Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Is it safe to use pex piping materials for aquaponics? I would think you can but rarely see it used. Is it a cost issue? Availability? Safety?

yes, it can be used, and you don't see it much because of the $

Also not UV resistant.

So would PEX protected from UV by an external shell do the job? Trying to think of a way to do this without pvc. My 3 alternatives are as follows:

1) Potable water hoses
2) CPVC - potable water pvc
3) PEX with an outer shell to protect against UV

Im assuming some fittings will have to be made of PVC but my goal is to eliminate as much as possible. I know there are some discussions about the health concerns against PVC and Im not trying to start that discussion. Just want to know of people using any of the 3 options above and get some feedback as to the pros and cons of their use. I know it will cost some more. Thanks for the feedback.

Pershing

Ok, so CPVC is out of the race, researching online seems is not great under UV and can't freeze either. At least PEX can freeze and somewhat survive.

Also read that electrical conduit (gray "PVC") although cheaper, seems is not tested for pressure and not recommended for water application. Some might even say is even riskier for contaminants in water.

So I guess is now a race between PEX inside an UV protecting shell and drinking water hose. I will have to replace some parts on my test system. Discuss away...

Pershing

I have been using PEX for about a year and a half now and it looks just as good as the day I put it out. I have all pex on the pump side, and pvc on the drain side. PEX will out last a garden hose that is for certain.

Also been running pex out in the sunlight for my chickens water for over 2 years now with no issues.

Well I don know that Pex is excessively durable and will not crack if frozen. IT is commonly used in house construction so it is drinking water safe. It can be a bit labor intensive to install especially in long lengths. I have been considering this myself but then I already have a couple hundred feet lying around from converting two houses to Pex. Also They have a really nice manifold that is available that you could use to isolate each grow bed or other grow areas. so you don't have to shut the whole system down. But that is just as easy and probably cheaper to build one in PVC. I already have a lot of the Pex supplies so I will probably try it.

How so. I changed my house over to pex and found it easier to deal with than pvc. Get a 300 foot roll and run it where ever it is needed. Crimping some times can be difficult in cramped areas but if it is too bad just use the ones that don't require the crimp.

over long lengths it is sometimes hard to deal with due to the fact it is stored in rolls. It wants to return to it's original form a coiled state. I guess that is more of an inconvenience than labor intensive. Also if you go with the crimp clamps over the press fitting it is a bit more work but I completely ignored the fact that they do have press in fittings as well. My Apologies.

Easy way to deal with the rolls, at least in summer is to lay them across the yard and let the sun heat them up for a while. They straighten out easy and will stay straight.

[quote="helomech"Easy way to deal with the rolls, at least in summer is to lay them across the yard and let the sun heat them up for a while. They straighten out easy and will stay straight.[/quote]

True. it works great like that in the summer. I have also found if you have a problem with shorter lengths curving that a heat gun and running something down the middle to mold it straight works. but usually I don't have that issue. I can't wait to start construction next week of my first system. Been researching a lot.