Basicly title says it all. Iv been keeping full jugs of open water for a few days and have been wondering how long is too long? They were filled January 3rd.
How long can i keep water in a jug?
- Thread starter Slippery K
- Start date
Hello; This is one I have a lot of experience with. I have kept water in jugs for many weeks. I use tap water for water changes and alow it to sit around for from at least five days or longer. I have it open to the air with the notion that it will "age" properly that way.
I have been for the last few years sticking a porous material, usually polyester filter floss, in the opening. I have found that during the warm months mosquitoes lay their eggs in the stored water and the polyester keeps them out and lets the container breathe. My containers have a narrow neck.
I use gallon size plastic jugs and the last few years five gallon water jugs. The best gallon jugs are the ones that clorox comes in. They are quite sturdy. I have also used vinegar jugs. I fill the jugs, let them sit a day or two and flush them several times before use as storage containers. I pour the flush water into my washing machine to prevent waste.
The five gallon containers are the kind used for bottled water. They are heavy to lug around but take up less space than the gallon jugs.
I used a week as a sit time for many years with tap water. I have been, of late, running an air bubbler in the storage jugs for at least a day prior to use in an aquarium. At any rate my tap water is treated only with chlorine and the storage method has worked well for over two decades.
I also have a supply of good drinking water if an emergengy comes my way.
I store the water away from direct light.
Good luck
I have been for the last few years sticking a porous material, usually polyester filter floss, in the opening. I have found that during the warm months mosquitoes lay their eggs in the stored water and the polyester keeps them out and lets the container breathe. My containers have a narrow neck.
I use gallon size plastic jugs and the last few years five gallon water jugs. The best gallon jugs are the ones that clorox comes in. They are quite sturdy. I have also used vinegar jugs. I fill the jugs, let them sit a day or two and flush them several times before use as storage containers. I pour the flush water into my washing machine to prevent waste.
The five gallon containers are the kind used for bottled water. They are heavy to lug around but take up less space than the gallon jugs.
I used a week as a sit time for many years with tap water. I have been, of late, running an air bubbler in the storage jugs for at least a day prior to use in an aquarium. At any rate my tap water is treated only with chlorine and the storage method has worked well for over two decades.
I also have a supply of good drinking water if an emergengy comes my way.
I store the water away from direct light.
Good luck
I use the water for top offs and waterchanges. Iv been keeping water stored in 15L water jugs, same ones from the home machines. I leave them in the basement with the caps upside down ontop but slightly off center so it can breathe a bit. Its been sitting for a few days now.
If your water supplier uses chloramine as a disinfectant, letting it sit does not help remove it (which I believe Toronto does). Chloramine is usually a combination of 4 parts chlorine to 1 part ammonia)
Chloramine is very stable, that is one of the reasons it is used, is it retains its disinfection residual for a long time, compared to straight chlorine.
Chloramine is very stable, that is one of the reasons it is used, is it retains its disinfection residual for a long time, compared to straight chlorine.
I used to age water for water change but after I found out Chloramine still stay in water after 2 weeks I stopped doing that, so I store water for emergency purpose only, another thing to concern is stored water temp way too different to my tank water temp (in winter time the store water temp at 45F~50F, in summer a bit better around 70F and my tank water in winter is 76F and summer would be 82F).
I always add Prime with any new water. My concern wasnt so much the chlorine and stuff, but more so bacteria growing in the stored water or possibly chemicals seeping intp the water from the plastic jugs. Naturally i assumed if the jugs are sold for home use and human consumption over a period of time, it should be safe to use in an aquarium after its been sitting for a week in a cold dark basement.
plastic degrades and ages over time- I found out the hard way that they will begin to leak. Recycle them every so often and get new ones that's what I've been doing for about 5 years now with no issue. Also glass is heavy, expensive and can break -but not only stores water better with less issue but also seems to speed up the whole solar purification thing and has less of a textured surface bacteria can get a hold on.
Hello; The plastic jugs that milk, distilled water and such come in do break down over time. I have found he plastic jugs that hold vinegar, clorox and windshield washer fluid to be very durable. I have some that are many years in use. I also have been using the five gallon jugs specifically for potable water.
Those are probably high density polyethylene (HDPE) I found out about this the hard way when I stored automotive waste oil in the corner of my basement in old milk jugs. After 6months they all leaked out. That was a neat discovery. Lol
I get lots of HDPE jugs from work. They are used for commercial food ingredients. You can find them if you look hard enough. Lots of stuff come in them. They are tough. Rubbermaid brute containers are a great option for aging water too
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