What type of garbage can for Water Change?
- Thread starter mjh
- Start date
you should look for #2 High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), #4 Low (LDPE), or #5 Polypropylene (PP).
most bins, tubs, and outdoor trash cans are made of one of these. some indoor cans are made of #6 Polystyrene, which can also be used but are much more fragile and usually not found in the big sizes.
i'd suggest HDPE or PP containers. most of the Rubbermaid ones are HDPE, Sterilite seems to prefer PP, and Homz, Honeyware, US Plastics, et al. usually use PP. the HDPE ones are more chemical-resistant ime but we're only talking about SW so any of the three materials are good imo. the PP ones are usually cheaper. the 5-gallon buckets for salt are very good (usually HDPE).
the PP is usually stiffer than HDPE, the LDPE is the most pliable (less stiff) of the three. these are layman analogies but it's what i usually use to describe the materials. :wink:
last note: often those stamps are wrong. the mfg. just doesn't change the codes when switching materials. they may be made out of HDPE but read #4 or even #5. the materials are very close in functionability so it's not like you're buying a diamond and getting zirconia. and those materials can be combined to some degree so it's not like a case of extreme contamination of materials like with PS (#6) with PP (#5). <end-plastics-lesson> :lol:
most bins, tubs, and outdoor trash cans are made of one of these. some indoor cans are made of #6 Polystyrene, which can also be used but are much more fragile and usually not found in the big sizes.
i'd suggest HDPE or PP containers. most of the Rubbermaid ones are HDPE, Sterilite seems to prefer PP, and Homz, Honeyware, US Plastics, et al. usually use PP. the HDPE ones are more chemical-resistant ime but we're only talking about SW so any of the three materials are good imo. the PP ones are usually cheaper. the 5-gallon buckets for salt are very good (usually HDPE).
the PP is usually stiffer than HDPE, the LDPE is the most pliable (less stiff) of the three. these are layman analogies but it's what i usually use to describe the materials. :wink:
last note: often those stamps are wrong. the mfg. just doesn't change the codes when switching materials. they may be made out of HDPE but read #4 or even #5. the materials are very close in functionability so it's not like you're buying a diamond and getting zirconia. and those materials can be combined to some degree so it's not like a case of extreme contamination of materials like with PS (#6) with PP (#5). <end-plastics-lesson> :lol:
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