Reef Safe 3D Printing Filament

[Mael]

3DSolutech PETG Black (Frag racks, mushroom boxes, mp40 covers etc)
3dSolutech PLA See through Green (frag tank coral pointers and egg crate feet so far)
3DSolutech PLA Black (Frag racks and a mushroom box)

We have been running both PLA and PETG frag racks for 6+ months with no visible difference between the 2(same model)

I have the SeeThrough Orange PLA coming in and deciding on next PETG color.

Never had an issue with 3Dsolutech which is why I haven't tried much else as far as brands.

 

[dantimdad]

Have used HQA PLA+ and PETG with success.

Don't bother with 3d Hero PLA. It is brittle after two weeks in saltwater.

I have a little clip on my freshwater tank for 3 months and it held up with the 3d hero

 

[Glitchy93]

I've been using hatchbox ABS (black) in my tank for floss holders and an ATO bracket for well over a year with no issues.
It's not under my lights so can't speak for UV breakdown, but it's holding up great in saltwater.

 

[webmanny]

Awesome thread. I have used ABS (black and orange) from Hatchbox with no issues so far. I have also used Black PETG from Amazon Basics recently and no issues so far.

 

[sbash]

Thanks everyone, it seems I was a bit behind, but the list is updated!

Have used HQA PLA+ and PETG with success.
Don't bother with 3d Hero PLA. It is brittle after two weeks in saltwater.
I have a little clip on my freshwater tank for 3 months and it held up with the 3d hero

Excellent, what colours of HQA have you had success with?

I wonder if the 3d Hero PLA would be good for bio-balls, interesting...

 

[dantimdad]

Thanks everyone, it seems I was a bit behind, but the list is updated!



Excellent, what colours of HQA have you had success with?

I wonder if the 3d Hero PLA would be good for bio-balls, interesting...

I have used 7 colors of pla from them and 5 colors of petg from them. All perform brilliantly

 

[burnetb1]

Hatchbox ABS: Blue, Black, Clear, Orange, White and green. Been in the tank for a few months with no issues.

Hatchbox PLA: Black, White, Green. Been in the tank between 6+ months. Older piece of green (12+ months in tank) is becoming brittle but not close to failure yet.

 

[Reef Buddy]

I'm just getting started with 3D printing. When I told a friend familiar with 3D printing that I was planning on 3D printing things to go in my reef tank he warned me that all 3D printed objects are prone to growing bacteria due to their porosity.

He suggested that printed parts should be coated after being printed to seal them but warned that most coatings won't hold up to parts that have any amount of friction between them.

Does anyone have more information on coatings? Are they necessary for reef parts to prevent bacterial blooms?

 

[Reef Buddy]

I'm just getting started with 3D printing. When I told a friend familiar with 3D printing that I was planning on 3D printing things to go in my reef tank he warned me that all 3D printed objects are prone to growing bacteria due to their porosity.

He suggested that printed parts should be coated after being printed to seal them but warned that most coatings won't hold up to parts that have any amount of friction between them.

Does anyone have more information on coatings? Are they necessary for reef parts to prevent bacterial blooms?

 

[webmanny]

In my opinion, it all depends in how you print. If your layer height is good and you chose the right infill %, you should be good. I think it is like everything else you put in your tank. The only reason I would coat it in epoxy would be if the part was very large, it had a low infill % or it was printed in a material that degrades in saltwater.

If you think about it, there are tons of plastic stuff you put in your tank, which would go through the same process. The only difference is that most things are extruded into a mold and the 3D printed ones are printed one layer at a time. If you have a well calibrated layer height and good layer adhesion, I don't think I would be concerned.

Just my two cents. I am not an expert in anything.

 

[dantimdad]

In my opinion, it all depends in how you print. If your layer height is good and you chose the right infill %, you should be good. I think it is like everything else you put in your tank. The only reason I would coat it in epoxy would be if the part was very large, it had a low infill % or it was printed in a material that degrades in saltwater.

If you think about it, there are tons of plastic stuff you put in your tank, which would go through the same process. The only difference is that most things are extruded into a mold and the 3D printed ones are printed one layer at a time. If you have a well calibrated layer height and good layer adhesion, I don't think I would be concerned.

Just my two cents. I am not an expert in anything.

I agree completely.

Only thing I have had any issue with is anything near a heater. I am not the only one with this issue either.

 

[GrumpyAlison]

ZYLtech PLA - black , transluscent
Hobby King PLA - Orange, Coffee (which is a more dark purple/maroon color)

Super thin pieces definitely degrade over time, but I've printed myself some little PVC weirs of PLA almost a year ago and those are still going strong with no sign of degradation.
I've printed: mushroom boxes, custom weirs, custom powerhead covers (they broke pretty fast because of the constant force pulling them), frag racks (hanging & for the floor), carbon holders, a holder to keep my auto feeder on the side of a bucket and some other random nonsense.
I even tried to print hermit crab shells (hobby king coffee color) with skulls at one point, but they floated which obviously wasn't super helpful in the end, but they looked pretty cool! Might try that again one day and just weigh them down for a bit

 

[GrumpyAlison]

The only reason I would coat it in epoxy would be if the part was very large, it had a low infill % or it was printed in a material that degrades in saltwater.

I also wouldn't worry about coating in epoxy, but for me it's mostly because if you don't get the ratio right (hard unless you mix larger batches which usually results in left overs) there might be bits of uncured resin on the thing, which is basically just sketchy chemicals you'd be dumping into your tank. Also if it's uncoated, it's easier for trapped air to escape so stuff stops floating

 

[TheHarold]

ZYLtech PLA - black , transluscent
Hobby King PLA - Orange, Coffee (which is a more dark purple/maroon color)

Super thin pieces definitely degrade over time, but I've printed myself some little PVC weirs of PLA almost a year ago and those are still going strong with no sign of degradation.
I've printed: mushroom boxes, custom weirs, custom powerhead covers (they broke pretty fast because of the constant force pulling them), frag racks (hanging & for the floor), carbon holders, a holder to keep my auto feeder on the side of a bucket and some other random nonsense.
I even tried to print hermit crab shells (hobby king coffee color) with skulls at one point, but they floated which obviously wasn't super helpful in the end, but they looked pretty cool! Might try that again one day and just weigh them down for a bit

So if super thin pieces degrade over time, so do thicker pieces. It’s just harder to notice.

My concern is that we don’t know what it is putting in the water. PETG is just a better choice, given it doesn’t break down.

 

[GrumpyAlison]

My concern is that we don’t know what it is putting in the water. PETG is just a better choice, given it doesn’t break down.

Totally not gonna argue with that - it's just what I had at the moment and enough people had used with with no apparent side effects so I went for it. Gonna snag some petg in my next order of filament and start using that in the future.

Also when I said 'didn't degrade' I didn't mean to imply it wasn't degrading at all, just that the pieces take longer to fall apart/snap

 

[Entz]

I wonder if annealing would help PLA with the brittle/heat issues.

I have a few PLA pieces in my tank without issue (bulkhead covers and clips). I would agree there is no downside to using PETG, only upsides, other than having to play with your printer which is half the fun anyways.

 

[dantimdad]

I use HQA PETG and it is just a simple temperature change (230 nozzle on my enders) to get it to print well.

Their price has gone up but it's still not too expensive.

They have a really good selection of colors as well.

 

[TheHarold]

I use HQA PETG and it is just a simple temperature change (230 nozzle on my enders) to get it to print well.

Their price has gone up but it's still not too expensive.

They have a really good selection of colors as well.

My favorite is still hatchbox PETG, I’ve gone through like 25+ rolls of it and never had an issue. Though I haven’t tried too many, beyond the chinesium brands on amazon

 

[sbash]

I'm just getting started with 3D printing. When I told a friend familiar with 3D printing that I was planning on 3D printing things to go in my reef tank he warned me that all 3D printed objects are prone to growing bacteria due to their porosity.
He suggested that printed parts should be coated after being printed to seal them but warned that most coatings won't hold up to parts that have any amount of friction between them.
Does anyone have more information on coatings? Are they necessary for reef parts to prevent bacterial blooms?

If the porosity theory was true (which I doubt), it would be a good thing. It would build up beneficial bacteria and aid in the biological filtration of the tank/system.

So if super thin pieces degrade over time, so do thicker pieces. It’s just harder to notice.
My concern is that we don’t know what it is putting in the water. PETG is just a better choice, given it doesn’t break down.

This is essentially the point of this thread. However, PLA is a biopolymer, and it will degrade over time, much like the bio pellets many folks use.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Tpu should be fine in our tanks. They are developing sutures made with TPU to give them some flex. Its also listed as biocompatible.