Aging barrel

[spiffyfish]

I purchased alastic 55g barrel to age water in for water changes, it had some sort of soap in it before. I cleaned it out really well with vinegar, rinsed it out really good. It still has a soapy smell to it but i filled it up with water, even though it still has the smell should the water still be fine to use?

[joanstone]

That would make me nervous, sorry.

[spiffyfish]

I guess my only other choice right now is straight from the tap and guessing on the temp.

[spiffyfish]

Any other advice?

[magewynd]

Maybe try the rinse/scrub again with a good rinse. Let dry, then fill and try a few feeder goldfish for a fews days and see how they do. if that works do another disinfect wash and go for it.


I purchased alastic 55g barrel to age water in for water changes, it had some sort of soap in it before. I cleaned it out really well with vinegar, rinsed it out really good. It still has a soapy smell to it but i filled it up with water, even though it still has the smell should the water still be fine to use?

[chaoslite]

That would make me nervous also. You might want to try and find a barrel that is food grade. I got mine off of craigslist and it stored cane alcohol in it. I would stay away from any hysterical had some kind of soap in it.

Mishka

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[spiffyfish]

Would i be safe doing a few water changes straight from the tap for the time being until i can find another barrel?

[ericatdallas]

Do you know what was in it before? I'm kind of stupid and I take a lot of risks, so I'm not sure I would be all that concerned about it.

However, try putting some vinegar and letting it sit, then if you're still worried about it, put a few 'test fish' in it and if they survive I would probably disinfect and rinse it again before use.

But after that, if you're still worried, I would just buy a new barrel.

This is just me, but I would just let it sit for a few days, rinse and use. You could always test it with sensitive species like shrimp or blackworms first before moving up to bigger fish.

[ericatdallas]

Would i be safe doing a few water changes straight from the tap for the time being until i can find another barrel?

Yes, lots of people do this... just make sure to dechlorinate.

[spiffyfish]

I know alot of people go straight from tap, i was just worried about the temp being close. And i just got these fish from kenny, i dont like the idea of putting test fish inthe barrel as they could have parasites. It was some sort of hair product, im not sure what it was.

[ericatdallas]

What percentage water are you changing? I usually do it by feel, but if you're only doing PWC (25-33%), I'm not sure it'll be a big deal. One thing is that temperature matters, but rate of change is more the problem. So if you want to be safe, you could just slowly let the water fill the tank, giving the fish time to adjust. Also, slightly warmer is better than colder.

Or if you're even more cautious, you could just do it by buckets and measure the temperature one-bucket at a time. Which is what I did when I first got my discus :)

But if it's any assurance (I'm sure it's not as it wouldn't for me either), I've accidentally filled the tank with all cold water before with 75% WC. Before I realized it, the temperature of the tank water was at probably 10-15 degrees lower by the time I realized it and re-adjusted and the fish lived. Not saying it was good for them, but they're not -that- delicate. Now, winter cold water is going to be slightly different than the summer cold water I did that with, but maybe not so much in Arizona. :)

[spiffyfish]

Im doing a 50 perc. Change, i guess ill try and fill it slowly.

[kent1963]

I would be very worried about that as any kind of non-food chemical may have leached into the plastic, and if it can get in it can leach back out.

[ericatdallas]

yeah, I agree... I was thinking soap before, knew it was possible just a fragrance from other chemicals, but now that he mentioned it was from a hair product it really could be anything (probably shampoo, but...)

I would probably try to buy it from someone who knows exactly what was in it and that it was a food product. Mine stored olives (or so the guy who sold it to me said and so far no problems).

[spiffyfish]

Is there anywhere besides jehmco that carries water storage containers?

[joanstone]

I'd go buy a Brute container from the hardware store (Home Depot is probably the cheapest) and you won't have to worry about the other issues. I wouldn't mess around with it with the fish you've got coming in.

[spiffyfish]

I already have the fish in the tank this is just my first water change with them, im am doing it straight from the tap, andthey seem to be doing fine it is almost done filling back up. So like a garbage container from home depot?

[Bud]

My supplier told me one of the most toxic substances to fish is soap(guess it turns em inside out):)once my 2yr old son washed his hands,rinsed them,then rerinsed them in my discus tank!Freaked out removed fish and thouroughly rinsed all filters and did a 100%w/c(breeder told me not to expect them to make through the night)they did,floored us both!Heck ya rubbermaid way better than soapy barrel,while youre there get and indoor -outdoor thermometer with a remote wire.Craigslist is a great place to get barrels too though

[spiffyfish]

Ya i got this one on craigslist a while back and they were the only ones i could find, i would much rather buy a new one knowing nothing has been in it. I just changed the water straight from tap for their first time tonight it was about a 50 percent change, luckily the temp was only 2 degrees warmer once the water reached the top of the tank and registered on the thermometer. They seem to be doing fine i will still wtach them for the next few hours.

[kss2801]

I'd soak the barrel in a strong bleach solution overnight. Rinse, rinse rinse. let air dry completely Soak in clean water, with de-clorinator.

[joanstone]

The containers that I use are the gray 40 gallon Rubbermaid Brutes. I have several and have used them for years. They have them in other sizes as well. Stick a heater and an airstone in it and you're good to go. They come with covers and my next project is to wrap my heated ones to insulate them.

[Bud]

I like kss idea too and like joan says Ialso wrapped my tank and my storage barrel in foam,works great

[zimmjeff]

toss it out. don't risk kenny's beutiful fish on a bad storage container. my 2.

[ericatdallas]

yeah, go with brute if you can't find a cheap food grade alternative. You could try bleach, vinegar, sodium bicarbonate, and letting it sit... but then you will have the question of is it safe, too much time passing, etc.

Personally, if all you're doing is 50% WC, I would just skip the aging barrel. I just switched to the aging barrel last week and the only reason was for my shrimp and blackworms. Also, I'm setting it up to get my RO filter going for breeding (TDS too high, lost 4th batch of eggs last night).

[spiffyfish]

ya i just have a 75g with 20g sump, and do 50% changes, i was just affraid of doing it straight from the tap but it was only a few degrees warmer when i did it from the tap. right now i dont have any intentions of breeding as these are my first discus, i just want to keep them alive and healthy, and grow them out to be nice big fish.