Colored PVC - who makes it?

[Tuffloud1]

I ordered some orange PVC in schedule 40 from Bulk Reef Supply but they didn’t have enough for me to finish my project.

I see Home Depot sells “Formufit” PVC in orange. Does anyone know if this would be the same exact orange that Bulk Reef sells? Bulk Reef says they get their PVC from “C and S Plastics”.

 

[DLHDesign]

I wouldn't bank on it being the exact same color, but it's likely pretty close. I ordered some blue from both BRS and Amazon and they aren't exactly the same when you put them next to each other, for example. Yet by the time they were installed and such, I doubt if anyone other than me would know them for different.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Does anyone use the Formufit? I just want to confirm it’s reef safe and all that?

 

[DLHDesign]

Yes; it's reef safe. It's one of the several brands of "furniture grade PVC". Which is just a fancy way of saying "colored and nothing printed on it". Beyond those aesthetic details, it's the same as schedule-40 pipe.
I used several Formufit pieces (T's, 90's, 45's) for my build in places rather than using schedule-80 everywhere.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Yes; it's reef safe. It's one of the several brands of "furniture grade PVC". Which is just a fancy way of saying "colored and nothing printed on it". Beyond those aesthetic details, it's the same as schedule-40 pipe.
I used several Formufit pieces (T's, 90's, 45's) for my build in places rather than using schedule-80 everywhere.

Any benefit to getting schedule 80 fittings? I ordered them already from bulk reef not realizing that “furniture grade” fittings also exist which would have allowed me to match the orange color pipe to orange color fittings, except valves/unions of course.

I’m digging the orange/grey look but the schedule 80 is all stamped up.

 

[Butuz]

I used tons of formufit red pvc. Details in the link below. Dont use primer, will soften them too much. Just pvc glue.

 

[DLHDesign]

The S-80 fittings are stronger, for sure. The furniture grade fittings work, but they don't feel as strong as even the normal S-40 fittings do. I only used them when I knew they would not be under any stress (pressure or weight) - which was basically in the mixing station and a few other places where both ends of the pipe were supported.
In the end, I doubt you could avoid S-80 entirely. You'll need unions, valves, and other such pieces that they just don't make in furniture grade (which is limited to basic pieces such as T's, 90's, and 45's basically). For me, I figured if I had S-80 anyways, I may as well use it where it made sense to do so.

 

[KrisReef]

Schedule 80 is so thick that it is virtually leak proof. Great stuff imo, but not so pretty perhaps as orange PVC but still like A battle ship for toughness!

 

[Tuffloud1]

So pipe in the schedule 40 is fine but 80 for the fittings? This way there is less restriction with the 40 and strength with the 80 in the joints.

80 fittings are obviously female, so you don’t get the reduced ID as the 80 pipe, correct?

 

[KrisReef]

I m not certain about the restriction difference between 40 & 80, if there is any?
I have observed that pvc often fails at fittings, and if I’ve seen 99 material fails in schedule 40, I haven’t seen one in 80 fittings.