jnguyen4007 December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 All, After months of battling with green hair algae in my tank that did not seem to work, I turned to the one thing that I have not looked at since I first put it to use and that was the water storage barrel that I got from the pepsi plant. I emptied out most of the water in the barrel, then pulled out the mag 13 pump I had in it that I used to pump water from there to my top off tank. I noticed that there was this slimey coating on the mag 13. I then tipped the barrel over and noticed a coating of slimey stuff that is there as well. I ran my fingers over it, and it felt slimey like what was on the mag 13. Before I first put this barrel to use, I added chlorox as well as detergent to clean the sugary substance off of it, ran it through several rinses, let it dried completely, ran it through several more rinses before I finally put it to use. With all that, now I find slimey stuff on the bottom. Is that normal? If not, what's the best way to clean the barrel to get rid of it? Add vinegar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I've had the same thing. It's a bacterial slime coating, I think. The way I treat it is to first scrub it with a dilute bleach solution and a scotch brite pad, then rinse well and let it dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmubeach December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I scrubbed mine added vinigar and that was the end of it.. could the slimy be bacteria or do you think its chemical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 December 11, 2008 Author Share December 11, 2008 Could that also be the reason why my handheld TDS meter is registering the level around 12 or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I tend to get a slime coating on my fresh water storage tanks too. I just figured it was normal but maybe someone here knows better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I get it too, I've never worried about it. I think it's just normal bacteria that will colonize anything, even in supposedly pure water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I get it too, I've never worried about it. I think it's just normal bacteria that will colonize anything, even in supposedly pure water. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 December 11, 2008 Author Share December 11, 2008 Do you know if it's normal for us to get some kind of TDS reading in the water storage tank after a day or so? The water I collected and tested directly out of the RO/DI showed 0 reading, but the water in the storage container showed a reading. I don't know where this reading is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 Do you know if it's normal for us to get some kind of TDS reading in the water storage tank after a day or so? The water I collected and tested directly out of the RO/DI showed 0 reading, but the water in the storage container showed a reading. I don't know where this reading is coming from. How much reading are you getting? Is it 0 vs 1 or 0 vs 20? I know I don't worry about a few ppm but I do like to know where it is coming from. I've been very surprised how minimal my slime coating in my water tank has been, but I do have some after not having cleaned it for 2 years. Don't know if it makes a difference, but I keep it covered with a heavy blanket so the water is always in the dark. I have kept 20-50 G of water in the tank at ll times over the last several years. The water coming out of my tank always has the same TDS as the water going in (about 6 for me because I don't use DI). tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 (edited) Do you know if it's normal for us to get some kind of TDS reading in the water storage tank after a day or so? The water I collected and tested directly out of the RO/DI showed 0 reading, but the water in the storage container showed a reading. I don't know where this reading is coming from. By any chance, do you scoop water out of the storage tank with a small container/bucket that you've mixed salt, kalk, etc in previously? I use to contaminate my fresh water this way and get positive TDS readings. Or, is this storage tank connected to a Kalk Mixer/reactor? When I first set up my auto topoff, I forgot to include an in-line check-valve and it would back-siphon kalk-water back to my storage tank. ... Edited December 11, 2008 by zoozilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 December 11, 2008 Author Share December 11, 2008 By any chance, do you scoop water out of the storage tank with a small container/bucket that you've mixed salt, kalk, etc in previously? I use to contaminate my fresh water this way and get positive TDS readings. Or, is this storage tank connected to a Kalk Mixer/reactor? When I first set up my auto topoff, I forgot to include an in-line check-valve and it would back-siphon kalk-water back to my storage tank. ... The last time I checked it, it was something like 12 on the TDS meter. I have a mag 13 pump in the tank that is connected to a hose to pump the water to my 7 gal ATO container. I also have separate plastic jar that I used to scoop water out, but that is all that it's used for. Since the barrel is nearly empty now, I'll clean it today and run another batch of RODI water and take a measurement of the water coming directly out of the RODI and the water in the barrel and see what kind of reading it's showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I get it too, I've never worried about it. I think it's just normal bacteria that will colonize anything, even in supposedly pure water. +2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckN December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 I get it too, I've never worried about it. I think it's just normal bacteria that will colonize anything, even in supposedly pure water. +3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 December 11, 2008 Share December 11, 2008 (edited) All bacteria requires some kind of fuel to live. Either nutrients and / or light. I'd say if it shows up right away, it's a problem. If it takes 6 months to show you probably don't need to worry as long your RO/DI unit is functioning properly. Scotch Brite + Vinegar should take care of the problem. It's probably Cyanobacteria. Yeah, it's not just for saltwater. "Cyanobacteria are found in almost every conceivable environment, from oceans to fresh water to bare rock to soil. Most are found in fresh water, while others are marine, occur in damp soil, or even temporarily moistened rocks in deserts. A few are endosymbionts in lichens, plants, various protists, or sponges and provide energy for the host. Some live in the fur of sloths, providing a form of camouflage." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria That last bit about the Sloths is kind of gross. eew Edited December 11, 2008 by Integral9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite December 12, 2008 Share December 12, 2008 +4 Would it make a difference as to whether the containers are clear or dark inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 December 12, 2008 Author Share December 12, 2008 I took the barrel outside and cleaned the inside with water and vinegar. I then wiped it dried and let it air dried some more before I ran the RODI. It will most likely need to run all day today and possbly into the night before it fill up the 30 gal barrel again. I'll see if I can get a tarp to cover up the barrel to see if that would make any difference in keeping the bacteria slime from forming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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