Cleaning your water tank

Post by **FrazeeDK** » July 4, 2015, 10:07 am

About a year and a half ago I googled water tank cleaning and read that its recommended you flush out and clean your tank annually to prevent algae and bacteria growth.. Naturally, being the lazy person I am, I didn't do it.. Over the last couple of months I've noted our water smelling rather funky.. So, I finally got off my posterior and decided to drain and clean the tank.. We have an 1100 liter stainless tank on top of a 3 meter storage/pump house feeding a demand pump.. We have city water with low pressure but enough to run perhaps 3-5 liters per minute and able to slowly fill the tank.. I drained the tank which had a about 15mm of mud/dirt/crud on the bottom.. The interior was quite dirty too.. I scrubbed the walls with a long handled brush and rinsed it down using a plastic bowl.. It took less than 45 minutes.. Its easy to put this task off or just to forget it.. Dirt, dust, insects, and in another house a snake getting into the tank vent hole, drowning in the tank stinking it all up as it rotted..

Things to think about if you do it..

- do you have a valve (other than at the meter) to shut off the water to the tank,
- Can you easily access the drain plug at the bottom of the tank.
- Do you have any type of sanitizer/soap to properly scrub the interior after you've drained it.
- Can you connect a hose to the city water source after you've drained the tank you can effectively rinse it out (I didn't so it was a bit difficult to do it well with just the brush and large plastic bowl)
- Have any idea on how long the tank takes to fill enough to be usable again so you're not stuck half the day waiting...

Post by **Muni** » July 4, 2015, 11:59 am

About 1 1/2 years ago I had a large reusable water filter installed BEFORE the tank to filter the incoming city water & clean it every month. The amount of mud & sludge is incredible. A lot easier to catch it before it gets into the tank.

Post by **FrazeeDK** » July 4, 2015, 4:48 pm

where'd you buy it?? and can you clean the filter and reuse it?? How often to you flush it out?

Post by **Muni** » July 4, 2015, 5:07 pm

I bought it at a small water filter shop between BIG C & MAKRO, on the same side. I think it was about 1500 Baht installed with shut-off valve. Yes it's a reusable filter. After rinsing off the mud, etc., it needs to soak a while in water with some bleach to kill algae. Then I let it dry in the sun. I bought a 2nd filter (cheapest I found was at Thai Watsadu for 500 Baht) so I can switch them off every month.

Post by **Bandung_Dero** » July 4, 2015, 5:47 pm

Firstly I do not trust the 'So Called' SS Tanks, have seen them fail on numerous occasions being the result of welding spatter (the small globules of Iron which attaches to the SS surface when the contractor is welding supports close to the tank). --- THESE ARE HIGHLY CORROSIVE

My 1.5 K/Litre blue plastic tank is now 13 years old and in perfect condition. The town water stored in it is filtered and reticulated from there via a pressure + accumulator pump = Easy.

I completed my annual scrub out yesterday. YES certainly a lot of gunge and slimy crap. (The locals use the signs at our local dam saying "Anyone caught bathing their buffalo in this dam will be fined 1000 Baht) as shade whilst doing so, I'm sure that is our major problem with water quality. Still OK for general ablution and cleaning my teeth.

Anyway, I lower a juvenile male relative into the tank with the gear he needs to scrub it out. I do the same with my 3 rain water tanks. The boy sees more money than he had all year and I see the job done!

NOW - Where is the rain to fill em up??

Post by **macca46** » July 4, 2015, 6:10 pm

Rain should be here early week according to the forecast but that changes fairly quick love your cleaning method I will have to find some local kids.

Post by **Khun Paul** » July 5, 2015, 6:37 am

Now me I have had SS Tanks ever since I came here, only one caused me a problem a small pin hole in the underneath which was soon fixed, they re easy to clean, I clean my house tanks yearly but the garden ones never in the 12 years I have had them. I have an in-line filter between garden tanks and pomp to protect the pump. The rest as they say is history. SS tanks are varying in price if you pay the cheapest you get the worst obviously.