Material use in Salt water

[mling]

What type of material is safe to use for in salt water without fear of corrosion or harm to reef inhabitants ?

I have used egg creates, and of cause PVC pipes.

 

The ideal water depth of the new skimmer (Bubble Magus Curve 7) I got is 11". My current sump setup has a water depth of 14" I would like to increase the water depth of my new skimmer by having it sit on a brick or 2x4 wood.  That should make up for the 3" in height.

 

Is it safe to put brick or wood in a reef setup ?

[wildcrazyjoker81]

Brick and wood would have chemicals on or in them. If you don't. Want to just make a strand out of PVC/egg crate/acrylic/plexi, then you could go the ceramic tile route, but it would take a lot of them stacked up. I've even seen people use bucket lids. I'm sure others here will have more/better information for you.

[ReefAddict]

I use eggcrate on top of 4 pvc legs for my slimmer platform.  It’s not pretty, but it works.  I was surprised there really isn’t any vibration noise from the pump either. 

[DaJMasta]

Made a short stand for something small out of a slice of PVC tubing, just drilled holes through the sides to get zip ties through and zip tied to the base of the thing it was supporting and is secure enough - would probably take 4"+ PVC for an appropriate size for a skimmer though.

 

As mentioned PVC, acrylic, and plexiglass are all going to be fine but can be varying degrees of annoying to work with, depending on what you have to do.  If you have a 3d printer, PETG or other PET based filaments should probably be the go-to, but a lot of plastics can work provided they aren't pigmented with stuff that leeches out.  ABS and similar plastics will likely work fine, but usually float, so they're annoying to use for some things.

I'd probably go to the hardware store and look for something made of plastic that's approximately the size/shape you're looking for and just go with that.  I know there are some large size PVC flanges and adapters that may be around the right height and should be pretty easy to cut (though you want the cut to be level or the skimmer will rock), but maybe like a bundle of appropriate length fittings or pipe segments would be a better choice.  I'd probably go with something with a bunch of holes in it just so you don't loose the water volume, but you're looking for something that's totally inert in the long term when immersed in saltwater, which is most typically plastic.

 

Come to think of it, maybe the most expensive/interesting way to do it would be to stack up a few blocks of marinepure or similar under it.  Really optimize that sump space.

Edited April 30, 2021 by DaJMasta

[dreamin_reefer]

I have a 7x7x3" made of egg crate that you can have if you want to pick it up.