new tank layout questions!

[boofer]

I know I told you this, but to all the rest, theres no FDA code # on the I or II. I guess if you really boil it down, why risk it? I have for years with no "point blank" problems with the silicone, but I have had "unknown" problems I believe to be related to rubbermaid totes....who knows though.

 

[turboex901]

im going to buy a few rubbermaids at wal mart tonight and begin taking out rock. hope i buy the right ones<~~steve

 

[boofer]

Short term you should be fine, long term Id be leary about...Just make sure you spray them out good before using.

 

[bshumake]

I kept my rock in two large Toughneck (blue) tubs from Wally World in my garage for 3 months in the heat of summer with the water often reaching the high 80's. Believe it or not but alot of it looked better than when it went in and still had alot of life on it. Pods, snails, muscles, sponges, fan worms, and the like thrived. Even had corraline on the rubbermaid.

 

[boofer]

Yeah Barrett, I say that because Ive had numerous problems I believe to be related to "rubbermaid totes"...to start, After I switched my 10 gal glass sump to a 32 gal (wal-mart) tote earlier this year, a month and a half later, I started losing everything for unknown reasons. From the way algae was going nuts and the way I was losing SPS it had to be Phosphates. Although Salifert PO4 Kit was showing 0. What PO4 kits test for is only one side of the organics thats in the water. Ive had a 50 gal tote in use now for 6 months and Im losing stuff for unknown reasons (at least test kit wise). About a month ago I started putting 2 and 2 together. Im just now getting a real bad cyano outbreak also and its definately not a flow issue. Its either an 02 thing or a Phosphate thing(or both). All my RO/DIwater is tested at 0 TDS and all additives use the same water...I can only assume something is leaching out of the plastic to feed the outbreak. Have you ever noticed what Saltwater does to the totes, BTW? It makes them hard and brittle. I wonder why or whats happening when that happens? Anyway, theres lots of people using "rubbermaid" type things with no problems, but I wonder how many use them long term and which ones there using. Theres lots of different types and manufacturing methods with those things, so theres no telling whats going to leach out (if anything). I use the "brute" trash cans which are food grade w/o worrying too much. All I can say is I wont be going the "tote" route after this weekend, just for my peace of mind if nothing else....and to test the theory of course

 

[boofer]

Heres what Im talking about...

My Tang was acting weird for about 3 weeks (not eating, swimming/hovering in one spot, etc)...24 hours after swapping to a 29gal/10gal sump with a 50% water change, hes back to his old ways of swimming freely and picking at everything. Add that to the 3 day massive cyano outbreak I recently had and somethings very wrong. Bulbs are new, No detritus build-up, skimmers working good, good flow, parameters are good....I truly believe there leaching something and there not reef-safe. Anyone else running something similiar?

 

[turboex901]

dustin, i cant chime in as ive never used one. when i was at lowes though i thought about youre situation so i didnt get the toughneck one. i bought a clearish purple tote that was marked food grade/non toxic. the brand was "visuals". it held a solid 50 gallons of water even with 100 pounds of LR in it. its pretty large. i dont know about it being a sump long term but i was pretty happy with it for the 6 hours my stuff was in it while transferring tanks. i hate to speculate but maybe you caught a bad batch of totes from rubbermaid. unfortunatley we'll probably never know. im glad everything is getting better for you though.<~~steve

 

[boofer]

Yeah, Im done trying to guess...Its been driving me nuts If it says Food safe Then it should be fine. Im just going to try and avoid some of the "cheap" alternatives Ive used, and do it all with things known to be "reef safe" from here on out. Im even going to go over that Black GEII Silicone with the clear All-Glass silicone, just for peace of mind. I just have too many variables when weird stuff starts to happen. Its just not worth the gamble anymore.
So what did you end up going with on the new setup? PM sent BTW

 

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6889093#post6889093 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boofer

So what did you end up going with on the new setup? PM sent BTW

im making a post showing the new setup, checking pm's now<~~steve