WATER BARREL/DRUM

[gotfish?]

so ive been canvasing for plastic barrels that i will be using for water change, and found out that they are pretty expensive, (90bucks more or less) so i went look at craigs and found this guy selling tons of them for like 8-13 bucks each. he said thay wer containers for pet shampoo ingredients.....so are they safe?? can i just wash them good and use them for aging water? does it also matter if its an open lid or not? what do you guys recommend?

oh and how do you guys "hide" your barrels?? my mom would kill me if i place that huge blue thing right next to the fish tank, which is in the living room

[AADiscus]

In my region water barrels normally go for a $1.00 a gal. (if you pick up) The craigslist thing sounds good, you can bleach it really good then rinse REALLY good and off you go. You don't have to have the barrel close to the tank but you need a way to get the water from the barrel to the tank. We use a pump that stays in the barrel with a hose that will fill the tank from the barrel. Hopefully your mom won't mind a bunch of hoses drug around the living room for about 30 minutes. lol ;)

[gotfish?]

i was thinking of keeping that barrel in my room since the fish tank is like 15ish feet away, prob just get a long hose and im set....right?:D

oh and how about those large garbage bins??? the ones with wheels???lol prob steal one from my next door lol

[tedsdiscus]

I'm kinda reluctant to say this, but I use my green recycle bin from the city for aging water. It's more sturdy than anything I want to buy out here in CA. Plus, not that I have done this, but if you call the city and tell them you lost your container, they'll bring you a new one. DON'T SAY I TOLD YOU TO DO THAT THOUGHT, IT'S JUST A THOUGHT. LOL.

Ted

[gotfish?]

hahahaha....thats a good idea:D

now, whats a good reason for losing a 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide green garbage bin???...ummm hahaha

[gotfish?]

ok, but wont the plastic barrel release some chemicals when heated or something??? specially when il place a heater inside....

[gotfish?]

,,,,AND should i just invest on a stainless steel one instead?? its also very hard to find those off the net. i wonder if home depot has them

[Don Trinko]

I use the brine tanks from water softeners. Don T.

[Graham]

ok, but wont the plastic barrel release some chemicals when heated or something??? specially when il place a heater inside....

The barrels will not release or leach anything into the water, that they are cleaned throughly. The best place that I've found for barrels is at the home made wine and beer stores, about $20 each.

G

[gotfish?]

or how about those wooden WINE barrels?? will molding be a problem? and do they tend to leak in the long run?

they do look good in the living room, so i dont have to place it in my room lol:D

[CliffsDiscus]

Look for drums that are food graded, these are safe and usually cheap.

Cliff

[DavidH]

Local feed store carries 55 gal black pickle barrels. No smell, no mess and $5 bucks each.
HTH Dave

[Graham]

or how about those wooden WINE barrels?? will molding be a problem? and do they tend to leak in the long run?

they do look good in the living room, so i dont have to place it in my room lol:D

Not a good idea....

[Apistomaster]

Maybe not the cheapest deal out there but sales@baytec.net sells open top 55 gal. barrels with water tight lids for $79.95 including shipping. They are 100% FDA potable water safe. For a few more bucks they will install a threaded bulk head and plastic faucet with garden hose threads wherever you want them.
I could have bought used barrels locally but this is an agricultural area and the cheap barrels may have had ANY thing in them before and I just did not want to take a chance. I use two for RO water storage and connected them with flexible FDA-approved vinyl tubing at their bases.

[TheZigman]

if you have a farm supply store nearby, you can pick up a 100 gal rubbermaid water trough (for watering horses, and cattle) for about $70.

I have a 65 gal pesticide sprayer tank (I bought it new) from there with a screw on lid, so it is sealed and in my icky basement, with the spiders, and a few squirrels...

[namasgt]

maybe you can find one in soda companies like cocacola. they keep syrup in it.

[gotfish?]

so i got myself a used 55 gallon plastic barrel that used to contain natural orange emulsion. the smell of orange in the barrel is so strong that my entire room smells like an orange juice factory LOL how do i clean the barrel really good?? i really cant scrub it from the inside since its a close lid with two small openings on top.

il be getting PP in a week, so i was thinking about using that---but how exactly do you use it though??

[Graham]

:):confused:Not sure what you're going to do with it unless you cut the top off...then rinse

[phidelt85]

Yea, you'll have to cut the top or an access hatch to stick your pump in and clean. I would rinse it out several times first then fill it with water and add bleach. Let it set for a few hours, drain, rinse, and rinse, and rinse.

[gotfish?]

i did manage to cut off approx 6x4 inch opening for the pump to fit in(after alot of sweating). i can probably cut it a little more so i can scrub from the inside... the smell og orange is REALLY fine with:D i just dont know if the fish will feel the same way lol

PS finally, my room doesnt smell like a locker room anymore LOL

[gotfish?]

so water was running through it for about 3 weeks, then PP for 24 hours, and when i drained the barrel, i can still smell some slight odr from the juice.

now the barrel is running with new water, i added hydrogen peroxide, and will let it run for another 24 hours, then will do another drain tomorow.

question, will the smell eventually go away? should i try another run with PP, but doubling the dose?? how will i know if its gonna be safe for the fish?? theres some brownish gunk(i think its from the PP) thats through out the barrel that i really cant wipe, since the barrel is pretty close.

i did manage to cut a small hole, but my arm can only go half way through in it. this is really getting in my nerves LOL hope i make sense:D

[Graham]

Why don't you just cut the top off? That way you can clean it properly and get out all the old water.

You can use as much PP as you like

G

[gotfish?]

Why don't you just cut the top off? That way you can clean it properly and get out all the old water.

You can use as much PP as you like

G

i really dont have the right tools for it. it took me an hour to cut off a 6X4inch with a hammer and a kitchen knife lol

[RandalB]

Geez, see if you can borrow a recip (sawzall) saw, it takes about a minute to cut the entire top off...

[Tessa]

I bought a 32 gal trash barrell at Lowes hardware store. If you have Lowes in California you might want and check them out. You could also buy a dolly with caster that the trash can sit on. It is Rubbermate(Brute) commercial trash can. It would be safe for fish since it food approve. They come in gray white and red. The trash can is about $27.00 and the dolly that it sit on is also $27.00.

[gotfish?]

Geez, see if you can borrow a recip (sawzall) saw, it takes about a minute to cut the entire top off...

see, i dont even know what that is LOL im the last person you would want to ask if what size nail, or what tools to use--not very handy i am LOL

[Esquire]

I bought a 32 gal trash barrell at Lowes hardware store. If you have Lowes in California you might want and check them out. You could also buy a dolly with caster that the trash can sit on. It is Rubbermate(Brute) commercial trash can. It would be safe for fish since it food approve. They come in gray white and red. The trash can is about $27.00 and the dolly that it sit on is also $27.00.

I seen many people posting about using this same can without issues.
sounds like the best option.

[Graham]

see, i dont even know what that is LOL im the last person you would want to ask if what size nail, or what tools to use--not very handy i am LOL


LMAO There must be someone around with a saw of some kind...even a hand saw would work:)

[Apistomaster]

so i got myself a used 55 gallon plastic barrel that used to contain natural orange emulsion. the smell of orange in the barrel is so strong that my entire room smells like an orange juice factory LOL how do i clean the barrel really good?? i really cant scrub it from the inside since its a close lid with two small openings on top.

il be getting PP in a week, so i was thinking about using that---but how exactly do you use it though??

Some substances are extremely hard to eliminate from some plastic containers. I received a bunch of 5 gal pickle buckets a year ago and they still smell like pickles. Not only that, but I have lost fish kept in them temporarily. They are only safe for brief uses. This is after they have been bleached and exposed to scorching Summers,(this is the 2nd Summer) at over 105*F for weeks at a time.
Your orange juice barrel sure sounds similar. I would seriously consider using one of the new containers already mentioned for use as a long term water storage reservoir. You have much to risk and little to invest to not at least try to protect your fish to the best of your ability.
You will also find, in time, a variety of reasons, why having free access to the interior is important

This is just the wrong thing to economize on, imho.

[gotfish?]

so after another 72 hours of PP i can barely smell any orange juice, but your right, i wouldnt risk it. im giving away the barrel tonight and found this guy who selling used barrel that only had water in it.

[2075turner]

Larry,

Just curious as to what happened to your discus? I purchased 6 65 gal pickling barrels with the intention to use them to transport some of my established water when I relocate, then to use them to age my water after that. I used bleach then air dried them, then bleach and air dry again and I have no smell of pickling juices so I am wondering if they would be safe to use? Thanks, Evelyn:)

[gotfish?]

Larry,

Just curious as to what happened to your discus? I purchased 6 65 gal pickling barrels with the intention to use them to transport some of my established water when I relocate, then to use them to age my water after that. I used bleach then air dried them, then bleach and air dry again and I have no smell of pickling juices so I am wondering if they would be safe to use? Thanks, Evelyn:)

i dont have any discus yet, but i was going to use the aged water in that barrel for my other fish as well for my future discus, but ended up not using it at all. some people i think where fine with them http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=58237&highlight=juice+barrel but i didnt want to risk it and ended up buying a new one this morning. im not sure if its really going to be dangerous for the fish since i never really used them personally with my pets. sorry if i cant give you any info on experience, i just cant gamble on that.

ops, i just realized that this mesage isnt for me! LOL

[Apistomaster]

The pickle buckets were standard 5 gal buckets and I never stored any discus in them.
I had placed a few Apistogramma spp and Corydoras in a couple and they died over night. Each was supplied with a large well established sponge filters. No Discus lost in that incident.
I really think it depends on the type or quality of the plastic used because some containers used in labs or as drinking water are made of Nalgene plastic and that plastic is very inert and doesn't absorb odors or lingering noxious chemicals. Most new, heavy duty garbage cans that others have said they use are also safe for water storage. My losses in a garbage can only occurred after the container had been used as a trash container. Previous to that it was a dedicated fish only container. Apparently some substance that was not easily removed was placed in the garbage can by some hired helpers who did not realize that can was off limits. I don't know what it was that poisoned a couple mated pairs of discus and 12 adult Hypancistrus sp. L333 overnight but whatever it was, it wasn't removed during the thorough cleaning I gave to the garbage container prior to using it with fish again. That was a very bad experience. The cost of that many L333 plecos including FedEX charges was about $600 and even just one of the two reliable pairs was supplying me with all the red turquoise discus I can easily sell each year, which is about 300 2-1/2" young at $10.00 each wholesale.
I am having to start over to get back another reliable mated pair of domesticated Discus.
I was going to keep some of my own but I have decided to start over with Stendker Brilliant Turquoise as my only non-wild type discus. I can't find any other discus that have such fine proportions except wild discus.

For my 2-55 gal RO water storage barrels, I bought FDA certified, potable water safe, open top plastic drums with water tight ring clamps which allows me full access to the barrels for cleaning, permanent installation of the RO supply shut off valves and a sumersible MagDrive #9.5 water pump. For an extra fee, the supplier installed bulkheads and one FDA certified safe plastic hose bib. I used 2, 3/4" 90* barbed elbows at the bases to connect the 2 barrels.
I can connect a 50 ft, RV Potable water hose to the spigot, open it up and plug in the pump. It is able to fill even the top tiers aquariums. The maximum height is 6'-10" above the floor. This system can completely fill a 40 gal breeder tank on the top tier in less than 10 minutes. Lowest tier, 20 longs take only a few minutes to fill.

[Ed13]

For my 2-55 gal RO water storage barrels, I bought FDA certified, potable water safe, open top plastic drums with water tight ring clamps which allows me full access to the barrels for cleaning, permanent installation of the RO supply shut off valves and a sumersible MagDrive #9.5 water pump. For an extra fee, the supplier installed bulkheads and one FDA certified safe plastic hose bib. I used 2, 3/4" 90* barbed elbows at the bases to connect the 2 barrels.
I can connect a 50 ft, RV Potable water hose to the spigot, open it up and plug in the pump. It is able to fill even the top tiers aquariums. The maximum height is 6'-10" above the floor. This system can completely fill a 40 gal breeder tank on the top tier in less than 10 minutes. Lowest tier, 20 longs take only a few minutes to fill.
Got any pics of them Larry?

[Apistomaster]

Here you are, these are the barrels I use. I had threaded bulk heads installed for making the connection at the base between each barrel using hardware stor PVC fittings and ~1 ft of clear plastic tubing. Plus another bulk head on one barrel for the plastic spigot. Those features added to the cost but saved me the trouble. I thought since I am going through the expense of making up a lot of RO water why should I take any chances with previous contamination? I can get used closed top barrels locally but they may have been used for insecticides, herbicides or pickles for all I know so why take the chance on such an important part of the water system? Used barrels can be had for free to $10 locally but caveat emptor.
These aren't that bad of deal for guaranteed safe and shipping included. No sawing an access hole in the tops is required.

http://www.bayteccontainers.com/plastic-drum-55-gallon-opentop-reconditioned.html.