Water Tank and water quality question

[bansil]

(mounted tank)In the past we fill tank,use two days and empty,next time a little bleach goes in and some water shakewell(drive trailer around the block:sombrero, empty and then fill and use and repeat.

Our water after a few days leaves a slimy pinkish sludge around say animal water bowls and the shower, water dept says it's "extra flouride" in the water.(been this way for years)

On our next build I planned on using a normal RV water tank and need to keep water for a week or more,how do I keep the water usable? I don't like the idea of not being able to scrub out the tanks every couple months

The water coming out of the tap is not slimey or stinky, so it seems to come from it sitting exsposed to air

Is this a normal problem or one with our area

TIA

 

[grizzlyj]

Katadyn Micropur Forte

Hiya

I would think the first step would be to try to inspect the inside of the tank and give it a good scrub if needed?

Milton tablets advise one tablet per 100 litres to maintain water quality. If you use their stuff at their sterilising strength you may taint the tank material and may have to change the tank, but that is at 1 tablet per 4.5 litres! Not a good idea!!

I've mostly used Micropur Forte from Katadyn, although I had to order it from a friendly chemist. The mug sized tub that treats 50000 litres cost I think about 70 euros. Used for disinfecting it had a shelf life of about 3 years when I bought it. The label also says for water conservation add three years to the expiry date. The silver ions in it preserve drinking water for 6 months. It does say to test ally tanks first. The only slight issue with a campers tank is 10grams (one supplied small spoonful) treats 1000 litres, so how do I dose my 270l tank? So I put that 10g into a 1l Nalgene of clean water, and if I added 200l of water to the camper, 200ml from the Nalgene also went in.

http://www.katadyn.com/chen/katadyn...opur-micropur-forte/micropur-forte-mf-50000p/

You can more readily buy the same stuff in tablets, one tablet treats one litre, but the cost per litre by comparison is huge.

Many people on the UK Motorhome Facts forum do nothing to maintain a clean tank between uses other than maybe dry it out, and certainly there are only a few who do anything in use (like adding chemicals or plumbing in a filter), but one man there who used to work for the UK waterboard supplies tablets for an annual tank clean and he has many happy customers. Wether he would or could post to you though???

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-83628-zappy.html+tablets

http://zappysblog.com/

 

[mep1811]

I have been mixing baking soda in the tank and then drain and rinse. I then use some TastePURE when I fill the tank

 

[FellowTraveler]

(mounted tank)In the past we fill tank,use two days and empty,next time a little bleach goes in and some water shakewell(drive trailer around the block:sombrero, empty and then fill and use and repeat.

Our water after a few days leaves a slimy pinkish sludge around say animal water bowls and the shower, water dept says it's "extra flouride" in the water.(been this way for years)

On our next build I planned on using a normal RV water tank and need to keep water for a week or more,how do I keep the water usable? I don't like the idea of not being able to scrub out the tanks every couple months

The water coming out of the tap is not slimey or stinky, so it seems to come from it sitting exsposed to air

Is this a normal problem or one with our area

TIA

I'd be more than a little concerned about fluoride in the drinking water considering all the reports that it is a health risk.

 

[bansil]

from what i've been told it is bacteria:

Apparently very common



from http://www.amwc.us/WaterQuality1.asp
PINK STAINS:
Pink residue is generally not a problem with water quality. In fact, pink residue is likely a result of airborne bacteria, which produce a pinkish or dark gray film on regularly moist surfaces. Such surfaces include toilet bowls, showerheads, sink drains, and tiles.

Some people have also noted that the pink residue appears in their pet's water bowl, which causes no apparent harm to the pet and is easily cleaned off.

Many experts agree that the bacteria that causes these pink stains is most likely Serratia marcesens, a bacteria which is found naturally in soil, food, and in animals. Serratia, which produce a characteristic red pigment, thrive on moisture, dust, and phosphates and need almost nothing to survive. The pinkish film often appears during or after construction or remodeling, when dust and dirt containing Serratia bacteria are stirred up. Once the bacteria is airborne, it will seek a moist location in which it can grow. Some people have reported that the pink residue only appears during certain times of the year, when their windows are left open for most of the day. This bacteria is present in a number of environments and wind can carry the airborne bacteria or stir up dust in which the bacteria is present.

The use of activated carbon filters, which remove chlorine from the water, can make the problem worse. The absence of the normal levels of chlorine in tap water allows Serratia to thrive.


How do I get rid of pink residue?
The best solution to this problem is to continually clean the involved surfaces to keep them free from bacteria. Compounds containing chlorine work best, but keep in mind that abrasive cleaners may scratch fixtures, making them more susceptible to bacterial growth.

Chlorine bleach can be used periodically to disinfect the toilet and help to eliminate the occurrence of the pink residue. An easy way to do this is to stir three to five tablespoons of fresh bleach to the toilet tank, flush the toilet to allow the bowl to be disinfected, and add another dose of bleach to the tank as it is refilling. The use of toilet "cakes" containing disinfectant can help keep the problem under control. By keeping bathtubs and sinks wiped down and dry, the formation of pink residue can be avoided.




I'm just worried if it will happen inside a storage tank.
It does not appear in the toilet "holding tank" that gets flushed and "changed" a few times a day, so bacteria can't grow

 

[cnynrat]

I have been mixing baking soda in the tank and then drain and rinse. I then use some TastePURE when I fill the tank

I'm curious whether you find that TastePURE reduces the plastic taste you get from storing water in plastic tanks?

 

[charlieaarons]

One can buy from Accepta in the UK chlorine dioxide (ClO2) generating tablets, each tablet gives the recommended 4ppm of ClO2 in 30L of water, so I use 7 for each of my 220L tanks. That's just when I have questionable water or want to sterilize the tanks. Otherwise I depend on my Pre-Mac IWP system, which has in series a fleece filter, an iodine secreting element and then an activated charcoal filter which gets the iodine back out and also gets out any ClO2 if present. Each filter change is good for 10-20K L.

Charlie

 

[JKJenn]

One can buy from Accepta in the UK chlorine dioxide (ClO2) generating tablets, each tablet gives the recommended 4ppm of ClO2 in 30L of water, so I use 7 for each of my 220L tanks. That's just when I have questionable water or want to sterilize the tanks. Otherwise I depend on my Pre-Mac IWP system, which has in series a fleece filter, an iodine secreting element and then an activated charcoal filter which gets the iodine back out and also gets out any ClO2 if present. Each filter change is good for 10-20K L.

Charlie

FRom what I understand, denture cleaning tablets are essentially bleach tablets. I have used them very effectively with my backpack hydration systems.

 

[Captm]

Ronco Plastics recommends the following procedure - http://ronco-plastics.net/newRonco/sanitation.php.

Cheers

 

[Borrego60]

I use bleach and slosh it around,been working great for me.