Pickle barrel cleaning b4 RODI

[cmor1701d]

Hi all,

I picked up 4, 50 gallon plastic barrels to hold RODI water for filling my new tank (210g).
There's still a bit of brine smell.
My plan is to add about 2 pounds of baking soda, fill the barrels partway and roll them back and forth on the deck.
Thoughts on that as a plan to clean them or other suggestions?

TIA

 

[cmor1701d]

Alternately I was thinking of filling each barrel with RODI and adding the baking soda and a powerhead. Let it run for a day, empty the barrel then test a fresh batch of RODI in the barrel.

My concern is there anything from the pickling that would be harmful to fish or coral.

 

[homer1475]

I work in a restaurant, I use pickle pails(5G) all the time. Only issue is no matter how you clean them, they always smell like pickles! I have some I've been using for 5 years now, they still smell like pickles!

Never had any issues using them, but I do not store water in them either.

 

[Dburr1014]

Hi all,

I picked up 4, 50 gallon plastic barrels to hold RODI water for filling my new tank (210g).
There's still a bit of brine smell.
My plan is to add about 2 pounds of baking soda, fill the barrels partway and roll them back and forth on the deck.
Thoughts on that as a plan to clean them or other suggestions?

TIA

Don't waste your rodi on cleaning them. Just use tap and let them dry.
I would probably scrub them a bit.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don’t think there’s any concern if they are just rinsed out.

 

[Joe's Coral Reef]

I scrubbed the inside with a lemon cut in half, washed it, then dried it out. Then put a bunch of fresh ground coffee inside and sealed it up. My barrels dont smell like pickles anymore. I have no idea how or why the coffee works, I just seen it online.

 

[cmor1701d]

I scrubbed the inside with a lemon cut in half, washed it, then dried it out. Then put a bunch of fresh ground coffee inside and sealed it up. My barrels dont smell like pickles anymore. I have no idea how or why the coffee works, I just seen it online.

Interesting that coffee works. Any idea on how much per gallon? These are 50 gallon barrels with screw on lids.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[cmor1701d]

I don’t think there’s any concern if they are just rinsed out.

Thanks, that's what I was hoping for. But if I use one to hold ato water I'd prefer it didn't smell like pickles lol

 

[cmor1701d]

I scrubbed the inside with a lemon cut in half, washed it, then dried it out. Then put a bunch of fresh ground coffee inside and sealed it up. My barrels dont smell like pickles anymore. I have no idea how or why the coffee works, I just seen it online.

Did you put coffee in a dry barrel or a barrel filled with water?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, that's what I was hoping for. But if I use one to hold ato water I'd prefer it didn't smell like pickles lol

Sure, but smells like pickles and other foods generally do not cause problems. Just realize you are likely doing if for you. The tank creatures likely don’t care.

 

[cmor1701d]

Thank you. It's good to know there won't be any issues. As it would normally be sealed it won't bother me much either.
But I did order some 30% white vinegar to spray the interior and lids. I'll then add a gallon of white vinegar and a couple pounds of baking soda, out the tops on and roll the barrels a bit while resulting chemical reaction hopefully helps.
That's just for me now that I know the fish and coral won't be affected.

Thanks everyone for responding and helping.