I finally setup my RO/DI unit and now I want to setup a storage container for it. I was thinking about those big 55g barrels/drums but they are hard to find and you never know what was in them. I know peope use trashcans, brute ones, but which ones exactly? I’d need to be able to drill it and put a bulkhead at the bottom of it. Thanks everyone.
you should get the gray brute trash cans they come in 20 30 and 50 gallon and i think they are food grade they are fairly cheap
You can get food grade 55gal drums all the time on ebay. I picked up two for like $20 shipped a couple of years ago. It smelled like peppers for months!!
$20 SHIPPED? No way! It has to cost more then $20 just to ship those things!!!
jsodonnelljr, where would I buy the brute trash cans and what ones are food grade safe?
Also, does anyone put a powerhead in the drum to keep the water from being stag?
[quote=“DamnPepShrimp, post:4, topic:717”]
jsodonnelljr, where would I buy the brute trash cans and what ones are food grade safe?
Also, does anyone put a powerhead in the drum to keep the water from being stag?[/quote]
Home depot or Lowe’s. Any “Brute” product is food grade and won’t leach chemicals. The brutes are probably the most expensive route to go, but all things considered it’s really not that much more. I have 3 brutes at home.(one for RO, and two for mixing salts) Every LFS which I have ever seen the back room of uses Brutes and I am 90% sure Armco uses them as well.(memory isn’t the greatest) The brutes are also really nice if you have the wheels that go under them.
I typically use my RO before it gets stagnant, but I am probably one of the exceptions there.(takes a lot to top off 10 open tanks in the winter + changes) I do always keep pumps running in the salt mixing brutes.
You can get the brute cans and dollies at Lowes or Home Depot. I use a few of the brutes as I have 4 of them, and also a blue poly 55 gallon drum (like the ones from Uline).
Search Reef Central. I got mine from a guy in PA really cheap. I got a 55 gallon drum and a 25-30 gallon from him and only paid $30 for both i think.
I found a guy on craigslist selling 55g drums for 10 each. He’s up in philly, said they had soap in them. I can never trust a used one though. I’d rather spend the extra money for the brute, knowing its safe and won’t leach. What will leaching really do though? I have plastic bins as my sump for the 210g, its a temp solution, but it’s just a FO tank, don’t care much about algae. Guess I will have to drop the 40-60 bucks on a brute. I am just going to build a stand for it to sit on and have a bulkhead with a ball valve at the bottom. Guess I could throw in a rio600 to keep it mixed up. Thanks everyone for your help.
Jon, are you working at Armco now?
$20 SHIPPED? No way! It has to cost more then $20 just to ship those things!!!!
Shipping is all about the zone. BTW, i still have two. They are drilled with bulkheads and smell like peppers still, but you can have em if you want em. The good thing about the ones i have is because they are designed for food, they have a gasket on the lid that will seal air(and water) tight. It made storing them easy because i built a rack to hold them horizontally.
Any "Brute" product is food grade and won't leach chemicals.
Its funny you say that. I was just reading an article today about chemicals and foodgrade plastics. Very interesting reading. It explained what all the little arrow triangle thingies with numbers in side mean and rated plastics from worse to best. Basically, almost ALL plastics will leach toxic chemicals. The key is what causes it to leach and how much. It would seem that heating plastics and scratching plastics is not a good thing. The worse thing to do is to reuse(i.e. dishwasher) a plastic bottle designed to be disposed. I recently switched to glass containers to store food and only use the plastic ones for packing my lunches.
Seriously? I can have them? What do you want for them? The only frag I have at the moment is anthelia, and I think your going mostly SPS. I can pay ya for them. Sending PM, thanks.
I dont want anything, if you can use them you can have them. PM sent.
Thanks LD, if I ever have a frag that you like, it’s yours.
Jon, you never answered my question, are you working for Armco now? I know they were looking for someone.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:8, topic:717”]
$20 SHIPPED? No way! It has to cost more then $20 just to ship those things!!!!
They are drilled with bulkheads and smell like peppers still, but you can have em if you want em.[/quote]
If your fish start to swim with their eyes closed, you know why >LOL<
I am using a rubbermaid roughneck 33g trash can on wheels. It isn’t a brute, but I haven’t noticed any problems using it. It is in my garage so I have a heater and small powerhead in there.
Thanks for the replys, now I just have to get those pepper drums >LOL<
I have a Brute and used cinder blocks for the stand. Cheap easy and very solid
le-frog
Jeff
If you’re still looking for barrels, this link is selling 20G barrels for $35 shipped. Not a great price, but somewhat reasonable.
Yeah, if I can’t get drums, I will go the brute route.
Ron, thanks for the link, if the drums fall through, I’ll have to look into that.
Maybe let the pep drums sit with some fresh water in them to absorb the pepper chemicals for awhile then drain, refill and repeat?
Ento, thanks for that info, I’ve got a similar tub I was planning on using for my RO/DI.
locally, you can check with “THE BARREL MAN” . Just north of Elkton. He has a lot of sizes. blue poly55s , and perhaps still gets the white poly barrels. I got a blue one with screw on lid, 55g, still l had bits of sliced black olives in it, ten bucks. Hes got white poly cube tanks up to 300 gallon like DPA uses for water. cheap. he does his best to get barrels used for non toxic stuff. give him a call. 410- 658-4351. Hey Al!, I thought we had him in the web links way back. where did it go? he may retire soon.
A good local source.