Plastic water containers may not be a good idea for storing water.

PuffLuv · #1 09-01-2009, 06:37 AM

Definitely good to know! I also had no idea about the Instant Ocean either. I just bought a brand new pail, and now I'm thinking I should take it back for Reef Crystals...

...however, I think I need more info first...

jsmth321 · #2 09-01-2009, 11:20 AM

Glad I use a glass aquarium to mix water in.

Leah · #3 09-01-2009, 12:19 PM

I use IO in 4 seperate tanks 1 of which has had cyano but none of the others have so I
don't know. And I use garbage cans for all my water, this is why you have to love this hobby, Err! What to do?! LOL

mark · #4 09-01-2009, 01:50 PM

Didn't read the whole article in the link but did they test the water for contaminants (the containers actually leaching)?

As for IO, I had cyano when I started, but I'm still using IO and haven't had any for years. The outbreak I attribute more to just being a SW newbie; using tap water, over feeding, circulation just a few MJ1200 in a 75g, than the salt mix.

rayjay · #5 09-01-2009, 02:23 PM

I too use I.O. but I've had a running problem with cyano in just two of my eight salt water tanks. If it's I.O. based, why isn't the problem in all of the tanks?
In my 15+ yrs of the hobby, I've found a lot of blame misplaced on the forums by people assuming something has caused the problem without any scientific proof.
i.e. after doing "X", I had the problem of "Y", so "X" caused my "Y" problem.
I could do the same thing with my two cyano plagued tanks and say that sand beds are the cause because the two plagued tanks have sand beds and the others do not.
I'd be willing to bet that of all the I.O. used tanks out there, less than half have a cyano problem so the question is, why some and not others?
Next question, why do users of other salts have a certain percentage of their tanks plagued with cyano?
Possibly because I.O. is the most used salt, there are a greater number of I.O. used cyano tanks than other salt used cyano tanks, distorting the picture.
It's like when my customers ask me what van to purchase and when I replied, Caravan, they would say they have heard too many complaints about Caravans so they don't want them.
In fact, because there are so many Caravans on the road, like maybe as many Carvans as all the rest of the vans put together, then if 1% of them have problems, and you compare it to 1% of problem Windstars for instance, it would look like Windstar has a LOT fewer problems than a Caravan.

As far as the containers go, I don't use the Brute, but have 9-26g Rubbermaid Roughneck containers holding water and raising brine shrimp and rotifers and I use the water from them, plus the brine and rots grown in them, to raise H. Reidi seahorse fry that are smaller than an adult brine shrimp when they are born.
While they are definitely much larger than the more sensitive gametes, I have no concern about my use of the same water in my tanks, feeling that if the containers were a significant problem, I would also experience problems with the sensitive seahorse fry.

Ron99 · #6 09-01-2009, 04:00 PM

Did they wash the containers well before use? All plastics usually come from the factory with contaminants, mold release agents etc. You can get contamination from new powerheads or other plastic aquarium equipment if you don't wash it first. Just rinsing with RO water would not likely remove all the oily residues.

I would not think enough toxic chemicals would leach out of plastic in a short time such to cause the effects they saw unless it was from surface contaminants. Their reaction is alarmist and not based on any systematic determination of the cause of the problem. They should design a proper experiment to determine the source of any problem chemicals before making a generalized conclusion.

Gizmo · #7 09-01-2009, 07:50 PM

I use that exact container to store RO/DI water in. No problems as of yet. Maybe they are made with Bisphenol A, which everyone has seen on the news as a very nasty chemical to be ingesting. The fact is no matter what you do to store water, something "could" leech its way into your water supply. Old Silicone, dust in the air, your sig other spraying febreeze in the other room... <insert rolling eyes here> but my point is, if its not one thing its another. I'm not going to stop using that container until I see scientific proof (other than dead sperm) that it had detrimental affects on my tank. BTW, they work great with the wheels.

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #8 09-01-2009, 08:04 PM

Fortunately, I use food-grade plastic barrels for all my water changes & salt mixing. Got mine from a UBC lab that used it to transport distilled water or something like that. Whew.

Anthony

Doug · #9 09-01-2009, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayjay

I too use I.O. but I've had a running problem with cyano in just two of my eight salt water tanks. If it's I.O. based, why isn't the problem in all of the tanks?
In my 15+ yrs of the hobby, I've found a lot of blame misplaced on the forums by people assuming something has caused the problem without any scientific proof.
i.e. after doing "X", I had the problem of "Y", so "X" caused my "Y" problem.
I could do the same thing with my two cyano plagued tanks and say that sand beds are the cause because the two plagued tanks have sand beds and the others do not.
I'd be willing to bet that of all the I.O. used tanks out there, less than half have a cyano problem so the question is, why some and not others?
Next question, why do users of other salts have a certain percentage of their tanks plagued with cyano?
Possibly because I.O. is the most used salt, there are a greater number of I.O. used cyano tanks than other salt used cyano tanks, distorting the picture.
It's like when my customers ask me what van to purchase and when I replied, Caravan, they would say they have heard too many complaints about Caravans so they don't want them.
In fact, because there are so many Caravans on the road, like maybe as many Carvans as all the rest of the vans put together, then if 1% of them have problems, and you compare it to 1% of problem Windstars for instance, it would look like Windstar has a LOT fewer problems than a Caravan.

As far as the containers go, I don't use the Brute, but have 9-26g Rubbermaid Roughneck containers holding water and raising brine shrimp and rotifers and I use the water from them, plus the brine and rots grown in them, to raise H. Reidi seahorse fry that are smaller than an adult brine shrimp when they are born.
While they are definitely much larger than the more sensitive gametes, I have no concern about my use of the same water in my tanks, feeling that if the containers were a significant problem, I would also experience problems with the sensitive seahorse fry.

Well said Ray. Never had any cyno in relation to my IO, which I have used since its existence.

If anything, IMO, relates to cyno, its sandbed. But thats another story for another thread.

danny zubot · #10 09-02-2009, 01:05 AM

Good info, thanks for posting. I'm always a bit nervous about plastic these days, and not just in relation to our hobby. Plastics aren't good for people either, that has been proven. Knowing that the water in his container reacted in that way makes it easy to identify potential issues when first trying out a new container. I myself use a 10 gallon clear plastic container for a fuge. I haven't, or didn't notice ill efects when I first put it into action. I'm lucky I guess.

As for the IO thing....

Quote:

Definitely good to know! I also had no idea about the Instant Ocean either. I just bought a brand new pail, and now I'm thinking I should take it back for Reef Crystals...

...however, I think I need more info first...

Isn't Reef Crystal made by IO? If they are, shouldn't the same suspect be placed on Reef Crystals? Not that I'm sure I believe what was said about IO to be true, just felt like added fuel to the fire.