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Old 05-07-2020, 19:49   #1
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Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

I dislike the bleach smell from treating my water tanks with.....bleach. There are some treatments available from starbrite and Sudsbury, but both are rather expensive.....

What do you use? And yes, someday i’ll Rig up a filter system.....

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Old 05-07-2020, 20:25   #2
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

If you can access the inside of the tank, scrub it out mechanically or using a high pressure washer. Then put in a little bleach and some hot water and circulate it using the system pressure pump to each point you draw water, and route the flow back into the tank to thoroughly flush out all the water lines and the water heater. Drain it all out, flush a few more times and you should be good. The key thing is to leave tank and lines dry when not in use for a long time. Otherwise you will return to fresh slime after each absence.
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Old 05-07-2020, 21:02   #3
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

I’m talking about the ‘every tankful, 1 teaspoon Clorox for each 5 gallons treatment, to kill organics’ treatment, not spring cleaning....

If not in constant use, the water in the tanks gets funky if not treated, smells like bleach if you do. I tried the starbrite stuff, worked well, but at $10 a bottle, which is 2 fills for me, not cheap...love to know what’s in it.....

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Old 05-07-2020, 21:26   #4
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Once a year do the bleach shock treatment and fill and empty the tank a few times to get rid of the smell. Be sure to sanitize the plumbing and fill hose. Clean the water pump screen.

1) Always use your own hose to fill the tank and empty it before storing it.

2) Put a filter on the hose end

3) Buy a pack of pool test strips. Keep the chlorine level at 1ppm on the strip. You can’t really taste this level. It’s about a teaspoon of bleach per 100 gallons.

4) Buy a $10 container of Spa or hotbed “Dichlor” sanitizer. It works like bleach but is supposedly more stable. 1/4 teaspoon per 100 gallons will get to about 1ppm.

5) Install a drinking water faucet connected to a modern carbonblock filter like the Pentek Flo-plus 10 (about $15)

6) At least once a month empty your water tank completely and refill.

This is what I do and the water tastes great. I now don’t allow bottled water onboard.
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Old 05-07-2020, 21:45   #5
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

I use Tank Safe by Puretec - Its for rainwater tanks but works for boats as well.


It's basically Hydrogen Peroxide and Silver Nitrate


https://plumbingsales.com.au/puretec...er-tk1000.html


Much more user friendly to the body than bleach.
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Old 05-07-2020, 22:47   #6
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Quote:
Originally Posted by UFO View Post
I use Tank Safe by Puretec - Its for rainwater tanks but works for boats as well.


It's basically Hydrogen Peroxide and Silver Nitrate


https://plumbingsales.com.au/puretec...er-tk1000.html


Much more user friendly to the body than bleach.
Agreed. I have been using a similar product for years and it works very well. Add a quality carbon filter to deal with taste tainting, and you'll have good water. But be very careful what you put in - dock lines and hoses can have a store of water that may have been there in the sun for some time. Use the first few minutes to hose your boat down, then have a taste and only then fill your tanks.
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Old 06-07-2020, 03:45   #7
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Quote:
Originally Posted by UFO View Post
I use Tank Safe by Puretec - Its for rainwater tanks but works for boats as well.

It's basically Hydrogen Peroxide and Silver Nitrate

https://plumbingsales.com.au/puretec...er-tk1000.html

Much more user friendly to the body than bleach.
Thanks for that, UFO!

It's exactly where my mind went: "Wonder if there's something with hydrogen peroxide...?"

Cheers,
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Old 06-07-2020, 09:06   #8
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

I go with the idea to add a filter. I use bleach and run all drinking water through an ultrafine filter. Not only does it remove chlorine taste but also bacteria, amoebas, viruses as small as 1-2 micron.

I use a Seagull which I think is grossly overpriced but a very nice bit of gear. Got mine cheap but unused from a marine surplus shop.
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Old 06-07-2020, 09:08   #9
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

From CDC,:

How much bleach to add to drinking water

Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water
Amount of 8.25% Bleach to Add*

8 gallons 1/2 teaspoon


Maybe you are using more bleach than you should?
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Old 06-07-2020, 09:12   #10
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

I have been using Milton sterilising fluid for 60 years. It is used to sterilize babies bottles and contains 1% sodium hypochlorite and around 15% sodium salt. It is also used in hospitals for cleaning all sorts. It is relatively cost-effective and available everywhere including Amazon, Ebay and any grocery store.
I can't imagine having to use anything else as this is so simple and so effective and relatively cheap.
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Old 06-07-2020, 09:21   #11
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

First, you’re using too much bleach.

You’re not converting pond water to potable here. You’re just adding a little to keep already good tap water from going gross sitting in your tank.
A tablespoon for 50 gallons is more appropriate.

Second, just run the bleached water through a charcoal filter to remove any chlorine taste.
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Old 06-07-2020, 09:25   #12
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Milton's does contain bleach. If you have an aluminum water tank- DO NOT USE BLEACH!!!! It will eat at the aluminum. There are a number of other products out there sold at wine or beer making stores that clean water tanks and such, just forgot the name right now.
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Old 06-07-2020, 10:30   #13
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Question... Are there any issues with using bleach in an aluminum water tank? My water always has a metallic taste! Undrinkable... I've tried bleach and got water that was really metallic and tasted of bleach!
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Old 06-07-2020, 10:33   #14
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Another habit to do is always run the hose for at least a minute on each fill before starting to fill your tank so as to flush the hose out & get rid of any germs growing in your hose since you used it last time. I know this is obvious but worth stating here, just in case.
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Old 06-07-2020, 11:27   #15
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Re: Economical Water tank treatment other than bleach?

Have just finished our fiberglass tanks with Milton tablets , it took 3 flush through's, and the taste is now gone and water tastes great, had a large glass full yesterday and
not died today, happy days
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