Limewater storage part 2- copper in distilled water jugs?

[DenverDave]

Hi Randy,

I'm trying to decide on a cheap storage method for about 17 gallons of full-strength limewater that will sit for a week when I am on vacation (the person watching my tank will add these to the ATO reservior).

If I buy distilled water in the gallon jugs to aquire the jugs (I don't have 17 of them), dump the distlled water, and then fill with my RO/DI water to then dissolve the pickling lime, do I have to worry about copper leaching into my solution? I have heard that distilled water companies might introduce copper into the water and was wandering if that is absorbed by the HDPE and then released into my limewater.


If this may be the case, do you have any other ideas on relatively cheap alternative storage devices? What about gasoline cans (the red ones)?

Finally, what should I look for on the label to determine if there is too much polycarbonate in the material?
Thanks

Dave

 

[lecher]

What about a Brute trash can. They are food safe and work well for storing water.

 

[mray]

Why dump the distilled water? I believe most distillers do not use copper coils anymore. Maybe you can try and research the company that is distilling the water but I am pretty sure it should be fine.

 

[redfishsc]

The distilled water is just as pure, for reefkeepers, as RO/DI water. Dumping it would be an utter waste of 17 gallons of water and $15 and all that hard work you put into lugging them around.


I use almost exclusively distilled water since it's about as cheap and much easier for me than lugging around 5g buckets of RO water from the LFS.


Open the gallon jugs, put in however much of the kalk you want, cap it, shake it up, and done.


I get 5g, clean, nice buckets from Home Depot for about $3 with a lid.


Gasoline cans are fine, but I would buy the blue ones (which I think technically are kerosene cans) but I'd give them a good bleach solution rinse (10 pts water, 1 pt bleach) and let it stew overnight. Rinse it with a stout dechlorinator if you are worried about chlorine, but honestly a few good rinses will do you well.

 

[bertoni]

I use distilled water from time to time, too. Generally, it seems to be okay in quality.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If there were copper in it, i doubt it would bind to HDPE, and what did is not likely to come back off all at once somehow. To some extent, limewater is self purifying in relation to copper, as I show here:

The Self Purification of Limewater
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/chem.htm

 

[DenverDave]

Thanks, everyone.

Merry Christmas!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

:thumbsup:

Same to you!

Happy reefing.