So as i am starting a new tank i made 50 gal RO water and mixed reef crystals to 1.023 in a NEW black trash can. I was told by an “expert” that i shouldn’t use this because the can was not “food grade” is this really necessary? the food grade cans i like are $150 that i would rather put to a good skimmer or light. Should i not use this water or the can? Are coolers and rubbermaid containers ok to use? What do some of you use to store RO or mixed salt water? Help the new guy please, i don’t have money to burn. Thanks! :-?
[quote=“Scottman81, post:1, topic:4899”]
So as i am starting a new tank i made 50 gal RO water and mixed reef crystals to 1.023 in a NEW black trash can. I was told by an “expert” that i shouldn’t use this because the can was not “food grade” is this really necessary? the food grade cans i like are $150 that i would rather put to a good skimmer or light. Should i not use this water or the can? Are coolers and rubbermaid containers ok to use? What do some of you use to store RO or mixed salt water? Help the new guy please, i don’t have money to burn. Thanks! :-?[/quote]
i just got a tuffstuff for 30$ 40 gals at tractor supply, not to use for storage, reef safe. i store my mixed sw in a 20 gal tank, but i don’t do large w/c. mixing your water at 1.023 is prolly low, and could be bad if your hdro/refracto is off. what u use to measure s/g? and a biggg :Welcome) happy thanksgiving.
I use both a floating thermometer/ specific gravity glass instrument and a plastic swing arm pointer. 1.023 is at the top of the recommended scale on both (they do read much higher and lower) or the “green zone” and a bunch of web sites recommend their corals around 1.023. I only have a couple of green chromis in the tank along with live rock and a few frags. Should I raise it and is it safe to keep the water in the trash can? abcd
i would not keep sw in a non-food grade container.
i would get a definitive read on s/g by a calibrated refracto before adding anything to raise s/g. where are u located? maybe somebody can hook up a test for ya. we’re pretty friendly here.
I am in Newark, near the intersection of Kirkwood highway and Cleveland ave. It looks like I should invest in a refractometer since im gonna need to do this a lot. ok, so dont use the water in the can. bummer, i took the advise of some people and it was no good. I guess i can still use it for freshwater, they dont mind much of anything it seems. I didn’t realize saltwater had to be so sterile. Is a electronic ph tester a good beginner investment especially since i have 8 other freshwater tanks? I have so many other questions and dont want to get bad advice again and waste money and time. verdict_in
I bought 2 rubbermaid 45gallon cans black also and turns out it helped induce a crash in my system. I will never again use non food grade containers or buckets.
I was lucky to have enough salt to fix the problem but it took a couple weeks to undo the problem.
One thing I have learned in this hobby and that is that it is not always worth saving $50 and buying something you think will work. A lot of people here have a lot invested in their tanks and to lose it all because of a trashcan that was $20-30 cheaper is not worth it. 1 coral costs that. hell 1 clown fish costs that at the LFS
PS. I would not use that can for your RO/DI water either. I use mine for the waste water and use the waste water for laundry. FYI the waste water is no dirtier then the water going to the RO unit.
The issue you run into when using non-food-grade containers is contamination. The plastic in the barrel will actually leach into your water supply, potentially harming your animals. Food Grade containers and plastics are designed to be chemically inert as to prevent this from happening. “Cleanliness” isn’t the issue with “food grade” stuff, it’s the leaching and plastic/oil contamination that’s at play.
1.023 sg is too low, it needs to be closer/around 1.025-1.026. You may have found a poor source of information when you read that. BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES, get your water tested to see if your measuring devices are actually accurate. I know it’s been mentioned before, but it’s important.
I’ve always used one of those black $15 rubbermaid trash cans (32g i believe) for almost 2 years with no issues that i know of from the can… there’s codes on plastic containers used to id what type it is for recycling purposes.
here’s a link with a chart, and links to more info
as far as i understand the “food safe” part is which code, and if its never been used for chemicals…
my trash can is a #2… And it looks like pvc pipes (#3) is considered worse then that. Also, all this eggrate we use, and all the pumps and equipment… food grade? doubt it, just the proper code #… so i’m not sure if you got bad advice or not, but i would check the code on the bottom of the can and read the link…
I’m curious what others think here?
btw… :Welcome) to DRC Scott
yeah, ive been using two of those cheap black 20g cornerstone trash cans from Kmart, and three 32 gallon gray BRUTE trash cans from lowes for a very long time. no problem here. but there are some newer ones that put antibacterial matterial in their plastic to keep them sweeter smelling for trash. But they often advertise that if they do. to charge more. dont use those.
Yes, new plastic does leach out some chemical stuff, BPA Bisphenol-A, which is toxic. but its also in milk jugs, soda bottles, pvc and vinyl tubing aand the ever popular organic spring water bottles. I’l let DJ explain the BPA, he knows chemistry stuff better than I.
But on the other hand, if you run a little bag of carbon in the sump filter, it would no doubt filter that stuff out. along with the more abundant house hold pollutants we put into the air at home without a second thawt. Like painting, cleaning fluids, air fresheners, hairspray, deoderant, formaldehyde from carpets, and cabinetry, smoking, cooking, pesticides on the lawn that come in with the air, and why does electronic equipment always smell funny when it gets warm? Or putting our dirty hands into the tank? The list goes on. but a little carbon would pick that stuff up too in your tank.
So What?
So I have asked this same question on some other forums and keep getting different answers. All seem to agree the anti-microbial stuff is not good, a no brainer. So what is the toxic stuff in plastics that leeches into the water and is it of real concern to the reef keeper? Like Ken says there is tons of plastic stuff we put in the tanks and other things like dirty hands. But over long term use… I guess Either pony up the money for a food grade can or roll the dice and hope for the best. I guess a silly can is cheaper than a tank of corals. I wish there was just a more definitive answer.
Like i said, if you are worried about it, GAC will remove it. there is very little in the plastic that can disolve. Like Artesian water has a million gallon a day well right behind my yard. they found BCE(bichoroethylene) and a few other chemical toxins showing up in the water , leaking from a so called sealed super fund site down the hill. So they installed six 10,000 gallon activated carbon filters to remove all trace of it and most other toxic chemicals too for good measure. now i get good tap water.
So lots of people worry about it, but no one has said exactly what might leach out, how much and for how long. in time the surface is depleted, and that should be it. with a little scrubbing and pre rinsing most regular barrels should be fine. but the ones that are anti bacterial are impregnated with an agent made to leach out. that is diffferent. if its a copper base, that would be bad for coral. I don’t know. I just know there are more abundant pollutants around the house that get into the tanks by surface and aeration.
Like have you ever considered how much algae the ammonia coming off the kittie’s litter can grow? it disolves readily in water and is pure fertilizer. ::hitsthefan::
For what its worth, the Rubbermaid Brute Trash Bins in gray, white, and yellow are USDA approved fro meat and poultry, which should make them safe for your water storage too.