Rubbermaid BRUTE Cans

[FlyinBryan]

Ive used the gray ones for years with no issues. I stored sw in it for a week. It had a film crud in it but I used it anyways with no problems. The PS and or carbon cleaned it out.
Be sure to get an auto shutoff float switch. Trust me on that.
I got mine from BRS.
GL w/ build!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Brilliant level markers, @kswan. Really ingenious.

 

[Homer Allman]

Have you fellow reefers with these Brute cans ever checked the water that is mixed in them? I did and they came out full of Nitrates. The water went in clean and came dirty after mixed. You may want to check yours as well. This is my experience. Mine has been turned back into a trash can again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Have you fellow reefers with these Brute cans ever checked the water that is mixed in them? I did and they came out full of Nitrates. The water went in clean and came dirty after mixed. You may want to check yours as well. This is my experience. Mine has been turned back into a trash can again.

Maybe your cat peed in it.

(seriously, that has been reported by someone else who measured their water).

There's not likely nitrate coming from polyethylene, but if there is any trace amount (maybe from ammonia that was in the RO/DI water), it is not likely enough to be any concern against the massive amount of N that comes from foods every day. High levels are not coming from a cleaned Brute can.

 

[PaulPerger]

I agree with Chipmondofdoom2...
@kswan - Your level method is most definitely not "new", but your application here is is fantastic, especially in its simplicity! I will definitely be doing this no matter which container I go with!

 

[Homer Allman]

Maybe your cat peed in it.

(seriously, that has been reported by someone else who measured their water).

There's not likely nitrate coming from polyethylene, but if there is any trace amount (maybe from ammonia that was in the RO/DI water), it is not likely enough to be any concern against the massive amount of N that comes from foods every day. High levels are not coming from a cleaned Brute can.

Mine was measuring around 25 ppm on a salifert coming out of the can. Just my observations. My tank still has plenty of nitrates. haha

 

[kswan]

I agree with Chipmondofdoom2...
@kswan - Your level method is most definitely not "new", but your application here is is fantastic, especially in its simplicity! I will definitely be doing this no matter which container I go with!

Yep, no new intellectual property with that design. Definitely helps me get my salinity correct without trial and error.

 

[Rausch]

I have had one in use for Three years now with no issues, definitely a great investment .

 

[PaulPerger]

I have had one in use for Three years now with no issues, definitely a great investment .

Thanks. Love your signature line BTW...

 

[Flexin]

Lowes had 32 gal ones on sale for $24 last week (grey). They have a food grade level of 4. Picked up two and already had a 20 gal. I don't use the dolly, but would only use it on a concrete floor.

 

[Gordon42]

I called their commercial division a few days ago and the rep told me that white, gray and I think blue are made for use in the food storage arena. Hope this helps.

 

[Tink]

Gray, White and Yellow are USDA Meat & Poultry Equipment Group Listed and Certified to NSF Standards #2 and #21

 

[Lionsreef]

Are all grey Brute trash cans safe to store SW and rocks for several months while it cycles and i set up my new tank? I went to buy one from Home Depot and they sell 2 different 55 gal Brute trash cans. One is labeled food safe and is 2x higher cost at over $105. The more expensive one is also not stocked at my local HD so i would need to order online and have it shipped? Hoping to be able to just buy the cheaper one. Thanks.

 

[AlexReef100]

IMO I'd get the food safe ones just to be safe, especially if you're going to leave water and live rock in it for months. The food safe trash cans will prevent the chances of any chemicals from the can itself leaching into the water. The extra cost is worth the piece of mind IMO.

You would probably be okay with the cheaper ones, from what I've seen if there is leaching the effects are minimal. Just be sure to test the water in the trash can every couple weeks to be safe.

 

[Lionsreef]

Thanks @AlexReef100 f0r the suggestion. I did go ahead and order the food grade Brute can this afternoon just to be on the safe side.

 

[Ross Petersen]

The grey Brute cans will leach chemicals that can cause chromosomal damage to fish and possibly humans. The white Brute cans are food safe and totally fine to use.

I use water storage barrels. They are polyethylene based and blue. They're really cheap, often sold as "shipping barrels". I have two 35 gallon barrels I got on eBay for $25 each delivered.

Any evidence to back up that the Grey brutes leach chemicals?

 

[Ross Petersen]

IMO I'd get the food safe ones just to be safe, especially if you're going to leave water and live rock in it for months. The food safe trash cans will prevent the chances of any chemicals from the can itself leaching into the water. The extra cost is worth the piece of mind IMO.

You would probably be okay with the cheaper ones, from what I've seen if there is leaching the effects are minimal. Just be sure to test the water in the trash can every couple weeks to be safe.

What would you be testing the water for in particular? Thanks

 

[Why-Me]

Any evidence to back up that the Grey brutes leach chemicals?

None whatsoever, if you read through Randy holmes farley said that the person who said this to begin with wasn't knowledgeable in plastics and it was just someone's personal theory.
As well as someone in here posted
From Rubbermaid's website concerning their BRUTE containers:

• Gray, White and Yellow are USDA Meat & Poultry Equipment Group Listed and assist in complying with HACCP guidelines.
• Certified to NSF Standards #2 and #21

Just go back and read page 2 of this thread

 

[Ross Petersen]

None whatsoever, if you read through Randy holmes farley said that the person who said this to begin with wasn't knowledgeable in plastics and it was just someone's personal theory.
As well as someone in here posted
From Rubbermaid's website concerning their BRUTE containers:

• Gray, White and Yellow are USDA Meat & Poultry Equipment Group Listed and assist in complying with HACCP guidelines.
• Certified to NSF Standards #2 and #21

Just go back and read page 2 of this thread

Evidence-based thinking... Man our society needs this. Thx for the prompt reply stranger

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

They may have changed the plastic. Ten years ago or so my local club had (I forget his name) had a guest speaker who was one of the first to raise captive bred clowns and a few other species. He did a talk about his experiences and some of the pitfalls that he found along the way.

One was that clown larvae are attracted to light and they would literally bash their brains trying to get to anything bright in if not raised in the dark. They started using Brute cans because every reefer uses Brute cans. They found that all of the fish became deformed. They switched to glass tanks painted black and everything was fine. His theory was that something in the grey, not food safe, cans was causing damage to the tiny fish.

There's also been a few other reports from roughly the same time period of studies done on marine life where the scientists used grey Brute cans (like everyone does). I remember reading that chromosomal damage was occurring when the Grey cans were used. The food grade seemed ok.

Again this was roughly ten to twelve years ago. It's possible that Rubbermaid is using the same plastic for their FG (food grade) and non FG cans. Also proving (or disproving) chromosomal damage would probably take a breeder or at the very least some long term studies with controls. Otherwise like most things in this hobby it's heresay and anectodal evidence at best.

Just a few years ago we found out that BPA wasn't good and for a decade (or more) it's what we made baby bottles out of. That entire time everyone thought BPA was totally safe. Now we know it can disrupt quite a bit in a small persons body.

I like to stick with containers made to hold potable water. It's the same price, I'm not reinventing the wheel or trying to put a square peg in a round hole. I never feel safe with those Brute cans. I always feel like it might bend and dump water all over. Polyethylene cans are made to hold water, even high SG water and are as tough, if not more than Brute.

Just to address this old post properly, that speaker was almost certainly Eric Borneman. His study was flawed for various reasons, IMO, (he never even said if he cleaned them before use, after they were potentially sitting around at a place like Home Depot getting bird poop and and whatever else on them)and he knew nothing at the time, anyway, about chemicals in plastics. He made chemical aassertions about plasticizers that were just incorrect (including the fact that the material in Brute cans is not plasticized in commercial use).

I don't think there is any real issue with them.