# Plastic Container (Polypropylene) & UVB



## Trunks91 (Mar 12, 2015)

Good afternoon,
I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with plastic containers for keeping reptiles (In my case an aquatic turtle) and UVB lights.

I've heard alot about how UV light can damage plastics and over time cause them to crack and become brittle, Is there anyway to avoid this? Anything I can coat the plastic at that end of the tub with etc? Is it really going to crack the plastic etc?

I currently have my Yellow Belly Slider in a 500 litre glass tank (One I used to use back when I kept Marine fish & corals) however recently I've been tempted to start up another Marine project (May not bother) and I wouldn't dare keep my turtle in the same tank with expensive marine fish and corals.

I do however have a large 550 litre PP plastic clear and water retainable container with an even wider dimesion available that I could set up for him.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

the plastic will discolour first with heat, light and uv and after a log time become hard and brittle

but.... this takes a serious long time to happen. It will go brown first though

my main worry is the heat from your basking lamps either melting or causing chemical leeching from the plastic.

I'm really not keen on the use of RUBs or any other plastics for this reason. 

I understand that some will start to leech petro-chemicals at 65 degrees???

its a risk

John


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## Trunks91 (Mar 12, 2015)

Arcadiajohn said:


> the plastic will discolour first with heat, light and uv and after a log time become hard and brittle
> 
> but.... this takes a serious long time to happen. It will go brown first though
> 
> ...



Ah so the colouring would be a good indicator then that it would be time to replace the container, good to know.

65 degrees what? F or C? As the temps won't get anywhere near 65 degrees Celsius. 

From the research I've gathered regarding 100% PP plastic is that it won't leach any harmful chemicals etc into liquids.

Cheers.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Trunks91 said:


> Good afternoon,
> I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with plastic containers for keeping reptiles (In my case an aquatic turtle) and UVB lights.
> 
> I've heard alot about how UV light can damage plastics and over time cause them to crack and become brittle, Is there anyway to avoid this? Anything I can coat the plastic at that end of the tub with etc? Is it really going to crack the plastic etc?
> ...


many plastics are available with UV protective additives (acrylic being the most common one), so I would recommend you contact the manufacturer and find out first

we specifically use Acrylic which is protected against UV, and a PVCX which doesn't react to UV, for this reason...its not usually a concern for non-reptile products, so chances are it'll react one way or another to the UV


the plastic temps are also something you need to ask the manufacturer, they are specific to the type of plastic and additives in the plastic - you might want to find out what additives where used to, could be all sorts of nasty stuff in there you don't know about, and if it starts out gassing those at 30C, it wont make for a great enviroment


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## AmenMoses (Feb 21, 2015)

Polycarbonate is typically used for greenhouses and conservatories so I assume it is safe in that regard, I'm going to use it for my large viv instead of glass because it is stronger and lighter.

Not sure how easy it is make containers out of though. Is it just glued like Acrylic?


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

AmenMoses said:


> Polycarbonate is typically used for greenhouses and conservatories so I assume it is safe in that regard, I'm going to use it for my large viv instead of glass because it is stronger and lighter.
> 
> Not sure how easy it is make containers out of though. Is it just glued like Acrylic?


you want a solvent cement, not sure which are best for polycarb tho, something to research...if you are looking for watertight, tbh you cant beat glass and silicone - but a well cemented polycarb box could work, not sure what the tensile strength of polycarb is, it is very hard, great for hard knocks, not sure about large amounts of water tho, bare in mind that 1m square of water = 1 ton, that's allot of pressure on the tank

additionally polycarb scratches to hell...don't use it if you want a nice view inside, within a few months it could be a cloudy mess (not sure what yellow belly activity is like, but any contact with the polycarb with scratch every time unless they are very soft, and even then...)


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## Trunks91 (Mar 12, 2015)

After a good bit of research I've discovered that yes UV will certainly have an effect on the plastic over time, PP has poor UV resistance which is fine, I'll just coat the exposed plastic at that end of the tub with a UV protector or just create an above tank basking area.

Also 100% Plastic #5 or PP / Polypropylene is infact Aquarium safe, Highly heat resistant and from what I gather won't distort atleast not until 65 degrees celsius to 100 degrees celsius (It won't leach either), further reading also showed that many food containers, baby bottles etc are made from PP.

Still not sure I'll even bother setting up another Marine tank so the Turtle may well stay in his 500 litre glass tank for the next good while.

Thanks to those that posted.


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