Galvanized Steel

[little_fish]

Is galvanized steel reef safe long term?

 

[projectx]

What are you using it on?

 

[little_fish]

my &*&**@@#!!!!!@#$% clown fish are determined to kill themselves by going down the overflow. They have managed to work their way through the plastic grating and im sick of ripping out the plumbing to save the ungrateful *@!^(*^#@#%^&* . So i grabbed a galvanized steel rain gutter thing and covered my siphon tube with it so that they can no longer even get in the tube.

I want to know if i can leave that in there long term because it work well, but i dont want to kill the tank with metal toxicity.

 

[Wicked Color]

should be, but in the long term is going to rust like any other steel when exposed to saltwater, releasing iron oxide, feeding many of the undesirable algae.

 

[thejrc]

thats gonna be a negatori

The galvanization process utilizes a lot of interesting inputs... and as oxidation occurs puts out some very interesting outputs.

In essence galvanization adds zinc to the input... which sacrifices itself during the oxidation process (it oxidizes instead of the steel) thus releasing zinc oxide into the tank. Not good.... Your going to want to look at stainless or titanium if you want a metal that wont break down quickly

 

[little_fish]

No, all the box says is galvanized, but im assuming its galvanized steel. Im not aware of any other metal you galvanize.

And i dont mind replacing it yearly. $2.50 is a small chuck of change compared to the process and heart ache of fishing them out.

 

[projectx]

I dont know, I would be leary of leaving it in long term. I know there is a similar product made of nylon that should keep em from being suicidal. I think Home Depot sells it

 

[Wicked Color]

you would have wanted to wash it very thoroughly with dish soap before hand to remove any oils used in the manufacturing process, but that sounds like hindsight at this point.

 

[little_fish]

Awesome. Im just going to pull it. I rinsed it, but didnt think of washing it more in depth

 

[thejrc]

washing or not... lol it's the zinc oxide thats going to be the problem not the oils! I'd go with the home depot mesh

 

[wirick181]

Use a oiece of plexy

 

[spstimie]

Plastic gutter guard is $5/roll at home depot or lowes

 

[little_fish]

But dont a lot of those plastics have mildew repellent on them?

 

[Wicked Color]

or anti-microbial treatment, yes you will have to be careful when selecting the mesh.

 

[Cake_Boss]

Can't she put it in vinegar for a while to get the treatment off?

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[little_fish]

But then it would just rust, which would lead to even bigger issues

What metals do our powerheads and pumps use? They cant all be made of plastic?

 

[Cake_Boss]

LF why don't you spray that plastic coating stuff on it? Plastic dip I think? That way you can use whatever metal you want and it will be sealed

 

[Off The Deep End]

+1 that sounds like a winner.

 

[little_fish]

can you share me a link to the stuff you are talking about? I would love it if it was that simple!

 

[Off The Deep End]

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/coatings/41441.html