Oatey PVC Cement

[Apollo7235]

Good morning all,

In the effort of continued troubleshooting for my display, I am trying to find out if Oatey PVC Cement is toxic.

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...a4IvivGZMcmE_ffS49hoCrIoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I searched it here and it looks like there are a few posts about tank crashes where the posters say they used this product, but it doesn't look like the cause of those crashes was determined, so I am not sure what to think.

Thanks!

 

[WVNed]

I used that to build my 400 gallon system with about 30 joints. I have had no problems.

 

[Apollo7235]

I used that to build my 400 gallon system with about 30 joints. I have had no problems.

I had kind of figured this would be the general response considering the product is safe for potable water, but had to be sure!

Thank you very much for the response :)

 

[WVNed]

Did you possibly do any gluing with mold resistant silicone in your system. That has led to some mysterious tank problem threads before.

 

[Apollo7235]

Did you possibly do any gluing with mold resistant silicone in your system. That has led to some mysterious tank problem threads before.

I wish I had so I could at least find the source of the issue!

I used Aqueon Aquarium Sealant Silicone to build my sump.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Literally tens of thousands of Reefers have used this product to plumb their tanks, myself included. Stick to gluing your pipes and if you don't pour it directly into your tank you'll be just fine. Best advice is wait 24 hours before running water through it to ensure full cure and flash off.

 

[Rmckoy]

As long as it’s cured 24 hours as recommended it’s safe .

 

[Apollo7235]

Bad news, we didn't wait the 24 hours.

Could this have been the issue?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

How long did you wait? How generous were you with glueing the joints? Are you having a specific issue? Anecdotal evidence is one of the tools in our reefing arsenal and it serves it purpose but it can be a double edged sword as we know that observation does not often imply causality.

 

[Apollo7235]

How long did you wait? How generous were you with glueing the joints? Are you having a specific issue? Anecdotal evidence is one of the tools in our reefing arsenal and it serves it purpose but it can be a double edged sword as we know that observation does not often imply causality.

Honestly, I'm not sure. I think it was a few hours, but when we plumbed the tank we had a major Issue with the return pump over-powering the overflow (come to find out, the dang thing was under-rated), so we did a lot of on-off-on-off craziness trying to get it all figured out, and I'm not even going to lie, we were so frustrated after nearly 2 weeks of jacking with it that when we re-plumbed it we were in a rush to get it done and see if it worked.

That being said, I don't think we waiting much longer than 2-4 hours before we ran water through it.

 

[Apollo7235]

How long did you wait? How generous were you with glueing the joints? Are you having a specific issue? Anecdotal evidence is one of the tools in our reefing arsenal and it serves it purpose but it can be a double edged sword as we know that observation does not often imply causality.

As far as issues, my tank is a coral killer and now a snail killer too. I have a neon goby, watchman goby, and two pistols doing great in there, but it killed a Mexican Turbo within a few hours of introduction, and now possibly a second. Weird, considering the Nassarius snails are doing fine.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I think it was a few hours, but when we plumbed the tank we had a major Issue with the return pump over-powering the overflow (come to find out, the dang thing was under-rated), so we did a lot of on-off-on-off craziness trying to get it all figured out, and I'm not even going to lie, we were so frustrated after nearly 2 weeks of jacking with it that when we re-plumbed it we were in a rush to get it done and see if it worked.

That being said, I don't think we waiting much longer than 2-4 hours before we ran water through it.

While not ideal, unless you literally had excessive amounts of glue running everywhere throughout your joints it's unlikely major contaminants leached into your tank. My first couple tanks I didn't wait the 24 hours either (live and learn) and I didn't have issues.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

As far as issues, my tank is a coral killer and now a snail killer too. I have a neon goby, watchman goby, and two pistols doing great in there, but it killed a Mexican Turbo within a few hours of introduction, and now possibly a second. Weird, considering the Nassarius snails are doing fine.

I'm assuming you've done frequent large water changes while combating this issue?

 

[Apollo7235]

I'm assuming you've done frequent large water changes while combating this issue?

I did a couple very large changes the first time I tried transferring coral into my display and they all began to die. If I remember correctly, I did a couple of 50% changes, a 75% change, then when I tried moving them into the DT again a week or two later, they all started to die again. I did another big water change, but then I posted about it and was told to quit with the water changes, haha. I have been doing 10-20% water changes once a week since then and that was a few weeks ago. I mix my own water; I have a RODI system with a TDS meter that always reads 0 output with 120ish input and I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I did a couple very large changes the first time I tried transferring coral into my display and they all began to die. If I remember correctly, I did a couple of 50% changes, a 75% change, then when I tried moving them into the DT again a week or two later, they all started to die again. I did another big water change, but then I posted about it and was told to quit with the water changes, haha. I have been doing 10-20% water changes once a week since then and that was a few weeks ago. I mix my own water; I have a RODI system with a TDS meter that always reads 0 output with 120ish input and I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt.

Fair enough, I think you can rule out the Oatey. It doesn't have anything in it that would leach into rocks and persist at the level that's killing everything. This stuff is commonly used (maybe not so much anymore) for plumbing in home that may at times be carrying dining water to people. I think I noticed another post by you in here and I'd follow advice there and start with an ICP test to see what that shows. They will list several metals known to cause issues (copper etc).

 

[Apollo7235]

Fair enough, I think you can rule out the Oatey. It doesn't have anything in it that would leach into rocks and persist at the level that's killing everything. This stuff is commonly used (maybe not so much anymore) for plumbing in home that may at times be carrying dining water to people. I think I noticed another post by you in here and I'd follow advice there and start with an ICP test to see what that shows. They will list several metals known to cause issues (copper etc).

I actually ordered the test this morning, so hopefully it comes within the next couple of days despite the holiday.

I ordered the ATI test since it seems to be the most comprehensive and the description says it will catch any spices of pollution as well. Hopefully that sheds some light on my issues.

Thanks a bunch for the responses!

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is the product of choice in this industry

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I actually ordered the test this morning, so hopefully it comes within the next couple of days despite the holiday.

I ordered the ATI test since it seems to be the most comprehensive and the description says it will catch any spices of pollution as well. Hopefully that sheds some light on my issues.

Thanks a bunch for the responses!

I've used that one once before, seemed pretty comprehensive. Good luck!

 

[Apollo7235]

I've used that one once before, seemed pretty comprehensive. Good luck!

Thanks again!

 

[ca1ore]

Probably 99% of tanks have used PVC solvent. Generally wise to wait 24 hours for the joints to fully cure and the smell to subside, but I have put pipes back into service many tines after only 5-10 minutes. I just put solvent on the pipe, so any squeeze out occurs on the outside rather than the inside of the pipe. Imagine enough solvent pooled inside the pipe that is still liquid when water arrives could be problematic.

FWIW, silicone problems are more about insufficient cure time than whether an acetoxy or neutral cure type is used.