Water tank - how to clean and make safe

[steveeasy]

Not sure what type of boat you have but another option is to install another tank. mine is under the sole boards. at £1600 plus vat im giving it a miss this year. You can buy good tanks from Tec Tanks. im installing a new one for under £100, not ideal but saving having 15 5 ltr bottles rolling about.

Steveeasy

 

[trapper guy]

personally im a big fan of caustic soda to be absolutely certain an object is clean enough that id eat from it.
i wont go into dosage, needless to say i overdo it anyway to be absolutely certain, and i generally leave things soaking for a week.
given that time it will disolve anything biological, doesnt matter if its a rat, a slug or fungus or algae.
obvs requires several thorough flushes before filling it for use

 

[geem]

personally im a big fan of caustic soda to be absolutely certain an object is clean enough that id eat from it.
i wont go into dosage, needless to say i overdo it anyway to be absolutely certain, and i generally leave things soaking for a week.
given that time it will disolve anything biological, doesnt matter if its a rat, a slug or fungus or algae.
obvs requires several thorough flushes before filling it for use

The recommended sterilisation time for potable water tanks is 24hrs. All new commercial buildings have this as a requirement before the systems can be put into service. The reckognised sterilisation agent is chlorine. It's known as chlorination

 

[johnphilip]

The recommended sterilisation time for potable water tanks is 24hrs. All new commercial buildings have this as a requirement before the systems can be put into service. The reckognised sterilisation agent is chlorine. It's known as chlorination

And is chlorination a practical solution for DIY boaters? If so how do I set about it?

 

[geem]

And is chlorination a practical solution for DIY boaters? If so how do I set about it?

Bleach. Ideally the thin stuff

 

[Refueler]

Yep ... plain unperfumed bleach ... plenty of info online about what amount to use ...

or

Sterilising tablets - plenty on eBay for camping etc. I have a box of 2000 tablets (ex MOD) - used by soldiers so they can drink ground / river water ... mine are 1 tablet for 20ltrs .. I have so many because we used to take our water from a well ....
I now use them to sterilise my boat tanks.

Milton Tablets are more for small volume work such as baby bottles / home beer making.

 

[trapper guy]

The recommended sterilisation time for potable water tanks is 24hrs. All new commercial buildings have this as a requirement before the systems can be put into service. The reckognised sterilisation agent is chlorine. It's known as chlorination

and that is fine for ordinarily keeping a tank sterile.
however for heavily contaminated tanks that have been left stagnant for extended periods, i dont find that to be sufficient

 

[geem]

and that is fine for ordinarily keeping a tank sterile.
however for heavily contaminated tanks that have been left stagnant for extended periods, i dont find that to be sufficient

The approving body for potable water systems in the UK do. Drain the stagnant water. Refill with clean water. Chlorinate for 24hrs. Empty then refill

 

[Refueler]

The approving body for potable water systems in the UK do. Drain the stagnant water. Refill with clean water. Chlorinate for 24hrs. Empty then refill

+1 ...

If the tank has been overly long with stagnant water - then just increase strength of the solution ......

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I haven’t died of anything yet by using chlorination. Bleach to clean it out, then I use one tablet 3rd or 4th fill, it’s not usually empty. Using the recommended tablet dose does give your tank water a bit of a chlorine taste, so as long as the boat is in use, and the wayer is being turned over, so to speak, a small dose gives me peace of mind. If the water was suspect I could put 3 in my talk, the packet says. But it’s marina water from my own hose.