hot glue, caulk, plastic/s, other questionable safe materials

[aehageman]

I like to invent using recycled materials, trash, broken things etc.   I have many questions and google says yes and no cause people answer by repeating wrong answers. 

Is there a hit glue that is aquarium safe?

Which 3d printer medium is best?

Any pvc pipe or other pipes that certianly should not be used? 

 

I use apple juice containers from wart for filtration containers.  sewer pvc pipe, broken dishes, drainage pipe (the cheap black stuff)  old this and that, etc.  about everything close to safe.

 

My long term goal is to eat the plants that grow from the tanks and eat the non ornamental fish I produce.  so don't need fish toxic or human toxic.  

I can not find a list. Fyi, doctor ordered me to bed rest for a recent back injury, so on my phone with fat fingers. Doing my best to correct auto spell and pain killers..   

 

[Sarina]

Oooo materials science is one of my favorite subjects. Okay! Basically any plastic used in food packaging products is safe. Acrylic, polycarbonate, petg, pvc, hdpe, polypropylene, delrin (acetal), acetate, vinyl, etc. Honestly most plastics in general are safe because they take so long to degrade, which is why reusing plastic items is fantastic 😊

Hot glue is safe, however it does not hold up very well under water for long periods of time. Stick with plain old clear silicone, 2 part epoxy, or cyanoacrylate (super glue). I recommend BSI super glue because it's the best and doesn't have harmful accelerants in it like gorilla glue does. 

As far as 3D printer material, PLA is NOT safe because it is designed to be biodegradable and will cause an algae bloom like you wouldn't believe. Ask me how I know lol. ABS is safe, as is petg. Petg is much easier to work with than ABS and not nearly as toxic when melting, so maybe stick with that for 3D printed stuff. 

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions. 

[aehageman]

This is awesome😃.  I just made a wish list for my wife. Lol!  and sent a text to my friend that prints for me.  your not also into patenting inventions, also?  lol!

[Sarina]

44 minutes ago, aehageman said:

This is awesome😃.  I just made a wish list for my wife. Lol!  and sent a text to my friend that prints for me.  your not also into patenting inventions, also?  lol!

I actually went to school for CAD design and 3D modeling for printing, but realized I couldn't stand the idea of being stuck behind a desk for work 😅 I dropped out of college and went freelance fabricator so I have lots of experience with building and making stuff, but my formal education is quite literally in additive manufacturing design. 

[aehageman]

13 hours ago, Nirvanaquatics said:

I actually went to school for CAD design and 3D modeling for printing, but realized I couldn't stand the idea of being stuck behind a desk for work 😅 I dropped out of college and went freelance fabricator so I have lots of experience with building and making stuff, but my formal education is quite literally in additive manufacturing design. 

WoW!
Now we need to find a patent attorney with a soul!  

[Sarina]

2 minutes ago, aehageman said:

WoW!
Now we need to find a patent attorney with a soul!  

Good luck with that one 😂

[Guppy Guy]

Saw what you said about any food safe plastics. That is almost true. Avoid #1 plastics(milk containers, plastic water bottles{You better not be using those in the first place. SAVE OUR OCEANS!}, disposable containers). Check out @flip aquatics YouTube video for more. Check out @The King Of DIYs video for safe silicones and glue as well. PVC is safe as well. I cut up some 2” pieces and they look really cool in my 30 gallon community tank.

 

[BenA]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:45 PM, aehageman said:

attorney with a soul!  

Good luck with that 😉