When looking for a container to store RO water in, what number ratings should I be looking for on the plastic?
Honestly not sure about the recycling numbers or whatever, but a general rule of thumb has always been food safe. Any type of plastic will leach some amount of material including PVC, but not to the level in which it will ever harm any of the animals we notice in our aquariums.
Did you find something particular you are trying to figure out if it is ok or just trying to find cheaper alternatives? KaptKen knows some “Barrel guy” or “barrel man” or something that lives over in Maryland somewhere that has cheap large vats once used for farming and food stuff.
PM sent with the Barrel Mans number. but lots of us use the brute trash cans, or other poly trash cans. Iuse several of each.
I know the numbers on the plastics are for recycling purposes to tell what type of material the plastic is made from…
I saw a nice brute can with wheels on it, but im positive it wasnt made from food grade materials…
looks like ill be calling barrel guys, thanks ken
Ken can you PM me the number as well?
Would be sweet if we could find out certain numbered plastics would be considered food safe. Let me know if you ever come across anything. I’m interested to.
So if its marked with a two we should be safe???
The lower the better with number one being the only one that you should re-use(IE dishwash over and over). Keep in mind that most of my knowledge about this stuff comes from ultra-left sources >LOL<
So in your opinion either 1 or 2 would be considered Reef safe?
I would say 1, 2, or 3. We use PVC all the time in our tanks for plumbing.
Lol, suppose I didn’t read that far down. Thanks for pointing that out Bellamy. Been meaning to respond to your last PM, but things have been crazy.
No problem… me too. New job so I havent been on much.
:-/ I’ve been using #5 Polypropylene tanks for frag tanks for weeks now. Have yet to notice any major issues, but have been having other problems due to a crappy test kit, so hard to say. :-/
Related link:
Reef Safe Plastics & Leaching (myths&facts)
I thought it was helpfull. Helped relieve some of my concerns in using Polypropylene tanks. Also busts the myth of,
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:8, topic:2765”]
The lower the better[/quote]
According to that thread seems this is false.
uh, not quite what i said. i said for reusing the plastic(IE dishwashing over and over) the lower the number is better. this guy pretty much said exactly what i said. the big “controversery” was with higher number plastics used in baby bottles leaching out over time with re-use(“dishwasher = super hot liquids”). i didnt say that higher numbers were not food safe.
some plastics (Namely #1 and #7 plastics) have been known to leach traces of toxic substances when exposed to microwaves or superhot liquids(water,milk etc
my main point, and one i dont think this guy addressed, is that high numbered food grade plastics are “generally” designed to be disposable and should not be reused(IE: dont use your plastic Dasani bottle over and over).
Here is my favorite part about this post!
Myth: Plastics can leach just like any other material.Fact:Most plastics don’t leach toxic substances. Once the plastic is hard, it only mixes with substance of similar macromolecular structure.
its a MYTH! Plastics dont leach into foods. Oh wait, except for numbers 1,2,3,6 and 7 >LOL< Only 5/7 pose at least a minimum risk of leaching into food but its a myth!! I dont know why but this just cracks me up! >LOL<
However, some plastics (Namely #1 and #7 plastics) have been known to leach traces of toxic substances when exposed to microwaves or superhot liquids(water,milk etc).
Number 2 Plastics -- HDPE (high density polyethylene)HDPE carries low risk of leaching
Number 3 Plastics -- V (Vinyl) or PVCPVC contains chlorine, so its manufacture can release highly dangerous dioxins. If you must cook with PVC, don’t let the plastic touch food. Never burn PVC, because it releases toxins.
Number 6 Plastics -- PS (polystyrene) Evidence suggests polystyrene can leach potential toxins into foods.
Opps, I suppose I took things out of context. I thought we were discussing reef stuff.
When the question:
[quote=“longballz84, post:7, topic:2765”]
So if its marked with a two we should be safe??? [/quote]
I assumed it was in reference to reef tanks and that you were answering this question in the next post.
The other thing I forgot to mention in my last post was that this is for all I know just a random forum poster and I know nothing about this guys/or girls expertise or background. They could be just passing on information they found randomly on the web and it could be the source of that information was some middle schoolers science project.
I didn’t believe our thread had gotten to the bottom of this issue with relation to reef tanks so I wanted to dig around a little more.
i think his info is accurate but his conclusions were a little off.
as far as reef stuff goes, i agree with the poster, they type of plastic used will generally have zero impact on our tanks under normal conditions.
I try not to obsess on the small stuff. got enough to worry about already. most plastics are basicly inert and will soon lose any leachate. if any. if you dont leave the water in the container too long, it cant absorb much. its all surface leaching and not an endless supply, and should disipate in short order to an order of magnitude not worth mentioning. Do a little scrubbing of the container first to remove oily films.
Fish food probably has more contaminants and toxic metals in it than any other additive to the tank. its made from frozen whole wild foods(BS & MS) and wild fish meat by products, and land grown grains treated with pesticides and fertilizers. the wild fish concentrate the contaminants and heavy metals from the ocean through their food chain. so wheres the real problem?
Are you going to stop feeding your fish?
Better to stop flushing and stop polluting the ocean.
Just hold it… Because every med we take gets flushed down the whirly. plus all those cleaning products, and whatever else goes down the tube. Fish no longer get headaches because of all the second hand tylenol flushed out to sea. and the biggest of all, besides sewage is storm drain runoff. it doesnt get treated, and carries all the oily road waste, lawn fertelizers/pesticides/herbicides and sludge from street drains right out to sea or into out surface drinking water supplies, when it rains or snows and melts.
we could do worse. we could store water in lead glazed ceramic pots. Or steel barrels, or copper kettles…
Oh Oh, now that i’m on a roll, don’t forget the vary house air we breath. Closed houses accumulate all the polutants we add to the air. any chem cleaners, wax product, pet spray, deoderant, cooking, air fresheners, make up, and garage fumes seeping in under the door. and don’t forget the big one. The cat’s litter box, leaching tons of ammonia into the air. Algae food!
Our tank over flows and protein skimmers do a good job of disolving all that stuff into our reef tank water.
So, I guess I don’t think plastic containers are a big order of magnitude problem for water storage…
I don’t know, is that too harsh? I feel we have a lot of more over looked sources of polution for our tanks.