Is this a safe DIY project from a chemistry perspective?

[Carinya]

Hello all. I have long browsed these boards & found them to be some of the most technically enlightening anywhere. On behalf of many of us non-chemists at seahorse.org, I come with the following question.

Several of us have begun a DIY project of making fake gorgonians by using pipe cleaners and Plasti-Dip. Plasti-Dip is a liquid plastic product that hardens over several hours & is typically sold in hardware stores for the purpose of coating tool handles. The label says it is good for Marine use, which I know doesn't mean aquariums, but I optimistically take to mean that it holds up versus salt water. Anyway, below are the ingredients and I was wondering if anyone had insight/thoughts on the potential safety of this project.

Naphtha
Hexane
Xylene
Toulene
Acetone

Obviously kind of nasty petroleum products you wouldn't want to go pouring into your tank. But after they have cured & hardened...well I just don't know. I mean, aren't all plastic decos made from petrol-based ingredients? Anyway, I am not a chemist & the specific questions are:

1) would you expect the cured plastic product to leach anything harmful into the water in the short term (6 months)
2) would you expect the cured plastic to break down in the long term (12-18 months - or longer if you think so)

A quick note regarding the pipe cleaners, I understand that metal exposure in the tank would not be a good thing and any DIY undertakings would need to be done very carefully to ensure full coverage of the pipe cleaner.

A link to a photo of some of the gorgs that have yet to be placed in any tank: http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?act ... d92408f541

Thanks in advance,

Carinya

 

[Len]

I've taken the liberty of copying this over to the General Reef Discussion to increase your exposure. I'd try to answer you question if only me and chemistry got along

 

[Len]

BTW, the AAOLM forums such as the Chemistry Forum is intended for AAOLM article discussion .

 

[MarkO1]

I like your designs, but the risk of exposing live animals to those chemicals would be too much for me personally. Also, I would think that anything artificial would become encrusted in coraline and/or algae after a week or so, unless you turn to scrubbing them weekly.

Acetone is a very volitile chemical. And if you meant to say toLUene, here's what the EPA says about it regarding levels above 1 part per million:

Short-term: EPA has found toluene to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: minor nervous system disorders such as fatigue, nausea, weakness, confusion.


Long-term: Toluene has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: more pronounced nervous disorders such as spasms, tremors, impairment of speech, hearing, vision, memory, coordination; liver and kidney damage.
_________________
Honda NSR125

 

[Fl_Seagull]

I don't think anyone would propose exposing their animals to the chemicals listed.

The issue is, once cured, does Plasti-Dip leach these chemicals into sea water. Many materials use "toxic" material but are safe once cured (epoxy is one example).

I thought I had some information on this material. But, it appears to be at work. Seems to me, we used a similar material on a manned spacecraft and I had filed a copy of the out-gasing report.

 

[Anonymous]

I like the availability of PlastiPip, but it is not for potable water, which give me some reservation about it application in aquarium. On the chemical listed above, the vapor pressure is pretty high (VOC), but I feel they will come off for months after curing.

However mixing silicone glue with food-grade dye (FD&C #40 Red, FD&C #30 Blue, among others). You will have more controll over the color (I don't think they have purple PlastiDip...), and you will be assure that it is aquarium safe. It will be more expensive, and the food coloring may come off for a few days, but you may want to apply a clear coating of silicone so that the color leaching problem is alleviated. Now the issue is how to make the silicone thinner so that it is more workable....

 

[Fl_Seagull]

Sorry Carinya for taking so long to get back to you; I lost my home computer.

I could not find my file at work.

I agree with what dupaboy1992 said about the product. However, I have found that many products simply have not been tested and thus the warning about use in waters system/aquariums/....

One Idea I had was to dip the pipe cleaners in epoxy. If it was bent in the approxiamate shape, the epoxy paint would be flexible for some minor adjustments.

The Local HD was selling a spray epoxy for bath tubs that would also work. Unfortunately the cost is higher.

 

[Carinya]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Sorry about posting in the wrong location & thank you for moving the post.

We will look into alternative ways of making these decorations, per your suggestions!

Carinya

 

[Anonymous]

I can get plastic casting matereal from my plastic store. I think it's polyester resin. That may be a good option. However, they will be rigid, not flexible like plastidip would be. Something you might want to check out.

You can also get any color (both translucent and opaque) to dye the resin before you cast it.

B