Where to get Food Grade 55 gal Water Container - Spokane

Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum

Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:

B

brandyrb

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
Messages
699
Location
Mead, WA
I need a Food Grade 55 Gal Drum - Open Lid to store both my fresh and saltwater for top off and water changes.

Are there any companies local to Spokane that sell these? Do others use these?

I am currently using two 50 gal garbage cans and the one storing the saltwater started leaking under the weight. I also just read not to use garbage cans because the plastic is made with chemicals that can be harmful.

This is basically what I'm looking for http://www.bayteccontainers.com/55galoppldrw.html

Do others use these or something else?

Thanks,

Brandy
 
I found two places in Spokane that sell used food grade 55 gal open top drums...

They are:
Earthworks on Napa
and
HRI-Containers on 8304 N. Regal

Earthworks said I have to come in and inspect them myself to see if they meet my needs because they are used. When I was asked what kind of food was stored in them I was told they didn't know.
$27.50 for screw on removable lid
$23.00 for lock on removable lid

HRI-Containers had used drums that used to store tomatoes.
$30 for a lock on removable lid

So now my question is, is it worth paying more than twice as much for a new one? Are there certain foods that could've been stored I should stay away from? Tomatoes?

Brandy
 
Rubbermaid Big Brute. These are the more expensive sturdy ones that run about $1 a gallon give or take, not the cheap ones that do leach phosphates. none of the rubbermaid products leach chemicals that i am aware of anyway, but the cheaper ones do leach phosphates

lowes or hd both will have them

As far as picking up true food grade tubs used.....that only had food in them......thats sweet. Id jump on it. if its the thick sturdy HDPE barrels those will cost you well over $100 new, and I would opt for the screw on myself fwiw
 
Last edited:
I am currently using the 50 gal rubbermaid big brute square cans on wheels. When filled with water they buldge out of shape and one is now leaking. They weren't cheap and if I'm going to buy something a second time, I want something meant for water so I know they can handle the weight. Plus I want food grade to be safe.
 
brandyrb said:
I am currently using the 50 gal rubbermaid big brute square cans on wheels. When filled with water they buldge out of shape and one is now leaking. They weren't cheap and if I'm going to buy something a second time, I want something meant for water so I know they can handle the weight. Plus I want food grade to be safe.
Click to expand...

Get the Round rubber-maids brute, add the wheel kit to it & you have a 55g food grade tub. They use the same materials for these as you can order the water food grade tanks, also these are slightly thicker than the square black cans, should not bulge as much. Otherwise you should just order a food grade tank, they are about 1/4" thick & cost a little over $100 bucks, get the green ones as these reduce light through them & thus lessen algae potential. I have both & you can find the supplier information in the member showcase forum in my tank thread toward the last few pages.
 
Scooterman said:
Get the Round rubber-maids brute, add the wheel kit to it & you have a 55g food grade tub. They use the same materials for these as you can order the water food grade tanks, also these are slightly thicker than the square black cans, should not bulge as much. Otherwise you should just order a food grade tank, they are about 1/4" thick & cost a little over $100 bucks, get the green ones as these reduce light through them & thus lessen algae potential. I have both & you can find the supplier information in the member showcase forum in my tank thread toward the last few pages.
Click to expand...

So you wouldn't recommend a used one?
 
Yea I use one all the time, they are great! I have both, one for RO/DI water storage & the other to store make-up water. I may be wrong on the round cans being food grade but I thought I read that they were but they are perfectly fine to use, think it is considered food grade if they don't leach.
 
Well, I'm off to earthworks. I called them back to see if they can guarentee that they haven't been cleaned with chemicals and if they are truely safe. I was told they guarentee they are food grade (safe for human and animal consumption) and they have been rinsed out with water. I guess they have a large variety to choose from and the lady I spoke with said they get purchased often to hold drinking water for horses. $27 is way better than $75 and up.

I found my old walmart receipt and I paid $30 a piece for the cans I'm using now.

Thanks for the feedback...

Brandy
 
I just got back with the barrels. They are exactly the same as the 55 gal ones I included a link to in my first post. No odor or anything and for $23 each. Can't beat that.

So for those of you that didn't know, the local recycling places (at least in Spokane) sell food grade water drums for cheap!!!

I got the lock on lid kind. The twist on has a smaller opening is orange and all of those had an odor. The blue ones with the white lock on lids had no odor at all or evidence of food at all.

I did rinse it in the shower and whiped it dry with a towel just to be sure. Not with RODI water though.

Brandy
 
square roughnecks will buckle and collapse too

Those barrels look great -- looks like it's time for a run up to Spokane.

We're currently back to using the big round brute cans after trying the square roughneck with wheels (once). We thought the wheels would be handy, but it not only bulged, it actually buckled in the area above the wheels and dumped 40 or so gallons of freshly made saltwater all over our floor (of course this happened while we were at work). :shock: Luckily I came home for lunch that day, and needless to say, took the rest of the afternoon off. Obviously we won't be trying one of THOSE again!
 
colleen said:
Those barrels look great -- looks like it's time for a run up to Spokane.

We're currently back to using the big round brute cans after trying the square roughneck with wheels (once). We thought the wheels would be handy, but it not only bulged, it actually buckled in the area above the wheels and dumped 40 or so gallons of freshly made saltwater all over our floor (of course this happened while we were at work). :shock: Luckily I came home for lunch that day, and needless to say, took the rest of the afternoon off. Obviously we won't be trying one of THOSE again!
Click to expand...

Mine buckled too. Sorry to hear about your flood. I was worried about that "a lot". Mine was leaking 2-3 gals onto the floor a day. All my towels are soaking wet.

Our tank is in our basement in it's own fish room, but the room right outside has brand new carpet which we flooded with 30 gals of fresh RODI water before my husband put the float valve on the trash can. He turned the water on then left for work and forgot about it.

We had to rent a carpet blower to dry the carpet and we replaced the pad. This was one week after I bought the carpet and had it installed for $1400. Thank God it was fresh water.

I now have two water alarms on the floor. :)

No buckling, buldging with these water drums :D They're tough. The recycling place in your area may have them too.
 
i bought one of those 55 barrels from baytec which is FDA approved but i can't get the residual Dr. Pepper smell out if it!!!??? have had it soaking in baking soda and water but i don't know if this is really doing anything. i like to get this thing working for me!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Reefreak
55 Gal. water change system.
Replies
4
Views
225
Herefishyfishy
Herefishyfishy
Vandur
40g Breeder, Tank Build(s)
Replies
16
Views
14K
spieszak
spieszak
A
Help change the way Brine shrimp is kept/sold at a store.
Replies
14
Views
3K
kpiotrowski
kpiotrowski
MadMax
BRAND NEW Product: Controller for Protein Skimmers!
Replies
0
Views
3K
MadMax
MadMax
M
Effects of treating for pop-eye
Replies
6
Views
741
NC2WA
NC2WA

Latest posts

Back
Top