Containers for preping water...

[BStreetReefers]

So over the last two months i have started noticing a kind of slick on top of the water of my tank. My parameters have all been fairly stable, so i chalked it up to the garlic and vitamins i add to the food. Then a few days ago i started prepping water for a big water change, when I opened my bucket to start the change, i noticed the oily slick on top of that water too. Upon further review, the bucket i was using to mix is NOT bpa free. I believe that it was making my water toxic and what could be causing so many of my corals to start to die.

I now have all of my livestock in a hospital tank with untainted water (not made in the big bucket).

My question here is, i need a bucket that is essentially food safe (bpa free) but is big enough to hold aprox 25-30 gallons. Any suggestions where i can get one? Also, has anyone run into this issue before?

 

[Quantum_Reefer]

So over the last two months i have started noticing a kind of slick on top of the water of my tank. My parameters have all been fairly stable, so i chalked it up to the garlic and vitamins i add to the food. Then a few days ago i started prepping water for a big water change, when I opened my bucket to start the change, i noticed the oily slick on top of that water too. Upon further review, the bucket i was using to mix is NOT bpa free. I believe that it was making my water toxic and what could be causing so many of my corals to start to die.

I now have all of my livestock in a hospital tank with untainted water (not made in the big bucket).

My question here is, i need a bucket that is essentially food safe (bpa free) but is big enough to hold aprox 25-30 gallons. Any suggestions where i can get one? Also, has anyone run into this issue before?

I use the brute trash cans you can get from Home Depot. Never had a problem with anything toxic getting into the water

 

[redfishbluefish]

I doubt it's the BPA, if in fact it's there. BPA is typically found in polycarbonate plastics (recycle 7) and in some PVC's (recycle code 3). Typically "BPA Free" products, the BPA (biphenol A) has been replaced by BPS or BPF, which might have similar concerns of BPA.

Anyway, if you use one of the polyethyene containers (HDPE or LDPE or combinations thereof), you'll be just fine, with no BPA (or other BP's) present. Brute garbage cans are very popular is saltwater folks.

 

[92Miata]

I doubt it's the BPA, if in fact it's there. BPA is typically found in polycarbonate plastics (recycle 7) and in some PVC's (recycle code 3). Typically "BPA Free" products, the BPA (biphenol A) has been replaced by BPS or BPF, which might have similar concerns of BPA.

Anyway, if you use one of the polyethyene containers (HDPE or LDPE or combinations thereof), you'll be just fine, with no BPA (or other BP's) present. Brute garbage cans are very popular is saltwater folks.

Its also typically heat that causes issue with BPA - nobody had a problem with decades of BPA-bearing plastics used as liners in canned foods - it was really Nalgene bottles that kind of caused the hub-bub - because of the frequency of them being left in cars/etc.

TLDR: yeah, agree with you.



That doesn't mean the bucket isn't the problem - but I'd also check your RO/etc, salt mix, and give the bucket a good cleaning with bleach. You may have some sort of bacterial issue.

 

[Peace River]

So over the last two months i have started noticing a kind of slick on top of the water of my tank. My parameters have all been fairly stable, so i chalked it up to the garlic and vitamins i add to the food. Then a few days ago i started prepping water for a big water change, when I opened my bucket to start the change, i noticed the oily slick on top of that water too. Upon further review, the bucket i was using to mix is NOT bpa free. I believe that it was making my water toxic and what could be causing so many of my corals to start to die.

I now have all of my livestock in a hospital tank with untainted water (not made in the big bucket).

My question here is, i need a bucket that is essentially food safe (bpa free) but is big enough to hold aprox 25-30 gallons. Any suggestions where i can get one? Also, has anyone run into this issue before?

Are you using a canister filter with no sump? Do you have an air stone in your reserve water?

 

[kyleinpdx]

I doubt it's the BPA, if in fact it's there. BPA is typically found in polycarbonate plastics (recycle 7) and in some PVC's (recycle code 3). Typically "BPA Free" products, the BPA (biphenol A) has been replaced by BPS or BPF, which might have similar concerns of BPA.

Anyway, if you use one of the polyethyene containers (HDPE or LDPE or combinations thereof), you'll be just fine, with no BPA (or other BP's) present. Brute garbage cans are very popular is saltwater folks.

I also doubt its bisphenol A. I have only ever looked into BPA's affects on human physiology so I may be mistaken here, but I dont believe it will affect marine life nearly as much as it does humans. The big problem with BPA is its very close resemblance to estrogen. (phalates have similar issues with testosterone). Upon ingestion, your body allows these hormone like molecules to go uninhibited throughout your body, where they may eventually lead to endocrine issues.

I'm not promoting BPA or phalates in anyway, I do believe they should be removed from consumer objects, but with that said its not friable asbestos and isnt immediately toxic.

 

[mike550]

@BStreetReefers the "go to" can seems to be the Brute Trash can. But make sure you are buying the Rubbermaid Commercial Brute version. It's rated to meet commercial food standards and USDA meat and poultry compliance for food storage and clean ability. So this is a good starting point.

Second, what salt are you using?
How long did you leave it in the can -- and was it heated?

It might be something in the salt

 

[BStreetReefers]

Are you using a canister filter with no sump? Do you have an air stone in your reserve water?

We are running a 32 gal Fluval Flex Marine. When we make water we run a heater with a fan on each side of the bucket to help with mixing. Usually we make the H2O in the morning In order to change in the evening, because its a smaller tank it manageable to do in a day.

 

[BStreetReefers]

We are going to

@BStreetReefers the "go to" can seems to be the Brute Trash can. But make sure you are buying the Rubbermaid Commercial Brute version. It's rated to meet commercial food standards and USDA meat and poultry compliance for food storage and clean ability. So this is a good starting point.

Second, what salt are you using?
How long did you leave it in the can -- and was it heated?

It might be something in the salt

We are going to go out today and get one of the Brute cans as thats seems to be the best starting point.
For salt, we were originally using Fritz, but we switched to Red Sea to help control the Alk, which has. Its usually left in the bucket no more than 24 hours, and while its in there we do run a heater to keep it at temp.
Do you think it could be the salt?

 

[Peace River]

We are running a 32 gal Fluval Flex Marine. When we make water we run a heater with a fan on each side of the bucket to help with mixing. Usually we make the H2O in the morning In order to change in the evening, because its a smaller tank it manageable to do in a day.

Although the slick on top of the water could be problematic, my theory is that the film on the top of the water in both the tank and the mixing container could be oils and related materials from fish food, oil from hands, etc. If you agitate the top of the water then this will mix in with the rest of the water and be removed by your filtration. I don't think the film is a big problem until it gets to the point where it impacts the oxygen exchange, however it isn't nice to look at. You may consider pointing a powerhead across the top layer of the tank so it is just enough to agitate the surface of the water and then add an air stone to the mixing tank. The Brute is a good container, but a film can also form on the surface of a brute container with stagnant water.

 

[mike550]

We are going to

We are going to go out today and get one of the Brute cans as thats seems to be the best starting point.
For salt, we were originally using Fritz, but we switched to Red Sea to help control the Alk, which has. Its usually left in the bucket no more than 24 hours, and while its in there we do run a heater to keep it at temp.
Do you think it could be the salt?

I'm not sure whether Fritz is causing the film. But there are quite a few different posts about different salts, residue they leave, etc. The recurring theme seems to be find a salt that mixes close to the parameters that you want, and follow the specific mixing directions.