burrs on the inside of the PVC every hole that had been drilled. So I scrapped it and went with just standard 1/2" PVC and left the ends open

[fillibar]

For the holes I planned on taking a heated needle and melting holes into it. I have drilled tons for prior projects, and you are right, the burrs are a pain. This one will be worse because I plan on heating and bending it in many places so there are not many straight lines.

[Kentanner11]

I would just use it to add flow, Nothing will really be growing in it as there will be flow, but it will be doing something useful!

[a1amap]

It doesn't sound like you want to use it for plumbing just structured support. In that case I don't think it matters.

[fillibar]

Correct, I was not planning it as plumbing as I already have 4 - 1" returns. The pipe is just going to be meandering around in a couple very convoluted ways to provide support for some rocks, so it will look slightly more full than it really is. So far the poll is proving slightly useless because all 3 options have about the same score. Oh well. More votes people!

[OnlyCrimson]

I would leave it open all the way. This way you can blow it out if you needed to. If you sealed it all the way you would have to trap air or water or some other solid in it.

[MAthU]

i had mine left open and it had stagnent water that was a problem when i removed the frame.. if possible i would seal it up so that the stag water dosent leak in to the tank, or id put flow through it.. just my experiecne

good luck!

[Myfitz]

They have a great article in Marine Fish Reef Annual, called Live Framing for Reef Tanks. Open and even cutting holes into the frame to make caves and such.