Permanent Marker

saturn13 · Jan 17, 2020

Hey everyone,

So I noticed in a lot of the selling post that people are using permanent marker on the plugs. Are normal markers safe or are they a special type?

Thanks,
Dan

Bender · Jan 17, 2020

I do not have an answer, just tagging along as I am curious. I have received plugs with writing on them to.

Malifry97 · Jan 17, 2020

Bender said:
I do not have an answer, just tagging along as I am curious. I have received plugs with writing on them to.

same

MrsBugmaster · Jan 17, 2020

I like to use these for my cords.

link81 · Jan 17, 2020

@MrsBugmaster, i think they're talking about coral plugs...... ;Woot

MrsBugmaster · Jan 17, 2020

link81 said:
@MrsBugmaster, i think they're talking about coral plugs...... ;Woot

Oh, coral plugs, not electrical plug ;Shamefullyembarrased Sorry , my mistake.

Malifry97 · Jan 17, 2020

#reefsquad @Battlecorals

Malifry97 · Jan 17, 2020

@AquaLocker @AquaSD

Ron Reefman · Jan 17, 2020

I can't imagine that the amount of any bad chemical that might get released into a tank from the small amount of writing on a frag plug with a marker that has dried, could do much damage. It couldn't be more than some part per billion and the bigger the tank, they lower the issue. But that's just my best guess.

dank reefer · Jan 17, 2020

I've received corals from WWC with perm marker writing on it with the eBay lot # on it. So i'll say if they are using it with there corals, it should be safe.

Retro Reefer · Jan 17, 2020

I don’t know exactly what is in permanent markers but as it was pointed out by @Ron Reefman the amounts of any potential harmful substances left after the ink has dried would be minuscule and unlikely to cause any issues.

cloggins · Jan 17, 2020

MrsBugmaster said:
Oh, coral plugs, not electrical plug ;Shamefullyembarrased Sorry , my mistake.

I mean, mistake or not, those things are cool.

Flippers4pups · Jan 17, 2020

I used permanent marker on my 33 gal brute trash cans, on the inside to indicate water increments. Never any ill effects. Perfectly safe.

saturn13 · Jan 17, 2020

cloggins said:
I mean, mistake or not, those things are cool.

I was.going to say the same, now I have something else to buy.

saturn13 · Jan 17, 2020

Thanks everyone all the info helps.

Isaac Alves · Jan 17, 2020

chemical makeup of the “Sharpie” line, MSDS- Material Safety Data Sheet:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS00018/73261240-20150117.PDF

Isaac Alves · Jan 17, 2020

Snippet from website: Wikipedia (ingredients and toxicology of the sharpie:

Talk:Sharpie (marker) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Ingredients of Sharpie markers are as follows:

“
Dyes

Propyl alcohol (N-Propanol), 200-250 PPM

Propyl alcohol was "evaluated for acceptable daily intake for man" [3] (also, under "Observations in Man": "One fatal case of poisoning by ingestion of 400 to 500 ml of n-propyl alcohol has been reported". 400mL is 0.4 cubic decimeters)

Butyl alcohol (N-Butanol), 50-100 PPM

Butanol seems to be the most toxic of the three alcohols, being used as a solvent, often in paint thinner. However, it is also used as the base of some perfumes. (info from the Butanol article)

Diacetone alcohol (4-Hydroxy-4-Methyl-2-Pentanone), 50 PPM

There is this page [4]. Also, [2-Pentanone] is "sometimes used as a flavoring food additive".
Simply by PPM, the alcohols correspond to a maximum of 400 PPM or 400/1000000 = .04% of the total volume of chemicals in a Sharpie. "dyes" have "NOT APPLICABLE" instead of the PPM measurements specified for the alcohols, so I am assuming that the dyes constitute the rest of the contents of each marker - which would mean that each marker is 99.96% dye.

The first document I gave (from Duke University) lists Sharpies as being hazardous when inhaled, but not when ingested or absorbed through skin.

Ben-Arba 10:56, 28 May 2006 (UTC)”