Are plastic beer crates food grade?

[Shell-Fish]

Hey folks,

Does anyone know if those plastic beer bottles crates are food grade quality? I've placed one in my pond and stacked number of lilles in pots on top.
Also would you leave as is or cut the sides off and leave corners as legs?

Ta.

 

[sissy]

They usually have a number on them but most plastic crates will not harm a pond

 

[Mmathis]

@Shell-Fish I have no idea, but would hope that anything used in and around food would be safe. Are they like milk crates?

What I did (mine were milk crates) was saw out as much of the “lattice” as I could without compromising the integrity of the crates. I smoothed out all rough edges from the sawing. This gave the fish a nice, safe place to hide. I have had fish get stuck in things before, so I made the holes in the crate as large and smooth as possible.

But my crates would float up if I took a lily tub away, so I got some PL goop, a fist-sized smooth rock, and a terra cotta pot. Glued the rock inside the pot. Then suspended the pot upside down and attached to the underside of the crate. No big deal, but it bugged me to have to fight with the crates all the time. I’ll look for a pic.

 

[sissy]

like said it gives fish a place t hide .I know when I recycle things it says to look at the code on the plastic and it tells you which bin to put it in .I have soda crates in my filters and never had a problem

 

[Mmathis]

 

[GBBUDD]

Hey folks,

Does anyone know if those plastic beer bottles crates are food grade quality? I've placed one in my pond and stacked number of lilles in pots on top.
Also would you leave as is or cut the sides off and leave corners as legs?

Ta.

I have no idea but I wouldn't worry to much about it unless you have a small pond

 

[Shell-Fish]

I have no idea but I wouldn't worry to much about it unless you have a small pond

I have a small pond - about 4'800 litres if this is classified as small.
Maybe when the weather is better this weekend, I'll chop the crate to make if more easier for fish to swim in and out as well as making sure the structure is still good for a 1 large kidney and 2 small pots with lilies.

Sadly this only crate I had is bright red so sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm sure over time, algae will cover the crate and blend in.
Just hope I don't pull out any casualties.

 

[Mmathis]

Be sure to sand/smooth all of the cut edges! Rough or sharp edges can cut fish.

 

[Shell-Fish]

Be sure to sand/smooth all of the cut edges! Rough or sharp edges can cut fish.

Yeah tell me about it. I used some spare paving slabs on top of bricks to make a secured shelf for the lilies currently growing and recently seen some fish with wounds that look like been cut. Hopefully slowly healing up but an unsightly thing to see on a fish.

 

[Shell-Fish]

Weather permitting I'll grab the crate out this weekend and start cutting to make sure enough holes and gaps without loss of stability.
I'll also count how many fingers I have missing afterwards

 

[addy1]

I have used all sorts of plastic crates in my pond, (small pond) without any fish issues.