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View Full Version : 5 gallon paint bucket safe to use?


miniz2k6
06/23/2010, 06:06 PM
i cleaned it thoroughly with a couple of rough bristle brushes and water. their is no more visible paint inside....is it safe to use now for water changes, acclimation, etc? i know 5 gallon buckets are dirt cheap but i have an endless supply of these paint buckets if i need them and wondered if anyone has had any luck using them.

rayn
06/23/2010, 06:13 PM
Can't say for sure, but I wouldn't. Walmart has five gallon water jugs for seven bucks, that is what I use. To much money and time invested in a tank to take that chance for me.

Schreff
06/23/2010, 06:18 PM
I wouldnt.... Just incase.

MandM
06/23/2010, 07:23 PM
Not worth the risk. I get large (20L) bucket-type containers at a local resteraunt supply store. The best buckets are left over from salt mix.

NirvanaFan
06/23/2010, 07:28 PM
I agree with the others. Don't risk it. Sell those paint buckets to people on craigslist or something, and then use that money to buy brand new buckets.

Levito
06/23/2010, 07:51 PM
definitely not a good idea. whether you see it or not, that bucket will be releasing minerals and chemicals into the water in it for a long time.
$10 for a pair of new, food-safe 5 gallon buckets is well worth the money

Dino
06/24/2010, 05:02 AM
Yeah, no matter how clean you could get them I wouldn't use them other than maybe in the role of siphoning the old dirty water from your tank into that you later haul over to the kitchen sink or dump in the backyard. Certainly never to put water in that will be later going into the tank. There just isn't any way to tell what residues or various chemicals the plastic has soaked up that its going to leech out.

Besides, I think the last bucket I bought at home depot was like $2.95, hardly worth spending all the energy trying to get an old bucket clean when you can buy a brand new one you know is clean and safe to use for $3. :D

Use the old paint buckets around the yard, in the garage, or as somebody suggested, try selling them to somebody who can use them.

kv2wr1
06/24/2010, 05:44 AM
definitely not a good idea. whether you see it or not, that bucket will be releasing minerals and chemicals into the water in it for a long time.
$10 for a pair of new, food-safe 5 gallon buckets is well worth the money

+1,000,000,000

Use food safe buckets. Then you will have less to worry about with chemicals leeching their way into your aquarium. Even new regular plastic buckets that you can pick up at the hardware store that are not food safe could potentially have some chemicals used in the fabrication or storage process leeching out into the saltwater when used.

KromiX
07/18/2010, 09:41 AM
I use the orange homer buckets from home depot, cheaper than the food grade stuff and I don't worry at all, why? People have used them for years. AND, if you look under the bucket it has the 2 HDPE branding, which is the same plastic used in milk jugs, soda bottles etc... If its safe for us to drink out of, its safe for the fish tank IMO...