Water storage treatment/filtration questions

[Larry Caldwell]

The longer the chlorine is in the water, the less you have to use. For 1100 gallons, a scant 1/4 cup of bleach would be plenty. I have a 2500 gallon cistern and use 1/2 cup of bleach once every 10 days. Don't use perfumed bleach.

 

[fishheadbob]

I just had Culligan come in and do a water test at the house. It showed I had some well water issues - mainly hardness- and I went ahead and purchased a replacement system and it is working out nicely. They didn't charge for the test, so I wonder if having them test it for you would be worthwhile.

Of course. I've been waiting many years for someone to say that Culligan or whomever came, ran a test, and determined that they did NOT need whatever they were selling. Kind of like asking the life insurance salesman if he thinks you need more life insurance.

 

[Scott65]

Thanks Larry, that makes me feel better to hear someone claim to use such a small amount. I was beginning to think I was going crazy, everyone using such a large dose. I understand what most articles are referring to, dosing high enough to shock the system and kill bacteria in the tank and lines, then flush it out. But its hard to find established information for ongoing treatment of an in-use system without using very expensive equipment. I still haven't had the time or resources to set up my system the way I would like. Eventually I will get where I would like to be and have all of this equipment in place. But for the time being, bleach is going to have to do. And very small amounts at that. I'll try a 1/4 cup with the next tank fill.

Do you test your water for its chlorine content? If so, how and what is the reading? Once I get my dosage correct, I would like to be able to maintain the system regularly. In other words, not have to run the tank all the way down, and refill completely to know to add a specific amount of chlorine. If I could test the water (lets say with the little swimming pool test strips, for example), then I could top the tank off when it was only half way down, test the water when full, and add enough chlorine back in to get it back to specs. After all, the purpose of the tank is to have a reserve in case my well were to run dry. It would be unfortunate for that to happen right at the same time that my tank ran dry also!

 

[Scott65]

Of course. I've been waiting many years for someone to say that Culligan or whomever came, ran a test, and determined that they did NOT need whatever they were selling. Kind of like asking the life insurance salesman if he thinks you need more life insurance.

Good call bob, I didn't catch that. I suppose your right. The Culligan man probably doesn't test very many systems that doesn't come back with results indicating some sort of filtering equipment being recommended! Haha!

 

[C4Ranch]

This one says 1/8 TEASPOON per gal

Prepping 101: Water Storage, Purification, Filtration & Winter

 

[farmer2009]

Get you a chlorine testing kit. Ideal range for chlorine is 2-4 ppm at your farthest faucet. Even at 2ppm you can smell an odor.

The chlorine will dissipate if open to air. Your tank has vent holes in it. This allows some air in but not much. Now if the tank lid was off then it would dissipate faster and yet if entire top was say cut off it may only last a couple of days.

 

[SirReal63]

This one says 1/8 TEASPOON per gal

Prepping 101: Water Storage, Purification, Filtration & Winter

I may be wrong, but I believe that is for water of unknown quality, for our well water that would be a massive dose. Growing up on Lake Travis people who pumped from the lake used iodinated water treatments or chlorine, those of us with a well drank what came out of the well. We ran a small resort for a few years and used the AutoChlor system, a gallon of bleach lasted quite a while.

 

[PILOON]

Chlorine, Clorox will kill bacteria. 'Back then' they even printed the formula on the labels.
Most if not all municipal waters are treated with metered injections of chlorine.(on some days you actually taste it!)
Better still is 'black light' or infra red.
They sell systems just for that. It consists of a fluorescent or black light tube that is inside of another glass tube with entry and exit points in order that all the water flow is exposed to the light. The sole downside is that the tube needs changing every 12 months or so as the 'light' loses efficiency.
Taste is another thing and more costly to modify as it generally consists of a couple of tanks, salts and additional filtering.
I'd check farm co-ops for the UV systems that they sell for livestock as while essentially same as as home usage units they are much more affordable.*
They simply just don't have the CSA or ULC or whatever label for home usage.
For particles I use a pool filter (150 mesh) to remove whatever my pump sucks up from the lake water. I back flush that filter about 4 times a year or whenever my wife claims the washer takes too long to fill.
Yes, we have been using our lake water for about 20 years now and I'm still alive! (our lake is spring fed with no entry. We are at the head of the water shed and do 20 water tests every year just to monitor the coliforms. Rarely get more than a 1 or 2 at one or 2 locations always taking readings at hottest time of the year at the exact same location.)
* On our lake, some years back we purchased a bulk lot of 'livestock' UV systems and never looked back.

 

[Scott65]

Chlorine, Clorox will kill bacteria. 'Back then' they even printed the formula on the labels.
Most if not all municipal waters are treated with metered injections of chlorine.(on some days you actually taste it!)
Better still is 'black light' or infra red.
They sell systems just for that. It consists of a fluorescent or black light tube that is inside of another glass tube with entry and exit points in order that all the water flow is exposed to the light. The sole downside is that the tube needs changing every 12 months or so as the 'light' loses efficiency.
Taste is another thing and more costly to modify as it generally consists of a couple of tanks, salts and additional filtering.
I'd check farm co-ops for the UV systems that they sell for livestock as while essentially same as as home usage units they are much more affordable.*
They simply just don't have the CSA or ULC or whatever label for home usage.
For particles I use a pool filter (150 mesh) to remove whatever my pump sucks up from the lake water. I back flush that filter about 4 times a year or whenever my wife claims the washer takes too long to fill.
Yes, we have been using our lake water for about 20 years now and I'm still alive! (our lake is spring fed with no entry. We are at the head of the water shed and do 20 water tests every year just to monitor the coliforms. Rarely get more than a 1 or 2 at one or 2 locations always taking readings at hottest time of the year at the exact same location.)
* On our lake, some years back we purchased a bulk lot of 'livestock' UV systems and never looked back.

A few questions about this UV system since several people now have mentioned it. Do you implement it before or after a storage tank if using one, as I am. Do you use it in conjunction with chlorine? Does it kill all things considered as unsafe that may be found in well water, even if used without chlorine if that's the answer to the previous question. And finally, if used without chlorine, can it really be as effective in killing all things nasty as water is rushing through it so fast with no soak/kill time?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Scott65, the system I described in an earlier post to this thread uses a UV light to kill bacteria and a reverse osmosis filter to remove cysts and other very small particulate matter. Also a pair of charcoal filters and another prefilter. It all hides under the kitchen sink and feeds the ice maker in the refrigerator and a small faucet next to the main kitchen faucet. My supplier told me that any water that passes through that system is safe to drink so that there is no need to periodically test water quality. The UV bulbs burn out after a little more than a year (I've tried to google for a more affordable supplier, but so far have come up empty handed). I change the filters once a year. It seems to work as I'm still healthy after over four years of use.