PVC question?

[dphansen]

How long do you have to wait after gluing together your pvc to make it safe to run water through it and make it safe for your fish?

[less]

pvc sets up quick, let it dry for 10 minutes and your good to go

[bheron]

wait at least 24 hours minimum. even 48 would be better and long enough for sure.

[RicksReefs]

with the low pressure application used on fishtanks,
10-15 minutes is fine.

[Big Boy69]

I was told not to use any glue when making my spraybar.
It would go together tight enough w/o glue and would be safer.

Was i misled?

[prsguy]

I didn't even wait 5 minutes for mine and it's working fine.

24-48 is overkill IMO. I used to work on irrigation systems on a golf course. The systems contained significantly more pressure than any aquarium system for sure. If we had a blow out, we'd kill the water supply, hack off the failed piece of PVC, slip on a coupler and recharge the system in 10 minutes, never had a leak because of it.

[RicksReefs]

for in tank applications, friction fitting 'usually' works fine.
if it pops off, it usually won't flood the house, but for plumbing
that could flood the house, glueing is a good idea...

[prsguy]

Originally posted by Big Boy69
I was told not to use any glue when making my spraybar.
It would go together tight enough w/o glue and would be safer.

Was i misled?

I didn't glue mine either and I'm having no problems at all. In theory it could loosen but I wouldn't be too concerned with that.

[bheron]

for me, gluing and waiting the time instructed on the package is worth it when talking about the difference between sleeping at night or a whole bunch of water on my floor.

[AquaTamer]

I think it's more a question of not killing your fish with Benzene, Toulene, etc.! 24 to 48 hours! BTW, PVC fittings have a lot of friction if there not wet. I would not count on them staying together over time when wet. (I can here you---ever heard of capillary action?) PS I'm an HVAC Service tech, so, I know about this.

[RicksReefs]

well, in over 30 years i've never killed a fish from plumbing
up PVC.

PS, i've plumbed numerous fishstores, own my own setup &
miantenance company, wholesaled, retailed, blah, blah.
oh, and i'm a pool builder with 18 years experience in
plumbing... so there

[mike4271]

Originally posted by RicksReefs
well, in over 30 years i've never killed a fish from plumbing
up PVC.

PS, i've plumbed numerous fishstores, own my own setup &
miantenance company, wholesaled, retailed, blah, blah.
oh, and i'm a pool builder with 18 years experience in
plumbing... so there

Forgot to say thanks for fixing my pool Rick, only one problem, all the pvc joints have come apart, must be bad pipe

[RicksReefs]

well, since you never payed for that first fix i did,
i used my special 5 year old glue just for you.

[atreis]

I usually wait about 15 minutes and have never had a problem. PVC cement sets up quick. I've also just used friction for fittings inside the tank or sump without problems. Using friction is especially handy for flexible tubing onto barbed connectors (which I use to go from the pumps to the PVC system) as it makes it easy to pull out a pump for cleaning or repair.

[AquaTamer]

Without testing one can't know. PVC cement "skins" very quickly. But, the solvents continue to disperse into the pipe and fittings for weeks after you bond them together. That's why the manufactureres say that the joint continues to increase in strength for approximately 1 to 2 weeks. Solvents don't really dissolve into water (that I know of), but, probably evaporate into air as soon as they meet that interface. I DO KNOW that in ultrapure water plumbing they melt weld or use more refined solvents and recommend sanitization (hot water and low temperature baking) for 48 hours before the equipment is put into service. Then again, they don't use PVC either. I can't even say if or how toulene, benzine, etc. effects marine life, but, I do know that most of them are considered mutagens (by cell testing).