ABS plumbing kills reef tank?

[fish head]

Is this true; does ABS plumbing kill fish and others in the reef tank?
I am going to start plumbing my sump and was told to never use ABS. Use PVC. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced problems with ABS. For thoese of you who don't know the difference, ABS is the black plastic plumbing you can buy at Home Depot. PVC is more shinney and grey.

 

[xxvietxjustinxx]

And I always thought it was just a different color...

 

[fish head]

Incorrect. The ABS more popular and less expensive that PVC.
ABS is the flat black pipe most often used for plumbing the drains in your house. The PVC pipe I finally bought is grey, shinny and heavier than the black ABS pipe, and is about 1/3 more expensive than ABS.
I traded the stuff in after the LFS said ABS will destroy a reef tank.

 

[skierguy]

ABS is most commonly used for drains (or for after fixture use). The reason is that ABS is not designed to be under pressure. The max pressure it is tested for is 10’ head pressure when used in construction. It is not intended for potable use so I would be leery of using it. The grey PVC is actually intended for electrical conduit use. It is similar to the plumbing PVC (white) however it contains a UV blocking chemical to slow down the breakdown of the PVC. It should be fine for your use. JMO.

 

[scotts]

PVC comes in different colors. White is schedule 10. Thin walled stuff, it is used a lot for sprinklers. Gray is schedule 40, thicker stuff. There is also a schedule 80, and if memory serves wight it is a darker gray, but you do not need to use that. Granted they use plastic conduit for electrical, but that would be located in the electrical section, not the plumbing section. ABS is used mainly for drains. I have not seen small ABS, but then again I never looked because we always used PVC.

 

[richard rendos]

Lowes, HD, and all the local plumbing shops here sell Schedule 40 PVC that is white. I have been using it for years with no ill effects. I haven't used ABS.

 

[javatech]

Same thing here 40 is white

 

[skierguy]

White PVC is available in sch. 40 as well as thin wall. I have only seen sch. 80 in dark grey. Most sch 80 PVC found in the local hardware stores was designed to be used for high pressure water. The sch. 40 PVC that I was referring to for use as electrical conduits is light grey. I am sorry that I did not make that clear initially.

 

[fish head]

Excellent board. Thanks for the clarification. I'll just stay away from ABS altogether. I'm not sure what exactly would/could leech into the water, but why take the risk.