Curing all new Rubbermaid and plastic buckets

[cUddlefish]

I have seen buckets that have been underwater for years and they have all kinds of things growing on them. Dilution cures a multitude of sins - so to speak.

[ScottT1980]

Thoughts on acrylic and super glue? These too are petroleum products, no? I am assuming they are more along the lines of "food grade" status regarding safety.

Take er easy
Scott T.

[cUddlefish]

Very good question -
I think that impurities in acrylic cause coloring so it may be very pure. If not then phbbt! I have a glass tank!

[aaron_owen]

Everything I have read seems to be sound logic. On the other hand....is this really a big deal? This is the first time I have heard that plastic toxins could exist in such high consitrations to harm anything. And the "smell" test doesn't seem like a consistent way in which to test either. Bleach residue for example could remain in such a small amount that it couldn't be detected by odor and still be a problem. What Chummy put out certainly sounds logical but is there any data to back it up? Any thoughts?

[MDPinUSA]

Aaron... dead fish from toxic water is proven data!

Water stored in new Rubbermaid trash cans as well as water stored in new 5 gallon buckets dropped pH.

After these same containers were cured there were no more problems.

[cUddlefish]

Just don't use tide detergent buckets! I've seen skimmers suddenly foam (duh) when water stored in detergent buckets were used - even when "cured." I've found that rubbermaid containers crack more easily. Anyone else experience this?

Plastic is made of hydrocarbons (chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen). Those chains of carbons form weak bonds with chemicals and odors that they can release slowly.

For you organic chemists out there you know it will take alkynes of people to get to the bottom of this.

[cUddlefish]

The older the plastic is the longer its had to release the molecules it had bonded to. Sunlight, a great oxidizer, can help bake/bleach plastic.

[RandyO]

Originally Posted by DaveK

Let me put it to you this way - Why are you willing to put the fish and corals in your tank at risk to save yourself $5 on a plastic bucket?

A typical SW fish costs about $20 and up. A typical coral is at least double that. It would only take a single loss to pay for several plastic buckets.

In other words, the potential savings don't justify the risk.

First I do not save any money purchasing salt in the buckets, as I stated, I get 200G boxes for the same price as I can get 160G buckets (31.99 Each) I WANT the buckets as they have screw off lids.

As well as (as I had guessed) there is NO ISSUE with these buckets. Just a few moments to shoot off an email would have confirmed this prior to making such a statement (an I can assure you that the "Salt buckets are dangerous" statement will now propagate for some time) Please take a moment to read the next paragraph:

I wish more would verify facts before condemning a product, I have contacted the worlds largest producer of salt (in buckets) and here is the reply:

Dear Randy O
The buckets we use for Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals are food grade buckets approved for storage of food intended for human consumption. I have neither heard of nor observed any ill effects that I could be attributed to storing the salt in the buckets. Like you, I am assuming "someone" heard "someone" say that these toxic vapors could be a possibility a proceeded to propagate the info on nothing more than hear-say.

Thank you,
Bob Studt

[cUddlefish]

I have to refer to the title of the thread - Curing RUBBERMAID buckets. Posts here generally said food grade plastic is what was desired over Rubbermaid. Other buckets that carried other items were discussed and the drawbacks and benefits were considered.

Also - we were not discussing toxic vapors but rather the molecules that these complex hydrocarbons were bound to. If you put something into an IO buckets like say.....Pickles....the plastic will absorb some of the chemicals in the briney mix the pickles are floating in. The bucket will smell like pickes for some time unless something is done about it - like curing it. I encourage you to consider curing any bucket even if it is food grade. Do you know what is in food grade plastic?

You may not have been referring to my posts but my chemistry background is in Organic chemistry. You could say I dream about polymers.

[cUddlefish]

The largest producers of cigarettes claimed they were safe too. Only testing showed otherwise. That is not cogent anyway. Food grade plastic was not heat tested by the FDA. There are many claims - some reliable, others myth, that claim food grade plastics leach.

What did I say that is not factual?

The anecdotal stuff that "Bob" wrote back is not particularly applicable here. The fact that he hasn't seen or heard of any problems doesn't create or dispel them. A concern regarding food grade plastics is not hear say. It is based on theory because there are not any confirmable studies to speak of. There are several myths on the internet out there on plastic being poisonous.

Since there have not been any published/verifiable studies on saltwater and longterm exposure to food grade plastics, I still advocate cure to pure because all plastics are made of things I would not want getting into my tank. Curing is simple and is just a precaution.

Rubbermaid plastics, the topic of this thread, most certainly has the ability to leach some nasty items.