water change containers?

Ok so I do a manual water change and this time I plan to do things a little better. Ro/DI water stored in food grade container. When I take it to the tank 4 gallons at a time should they be food grade buckets also or is that over kill. I mix in a rubber maid container does that need to be also. It is only in there a few hours. Thanks in advance.

 

I use those fancy 5 gallon buckets with "Lowes" written on the side. Have never had any issues.

 

Mine say "Home Depot" No issues that I'm aware of. I think it would take a bit of time to leach out bad things although someone out there probably knows a lot more than me.

 

I use the same.

But check out this famous (should be anyway) post on plastics:
http://www.3reef.com/threads/reef-safe-plastics-leaching-myths-facts.57828/

 

Great link. I think that I read that a while back but had completely forgotten about it.

 

so, this was posted on my local reef board. I thought it would fit here as well.

I am going to give him a plug for his frozen food, it's the bee knees
http://www.limpitsreef.com/Limpits-Reef-Buffet.html

From Limpit:
Glass is the safest route to go.
I myself use food grade plastic containers for water storage but even food grade plastic is not 100% safe.
I work with epoxy resins, vinyls and plastics for the food industry every day at my work. The issue with plastics in the long term is whats called plasticizer migration.
Ever have a bottle of water sitting out in the sun for a long time or maybe its really old and the water tasted sort of like plastic? That's plasticizer migration.
There are compounds added to plastic resin to give it certain characteristics for whatever application they are to be used in. Plasticizers are what allows plastics to be flexible, without them the container would be brittle and break. Those compounds can leach into the product over time due to various things (heat and UV light are two biggies).
Food grade plastics will be the most resistant to this leaching process but they still are not 100% non-leaching.
Non food grade plastics IMO should not be used for any type of water storage where leaching is a concern.

Then, my homebrewer within kicked in. I have some Better-Bottles brand carboys. Where leaching and O2 permeation is a big concern.

This C/P (below) is taken from here, they specifically talk about the plasticizer. Granted, it's all towards homebrewing, but the plastic information correlates here.

http://www.better-bottle.com/faq.html

BetterBottle® fermentation carboys are: are: 1) Designed to be strong, scuff resistant, easy to handle, and essentially unbreakable, 2) Pure – Taste- and odor-free, BPA-free, DEHP-free, and plasticizer-free, 3) Virtually impermeable to oxygen, 4) Clear and colorless, 5) Incredibly light weight, and 6) Extraordinarily easy to wash and sanitize (no brushes necessary). BetterBottle carboys are not at all like other plastic carboys. The special PET, used to make BetterBottle carboys, is non-absorbing, non-porous, and non-wetting (hydrophobic), so it will not carry over flavors from one batch of wine or beer to the next and it is easier to clean and sanitize than glass or other plastics. Optional, BetterBottle racking adapters, SimpleFlo™ valves, and DryTrap™ air locks make oxygen-free racking and dispensing simple – no siphoning is necessary. Optional closures, which use O-rings to make tighter seals, are more easily cleaned and sanitized than conventional stoppers. In short, BetterBottle fermentation equipment is better – ideal for home winemaking and home brewing.


Hope this helps. FWIW, I use brute containers and plastic buckets to do my water changes. I also know that Limpit uses (or has in the past) the Brute bins for water.

 

I had a very good friend who along with his brother in law founded a plastics molding business here in Phoenix. They did contract work for Tupperware, Rubbermaid, Sterilite, Heil and many others. The plastic bead compounds were for the most part the same batches and blends no matter who it was for.
The fact something is listed as "NSF or Food Safe" means the manufacturer has spent tens of thousands of $$ to have it subjected to months or years of testing to gain the certification. This is usually done on things commonly used for foodstuffs or in food manufacturing and is very expensive so why waste the money on a container that is not intended for food servce?

Just because it does not carry a NSF label doesn't mean it is not safe, it only means that the manufacturer felt it was not worth spending the dough on the testing and certification process since it is only a trashcan, bucket or tote. It is often the same plastic compound from the same machines in the same plant but with a different mold. Rubbermaid Brute trashcans are well known in the food industry so are tested and listed as NSF but the lesser known Roughnecks are the same stuff, just not as heavy duty, as expensive or NSF listed. My current Roughneck is over 20 years old and still going strong. The Rubbermaid recycling can I store my ATO in is about 7 years old and still 0 TDS after months of water water sitting in it

The best thing you can do is use something others on forums such as this one have found to be safe long term. Buy it, rinse it out well with distilled white vinegar to remove any oils from the manufacturing process, use it and enjoy the hobby.

And by the way, my buddy and his brother in law sold the business to a major manufacturer to produce 90 gallon trash containers for a small fortune! They kept the building, land and machines and leased them back and lived high on the hog the rest of their lives.

I use glass carboys for my homebrew fermenting but started with plastic buckets with great results.

 

I use these, and shipping is cheap too. Those doomsday preppers have a great deal.

http://beprepared.com/5-gallon-water-jug.html

 

I use empty salt buckets.

 

Thank you for this reply. I see people doggin other people on my local reef forum about using plastic. It get's so annoying. This is what a lot of people forget, it's not about the process as much as it is the certification. I wouldn't be putting chinese made dog toys in my tank because there was a fish one that "needed" to be in my decor, that would not be the plastic that I would get near my tank.

I went from the plastic buckets to glass carboys and then bought the better bottles when I had to carry them up and down stairs.

That's awesome! I had a not-so-great LFS charge me $14 for one. Which, still isn't a bad price. I like them because they can be sealed and I don't seem to spill as much carrying them up the stairs. I only use them to carry top off water, but they are still nice.

I might buy a couple more with this link, nice find!

*** Edit, looking more at that site, this would make one heck of a water storage container!
http://beprepared.com/320-gallon-ultimate-water-reserve-combo.html