Cleaning Plastimo Flex Tank ?

[Blue Crab]

My new old boat came with a 100L flexible tank. You know the drill: boat sat rotting away too long. Draining the "tank" produced brown flecks. I gave it a bleach treatment today but noticed the entire inside of the bag is stained brownish. The stains wipe right off with a finger. Trouble is my fingers are only 4-5" long but the bag is like 2' x 3'.

Help!

[MarkJ]

Stop cutting your nails?

Can't think of anything else to make them longer..

[Blue Stocking]

Get a mop made with strip-type microfiber head. Cut the handle off to length, drill handle and insert threaded rod, and spin it with variable speed drill. Worked on my hard tanks.

[Blue Crab]

I'd like to add there's no relationship between the length of one's fingers and ... you know.

Longer nails might poke a hole in the thing.

I swore off searching before posting recently but I now know that replacement liners are available but but but mine is like new except for the brown. I'll try the mop idea. Doesn't seem possible to get it all but maybe it doesn't matter as I will filter any drinking water anyway.

[roger.waite]

Assuming the tank is in good condition & has quite flexible sides ....

? Empty tank 'til 2-4 litres left, rub sides against each other vigourously. Empty sludge, partial refill, repeat. Repeat cycle until water comes out clear.

A drill mounted centrifugal pump can help do this sort of stuff if you have manual pumps (like mine) on your boat.

? Or, flexible tanks are cheap and easy to replace if you can buy the right size. A more expensive but good option if tanks are suspect in any way?

Then use (non-bleach, non-caustic) water treatment tabs to keep the tank clean. Bleach and other astringent chemicals will kill plastic ...

Good luck ... all frustrating jobs are rewarded by the pleasures of sailing.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by roger.waite

? Or, flexible tanks are cheap and easy to replace if you can buy the right size. A more expensive but good option if tanks are suspect in any way?
Good luck ... all frustrating jobs are rewarded by the pleasures of sailing.

I'm kinda leaning that way. $100 isn't worth being worried or sick.

[svHyLyte]

We have similar but larger Flex tanks (200L). Note that you can remove the fill nozzle from the tank pretty easily (it simply unscrews). With that most people can easily get a hand inside the bladder to give it a scrub with a wash cloth dipped in hot soapy water. A few good flushes with fresh water and a soak with a mix of water/vinegar should do the trick. Note, however, that if the tank is foul, the water lines may be as well, in which case what ever is growing in your tank may soon return unless your lines are replaced.

FWIW...

PS: For what it's worth, the following is a snap of one of our tanks with the exterior portion of the out-flow nozzle removed (to repair a damaged edge). You can see that there really isn't a lot involved with getting access to the tank's interior.

[Blue Crab]

Thanks. I got the liner out of the bag today. Filled it with soapy water. Rub a dub dub. Stains come off easily but gotta get to em. Removed the hose fittings, as above, but both are maybe 1 1/2"...can't get my hand in. The mop idea above looks possible now.

[barnakiel]

Fine sand and water. Flush.

b.