What do you Mix water in?

[Ramer]

Just wondering what you use to mix your water in. I'm having trouble finding somthing that dosnt leach tds into my ro/di water.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Well, I don't know if I'm much help because I don't have an RO/DI machine yet to create "good" water.

I went to Lowes and bought a 10g Rubbermaid Roughneck tub with a snap on lid. I just measure my water (usually 5g to 6g for my water change) and put it in there and mix the salt with it. Then I throw in an air stone, along with a heater and let it sit for 24 hrs. Of course, during that 24 hrs I keep checking the SG and such, but that's about all I do.

Again, not sure if that's the greatest solution, but it works for me for right now. When I do get an RO/DI machine next month, I might end up finding out that the Rubbermaid tub isn't a good idea. I don't know...never used a TDS meter to test my water.

[Samper]

Salt mix 5 gallon buckets work well.

I use a rubbermaid 32 gallon trash can for mine. Home Refuse Containers I don't know if it's food safe but I've never had an issue with PO4 or anything. It's been in pretty constant use since last March.

[Ratpack]

Currently I mix it in the jugs that I used to buy my RO water in. However, I think I will pick up a 10g tank xince they are only $9 and mix it in that. I have the hole saws, so I plan to put a bulkhead in it with a valve so I can drain into a bucket to carry to the tank.

[Samper]

Ratpack...I think I'd just rather use a bucket or two to mix it than go to all that trouble.....I could see doing something like that if you wanted to age a larger volume of water than 10 gallons.

[Ratpack]

Thanks Samper. It may be more than that when I stop by today to see what tanks they have. They have a sale going on right now for All Glass tanks. My 75 was only $89. If the 20's or so are on sale at the same percentage off, then it may be a bigger volume. Either way, I will probably still go this route just because it will be fun to do.

[Ninong]

Which Rubbermaid Containers Are Best for Storing R.O./D.I. Water:

The topic of which Rubbermaid containers are best for storing R.O./D.I. water came up about seven years ago on this board. One of our members (Ltspd) noticed that his freshly made R.O./D.I. water measured zero TDS right after it was made but several days later it would measure noticeable TDS. I don't remember the exact measurement, let's say it was around 20 TDS or thereabouts.

He was storing his R.O./D.I. water in a brand new Rubbermaid 32-gal container. The only reasonable conclusion was that the new Rubbermaid container was leaching into the R.O./D.I. water.

To get to the bottom of this mystery, he called the Rubbermaid company and spoke to someone in technical support who confirmed his suspicions.

Here is a recent post of mine from January 2005. OK, I guess three years ago is not really all that recent. I'll copy the post here to make it simple for everybody:

You should use only white, yellow or gray Rubbermaid Brute containers, especially for storage of R.O./D.I. water, because they meet FDA and USDA specs for food storage. Other Rubbermaid containers may leach chemicals into your water, saltwater or R.O./D.I. water, but especially R.O./D.I. water. This is a topic that we researched to death a few years ago and that recommendation came directly from Rubbermaid.

I found a gray 32-gal Rubbermaid Brute container locally but was unable to find any of the 20-gal size, so I ordered two white 20-gal Brutes from U.S. Plastic.

Here's a link to U.S. Pastics so that you can see what I'm talking about. I really liked the white 20-gal Rubbermaid Brute containers a lot because you could easily see any sediment that settled to the bottom of the container when mixing saltwater.

A couple of years after we discussed this topic originally on Reefland, it came up again on another board. After offering the advice that you should only use the white, yellow or gray Brute containers, someone posted that he had used a Rubbermaid Brute container that was a different color (it wasn't white, yellow or gray) for storage of R.O./D.I. water and it never caused him any problems.

So now we had to call the Rubbermaid company again to find out why that could be so. We were told that even though ONLY the white, yellow and gray Rubbermaid Brute containers were certified to meet the strict government regs for food storage, that didn't mean that some of the other colors might not also be safe SOMETIMES. We were told that they use a lot of recycled plastics to make their products and that when making the containers that are certified as food safe, they have to be careful what they use. When making the ones that are not certified as food safe, they don't have to worry about what recycled plastics they use. Therefore, it might happen that some of the ones that are not certified as food safe, might actually be food safe just by coincidence but you can't count on it.

Both times that we called Rubbermaid, they strongly urged that only food-safe containers be used for the storage of R.O./D.I. water. R.O./D.I. water is much more likely to draw stuff out of a brand new plastic container than saltwater. The people at Rubbermaid strongly urged us to stick with their white, yellow or gray Rubbermaid Brute containers.

[Ramer]

Thanks Ninong

[SouthBayPhoto]

I do have a question for ya Ninong....I know you mentioned that you liked the white one because you could see any sediment that would settle at the bottom during mixing. However, if the salt crystals are white (at least the Instant Ocean ones are that I use), then how would you see them at the bottom of the white bucket? Wouldn't the gray or yellow work better?

I'm not trying to be a smarta** either...honest. I'm just wondering if there is something I'm missing and/or maybe the white is actually more of an "off white" where you could tell.

Part of the reason I ended up going with the "longer, flatter" one that I have now is because I figured it was easier to put a heater & air stone in instead of a round bucket type. How do you handle the heating/aerating of your mix in a round bucket?

Looks like I'm going out this weekend to buy a new bucket. LOL

[Ninong]

The sediment that settled to the bottom was a light tan color. I suspect it was probably clay. In a batch of 20 gallons of saltwater, I might get maybe one or two tablespoons of tan sediment, at the most. This may not happen when using a powerhead and it may not happen with all brands of salt. I deliberately used an airstone placed in the center of the bottom of the container. After thoroughly mixing my saltwater for maybe 30 seconds, I would place this airstone in the bottom (drive by an air pump, naturally) and then leave it alone for at least three or four days before using it. I'm not a big fan of using saltwater right away unless it's an absolute emergency.

The other reason that I liked the white containers was because they just looked less like a garbage can, if you know what I mean. This can deflect criticism from others who may not be enthusiastic about garbage cans filled with saltwater in the house.



P.S. -- I ordered mine from U.S. Plastic and I was very satisfied. The shipping was really cheap. They also sell some nice looking dollies to roll them around on but I didn't get any of those. They're kinda pricey.

P.P.S. -- Instant Ocean has a reputation for leaving a white deposit on the sides of the mixing/storage containers. I have never used Instant Ocean. My salt mix never left any deposits on the sides or bottom of the container but I did get a small amount of tan sediment.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Cool...I appreciate the info.

I've been reading some "not so great" things about IO salt. I just used it because someone recommended it to me when I first started. Thus I went to Petsmart and bought some and have been using it since.

I'll have to do a search on here as to what most people like to use for salt. I have to buy some soon, so maybe I'll make the switch now.

As for the "garbage" can look... I guess I don't currently have to worry about that except for myself, but I can understand what you mean.

[scooterman]

Been using the Brute Grey 32g for years, I also got the wheel kit which makes it easy to roll to my storage tank which is also food grade & green 40g (US Plastics) to help reduce light. I clean & dry the container after each use, I use it to mix up 30g at a time & run it with a ph & heater over a few nights to do a wc & usually do it again to replace as much as I can within a few days. I test often because you never know what may happen suddenly.

[tray262]

I just want to make sure, but is this the item you guys are talking about, because they have them at my local HomeDepot. 32 Gal. Brute With Lid, Bulk Pack - 863292 gray at The Home Depot

Thanks,

[scooterman]

That is exactly it, they sell a wheel kit that locks into it at the bottom, it is expensive but a real lifesaver when it comes to moving a full can of water.

[Ninong]

I just want to make sure, but is this the item you guys are talking about, because they have them at my local HomeDepot. 32 Gal. Brute With Lid, Bulk Pack - 863292 gray at The Home Depot

Thanks,

Yes, that's it!

All Rubbermaid Brute containers in any size, as long as they are gray, white or yellow, are USDA Meat & Poultry Equipment Group Listed and certified to NSF International Std. #2 (gray, white and yellow).

Just remember: It must be a Brute and it must be gray, white or yellow. I haven't bothered to check any other manufacturers to see if they offer anything comparable.

Looks like they also stock the 20-gal Brute in gray.

[tray262]

Cool Thanks Guys,