What is this stuff in our water tank?

[captainwd40]

Good Day Mate!

A lot of good info has been posted for you.

My first impression is that it may be left over plastic slag that resulted during the flexible tank manufacture process ..... but it could one of the suggestions posted.

Sounds like your due diligence to thoroughly clean the tank and sanitize it with hypo was the correct resolution.

Since it is a guessing game until it is formally tested at a laboratory......I would squeeze it between my fingers and smell it. If it feels bad or smells bad .... it usually is.

Happy Sailing ........ Cheers!

[Chray]

Originally Posted by mdd246

We are wondering if anyone can help identify what has contaminated our new flexible water tank? We purchased it in January and installed it a few weeks ago. We had trouble with it from the start and determined that the tank contained something that was seriously clogging our water strainer. We could only run the water for approximately 10 minutes before the strainer became too clogged to operate. The attached photos show a sample from the clogged strainer.

We are unsure whether the contaminant is organic or non-organic. It looks organic but feels soft and porous like inorganic material. The tank has only been filled with treated water from town supply. We also use the boat's 2 original rigid water tanks which have never suffered any contamination. We have run separate tests on these two tanks and currently they contain no contamination.

We cleaned and flushed the flexible water tank and plumbing with a sodium hypochlorite solution which seems to have cleared the contamination. However we would like to identify the contaminant, as we had initially been using it for drinking water.

It looks like plastic shavings from drilling holes for the plumbing

[Chray]

It looks like plastic shavings from drilling holes for the plumbing

[theoleduc]

May be you want to look at HADEX or similar product. This is a foodgrade Drinking Water disinfectant. Theo Le Duc / MS Ritser / Antwerp
https://www.lagaay.com/Catalogus/Pro...dex%20MSDS.pdf

[Epikur]

My guess: Aluminumhydroxid, maybe from aluminum filings. You might find a comparable sponge in those italian espresso makers you put on the stove. After a short while you find a white sponge in the residual water in the lower part of the coffee maker.

Just a guess