# Keeping Water Fresh



## maccauley123 (Sep 2, 2004)

I don't know that I would use all the water in my storage tank so looking for a way to keep the green stuff from growing. Would these work?

1. Throw in a couple of silver dollars? I read somewhere that silver is a natural disinfectant so wondered if this might work.

2. Throw in a shot or two of vodka. In a 10 gallon tank a few shots of vodka won't have any noticeable effect on taste but is it enough alcohol to kill the buggies?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes, silver ions do have anti-bacteria properties...but the best way to keep the water fresh in the tank is to keep it moving... it only really goes bad if it sits there and stagnates. If you pump a couple of gallons into the sink each time you're at the boat, if you're not actively using the water tank..and add fresh water... its letting it sit for weeks on end that leads to the system getting really nasty.

Shock treat the system in the spring as *Peggie Hall* describes it..and then go from there.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Add a couple of tablespoons of bleach into your tank each time you fill it, that will keep growth out of the tank. You can't really drink what's in the tank anyway, use bottled water for drinking.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Don't do this if you have an aluminum tank... it's a disaster if you have an aluminum tank....


sailingfool said:


> Add a couple of tablespoons of bleach into your tank each time you fill it, that will keep growth out of the tank. You can't really drink what's in the tank anyway, use bottled water for drinking.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

If your tanks are white plastic that lets light in, paint them with something dark - light causes stuff to grow. No light - no grow.

We had a huge farm tank on our property years ago and it gather rain water from the roof of the dwelling. It was completely enclosed and pitch dark inside. The water stayed fresh and crystal clear even when no "new" water went in for several months.


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## 39512 (Mar 30, 2004)

Why not use Aquabon? It works.


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## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

Omatako said:


> If your tanks are white plastic that lets light in, paint them with something dark - light causes stuff to grow. No light - no grow.


I've also found keeping the water in the dark is a big help. Many brands of water hose are made of clear plastic -- which of course lets lots of light in, which is probably why much of the problem occurs in the transmission tubing vs the tanks (see the link SD's post above). Water systems that use semi-rigid plastic tube (vs flexible hose) have an advantage of keeping the light out. Where you have to use the clear, flexible hose try wrapping it in black electrical tape to block the light.


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## celenoglu (Dec 13, 2008)

Use a set of filters very close to the output. 20 microns, active carbon and 5 micron filters in series will keep all the growth in and supply fresh water.


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## Keldee (Jun 23, 2008)

Why wouldn't you drink water out of the tank? With some bleach each time you fill it is perfectly fine.Bottled water should be banned,what about all that plastic in the landfills.


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## adru (Oct 18, 2008)

Are there any special recommendations if a marine hot water heater is involved.


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

sailingfool said:


> Add a couple of tablespoons of bleach into your tank each time you fill it, that will keep growth out of the tank. You can't really drink what's in the tank anyway, use bottled water for drinking.


I'm going through a bunch of effort to make sure I can drink the water out of my tanks. And my kids will drink out of them too. (I'm using the method that Sailingdog linked to yesterday.) Do you know something else about drinking from tanks?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

If you're planning on drinking the water from the tanks, I highly recommend treating it with a Brita type water pitcher... it usually makes the water quite drinkable.



Bene505 said:


> I'm going through a bunch of effort to make sure I can drink the water out of my tanks. And my kids will drink out of them too. (I'm using the method that Sailingdog linked to yesterday.) Do you know something else about drinking from tanks?


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## Keldee (Jun 23, 2008)

We have used the water out of our tanks since we first started sailing in 1994 using the bleach method with no problems at all.


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## fullkeel7 (Apr 16, 2008)

Keldee said:


> We have used the water out of our tanks since we first started sailing in 1994 using the bleach method with no problems at all.


Yes, commercial airlines still use the system that Peggie Hall describes today and have use it for years, albeit a more aggressive solution. When applied on a time/phase basis, I've never heard of or experienced any premature failures to acft. tank, line, fitting or seals in the water systems.

In between 'shock' treatments, some cruisers use a mild solution of hydrogen peroxide, of the 3 - 5% variety, to keep the unwanteds at bay while not subjecting their water system components to the corrosive effects of chlorine. One cruiser told me he used 4 to 6 oz. of H P to every 50 gals., depending on his confidence in the quality of the water supply, to no ill effects to health or his water system... just another avenue.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Peggie is a pro.

Sterling silver, nice idea, but coin silver may have other metals in it and not be such a good idea. ideally you want ionic silver or something on a similar level, but anything you add (silver, bleach, peroxide, iodine) may react to your plumbing or tank, metals and plastics all have to be considered.

Besides "shock and clean" you might want to reconsider and use the main water tank for non-potable water, and then either install a smaller tank that you can more easily keep fresh, or switch to water jugs for drinking water. Or a largish "day tank" that is more easily filled with potable water.

Size, capacity, duration, time effort and money...all to be balanced.


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## LookingForCruiser (Feb 7, 2007)

Silver? doesn't that lead to argyria?








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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

It can, under certain conditions



LookingForCruiser said:


> Silver? doesn't that lead to argyria?


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Drinking from silver canteens (civil war era) or silver cups, or use silverware rather than flatware to eat your meals, does not cause argyria, or silver poisoning. Ingesting excessive amounts of silver, can do both. The "blue man" is a classic case of why folks who mess around making their own ionic silver solutions and imbibing them heavily should think twice about the value of everything they read on the internet.

FWIW I've had a piece of sterling in my Brita pitcher at home for 3 years now. Very very subtle change in the flavor, no noticable change in the sterling, but it seems to prevent "that black crud" from growing in the pitcher as often.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

hellosailor said:


> ...FWIW I've had a piece of sterling in my Brita pitcher at home for 3 years now. Very very subtle change in the flavor, no noticable change in the sterling, but it seems to prevent "that black crud" from growing in the pitcher as often.


Shouldn't need a piece of sterling in your Brita pitcher... if you change the filter out every month, like you're supposed to, the ionic silver in the filter should keep the crud away just fine by itself.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

Keldee said:


> Why wouldn't you drink water out of the tank? With some bleach each time you fill it is perfectly fine.Bottled water should be banned,what about all that plastic in the landfills.


I can't agree more.

We only ever drink water from our tanks. If you can't drink from your tanks then you can't do an ocean crossing unless you're going to sacrifice all your locker storage for water bottles. Remember they're on your boat whether they're full or empty. At least I hope they are  .

IMHO its an absolute myth that water is out to kill you. In Africa zillions of people drink water from rivers that carry animal effluent, fertiliser, insecticides and God knows what else and guess what? They are multiplying in their millions. They're not dying like flies. At least not from bad water. And in the places were they are dying because of water, it's not because of *bad* water, it's because of *no* water.

Water has to be *really* bad before it does you any real harm. When we were in the Marquesas two years ago we were told by everybody, including the locals to NOT drink the water. Well the locals did. The only reason they warned us off was because the change makes for an unhappy tummy. But if you stayed there and drank the water it would be only a short time before you get acclimatised to it and will not get sick.

So drink from you tanks, it'll make you stronger, not weaker.


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## Keldee (Jun 23, 2008)

Thank goodness someone thinks the same!!


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## adru (Oct 18, 2008)

Drinking water from a properly treated water system aboard your boat is perfectly safe but it may have a slight smell or even slight taste you may not get from your home tap, especially if the water sits without replenishment for a while. If your not going on an extended cruise and have guests aboard you may want to use bottled water or a Brita type filter rather than trying to explain how safe the water really is. I have used the “the water is perfectly safe to drink” argument with my wife but she still insists on bottled water.


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## adru (Oct 18, 2008)

I have an additional question about the water in my boats fresh water tank. A couple of year ago the stainless steel screw and short bead chain that attaches the fill tank cap to the outer screw in fitting came loose and fell into the tank. What could be the possible ramifications of these stainless steel pieces sitting in the water for years? It's a 16 gallon plastic tank.


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## Sarguy (Mar 2, 2009)

Well... I bet the ramifications would be similar to water sitting in a stainless steel tank for years. The only problem I can think of would be that if the part is not in a stable place, boat motion could keep it moving and wear a hole in the tank. That would take years.... many, many years. You don't have to worry about it any more.


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## genieskip (Jan 1, 2008)

Omatako said:


> I can't agree more.
> 
> We only ever drink water from our tanks. If you can't drink from your tanks then you can't do an ocean crossing unless you're going to sacrifice all your locker storage for water bottles. Remember they're on your boat whether they're full or empty. At least I hope they are  .
> 
> ...


As Omatako says, acclimatization is the key. A long time ago as I was hitchhiking around the Med I drank local water everywhere. I started in Northern Europe where the water was clean and over the course of many months made my way to the Eastern Med, where, in places like Turkey, Syria and Egypt, the local water was not quite in the same category, yet it had no ill effect because of the slow acclimatization. Of course, If I had gotten off the plane and started drinking the water in Turkey, I would have regretted it, but slow and easy does it fine.

His point about needing to use the tank water on ocean crossing is very well taken, especially if you have a large racing crew. One Atlantic crossing with tanks that did impart some taste to the water we drank an awful lot of Tang to mask the off flavor while another time we had good tanks and put a bit (very small bit) of chlorine in the water and it worked just fine.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

You might get trace, and I mean trace amounts of iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, and carbon in the water from it... ever read the side of your vitamin and mineral daily supplement....like Centrum... it's got all of those same minerals/elements in it.



adru said:


> I have an additional question about the water in my boats fresh water tank. A couple of year ago the stainless steel screw and short bead chain that attaches the fill tank cap to the outer screw in fitting came loose and fell into the tank. What could be the possible ramifications of these stainless steel pieces sitting in the water for years? It's a 16 gallon plastic tank.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"In Africa zillions of people drink water from rivers that carry animal effluent, fertiliser, insecticides and God knows what else and guess what? They are multiplying in their millions. They're not dying like flies. "

Actually, bad water IS KILLING Africans. If not millions, then many hundreds of thousands. There are major international projects to provide clean drinking water for village wells, and super-purification "straws" for folk in the bush. Waterborne diseases and parasites, diarrhea, dysentery, all are major killers in Africa and it is not just in the refugee camps and war zones.

One in four Americans gets food poisoning EVERY YEAR in the US. 300,000 are hospitalized because of it. 5000 die from it.

Then there are another million killed by secondary infections they pick up in dirty hospitals (which means all hospitals to some degree).

When it is so easy to practice basic sanitation and cleanliness, you've got to be really naive to say these things don't happen.


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## Mimsy (Mar 22, 2009)

We plan on drinking water from the tanks but are planning on suing two filters. One UV filter before the water reaches the faucet and another faucet mount filter on the tap. While the UV filter is on the pricey side, we think it is well worth it.

My husband contracted Shigella dysentery in Egypt. Despite every bit of medical treatment available back home, he was still ill for almost 5 years. You do not want this to happen to you. Yes, you could conceivably become acclimated or you could become seriously, seriously ill. Get a good filter and while Brita will improve the taste, it won't do anything for bacteria.


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## adru (Oct 18, 2008)

If you disinfect your fresh water system then the most likely way to become sick from drinking the water if its properly treated would be by having introduced the protozoal, bacterial, or parasitic culprit from your outside water source. If you don't trust the source don't put it into your tank.


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

On the hard. 1000 liters of tankage means 2 gallons of bleach.

I'm thinking of flushing it out and into nearby sink instead of onto the ground or into the nearby storm drain.

Any thoughts on this?


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

Bump.

Sink seems the only way to go. Maybe do a tank at a time.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

On long island the water is really CLEAN compared to say buffalo or anyplace that gets it from a river 

BUT it still needs to be used and replaced more when a boat is just sitting at a dock and used one day a week 


I take care of USP clean water systems and see all the bugs that grow and drinking boat water WITHOUT a FILTER gets me ill just thinking about it


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

Good point about the filter Tom. Maybe I should get the kind that screws onto kitchen faucets on land.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

> IMHO its an absolute myth that water is out to kill you. In Africa zillions of people drink water from rivers that carry animal effluent, fertiliser, insecticides and God knows what else and guess what? They are multiplying in their millions.


Indeed they do. And while we're discussing unusual intake - let's not forget the common housefly - you want to talk about something that drinks nasty fluids and then multiplies !! 


> They're not dying like flies.


I thought we just agreed that the flies were multplying like crazy...at least I agreed they are...not even the flies are dying like flies


> At least not from bad water.


Good you conceded this ....


> And in the places were they are dying because of water, it's not because of bad water, it's because of no water.


Are you sure ??? I wonder if some small part of the cause for their attenuated lifespan might not be the accumulation of various effluents in their (admittedly limited) bodyfat and sundry organs ?? Perhaps not - perhaps all that sun and fresh air has some magical effect on the liver and the higher level of physical activity they experience is able to leach contaminants out of their bones...but I somehow doubt it...

Me - I'm not drinking any effluents or sundry foreign matter regardless of whose tanks they come out of 

Let me go on record as heartily endorsing the vodka approach. I think though, that to be certain of a hygenic and pleasantly satisfying libation, a more appropriate dose might be about 5 quarts of vodka (and not the cheap crap either) for every 18 gallons of water the tank holds. Throw a couple of limes in through the inspection port as well. Lime does a wonderful job of descaling the plumbing, not to mention preventing scurvy on long voyages.

This will have a wonderfully calming effect on both seasickness and hyperactive youngsters.

You're welcome


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

Fresh/clean water will stay fresh in your tank for at least a month or two; but if you are not regularly re-filling the tank it -could- grow bacteria if it is high in nitrate/phosphate from the source (nutrients). Municipal water sources in the US generally have plenty of chlorine in the water to keep it sterile and fresh; but the vents in the boat storage tank allows the chlorine to evaporate out, which will happen regardless of if it was tap chlorine, chlorine tablets, liquid bleach or vodka added to sterilize the water inside the tank. Pumping your tanks dry and then re-filling them should add enough chlorine to kill any bacteria that is in the residual water; shocking the tank with a small amount of liquid bleach and then flushing the system would be certain to clean it enough to be drinkable.

The comparison to run-off water is a bit over the top. If the source was good (like tap water in USA) there should be no fear of parasites "forming" even if the water sat for a long time. The problem is bacteria growth and that will only happen after too much of the dissolved chlorine/chloramine in the tap water evaporates out (which takes a while).

If you are unsure about the water in your tank and really need to use it for drinking water you can also boil it and allow to cool. That would sterilize it well enough to not worry about bacteria causing disentary.


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