Rubbermaid- yea or nea?!

[dtilton]

Hi- been reading for weeks now, in advance of setting up my 58 gal RR oceanic tank. Tons of great info here! I've read a lot of folks use Rubbermaid Brute cans for water mixing and storage, while others say they're not safe, even the gray Brute cans. I checked them at Lowes this weekend- they have the NSF sticker on them- National Sanitary Foundation- and the Rubbermaid site says they are USDA chicken and meat safe. I imagine that means they're safe, right? As this is my first reef, I'm sure I've plenty to worry about. Just didn't want to worry about water storage too! Anyone ever use these and have probelms? Thanks! -Dan

 

[Andrew]

[welcome]

Are you talking about these? If so then many people use them as sumps/fuge/ect.

 

[Silencer]

I believe he is referring to these, which are indeed saltwater and RO/DI safe.

 

[dtilton]

Silencer- Thanks for posting the pic...yes- that's what I'm looking at. I know an overwhelming number of people use them- just making double extra sure there's no problem. Thanks again for the photo backup! -Dan

 

[DocG]

Just make sure that you keep the water moving in the can. Stagnant top off water can go bad really fast.

Don

 

[Pilot Fish]

You should be fine using either the Brute cans or the stock tanks. BUT TECHNICALLY anything will break down after years of exposure to water and /or saltwater, so if the containers you are using are very beat up or are very old you may experience so leaching (due to the pigments that Rubbermaid uses in the containers) problems that may cause your animals harm.

 

[Pilot Fish]

The same applies to any plumbing that you have, which should be replaced maybe every few years (7-10 yrs?). There is no specific data out there that gives exact breakdown times on these materials, it is all based on your water quality and exposure time, so I would advocate changing the pipes, buckets , or containers if they appear to be degrading.

 

[king1522]

While we are on the Rubbermaid subject, can a heater be used in these? Seem's kind of dangerous because of the heat, but what do I know!
Don

 

[king1522]

While we are on the Rubbermaid subject, can a heater be used in these? Seem's kind of dangerous because of the heat, but what do I know!
Don

 

[dtilton]

King- I was wondering that as well..... to be safe, rather than use the suction cups to stick it to the inside of the barrel, I plan to drill a hole through the center of the lid for the cord, then suspend it down the hole with a wooden clothespin (remember those!) to keep it from dropping through. Also, the air feed for the power head can poke through that hole as well.... -Dan

 

[king1522]

That sounds like a good idea Dan. I guess you would have to make sure that it is suspended securly. Thanks
Don

 

[Silencer]

I was worried about the heaters as well but found a fairly simple solution. You can see in my picture that the garbage cans get wider and half a little shelf about 70% up from the bottom. Using the suction cups simply mount the heater so that one suction cup is attached to the top wide part and the other is attached to the lower narrow part. This causes the heater to be mounted at an angle and the lower part of the heater with the heating element sticks out into the garbage can and away from the sides. As long as you have some basic water movement it's totally fine.