We have several 250 gallon water tanks on our homestead as well as two 1500 gallon tanks; each one is painted black. The reason is really quite simple. If you deprive the water of sunlight, the water will not turn green with algae.
Taking algae as a vitamin supplement may be beneficial, but algae in your water is not a good thing. As the algae grows in a water tank, oxygen in the water increases until a critical mass is reached. Then oxygen and nutrient levels begin to decrease. At that point the algae beings to die and the water will putrefy, making it unusable.
The 250 gallon tanks we buy usually have had soap or chlorine in them, so we take a trip to the local car wash to flush them out. We never use tanks that have had any type of petro-chemical in them. The first thing we do is to spray paint the tank black. My grandson likes helping with the painting. Rust-oleum makes a spray paint that will bond to plastic. FYI: It takes 5 ½ cans for one 250 gallon tank.
Taking algae as a vitamin supplement may be beneficial, but algae in your water is not a good thing. As the algae grows in a water tank, oxygen in the water increases until a critical mass is reached. Then oxygen and nutrient levels begin to decrease. At that point the algae beings to die and the water will putrefy, making it unusable.
The 250 gallon tanks we buy usually have had soap or chlorine in them, so we take a trip to the local car wash to flush them out. We never use tanks that have had any type of petro-chemical in them. The first thing we do is to spray paint the tank black. My grandson likes helping with the painting. Rust-oleum makes a spray paint that will bond to plastic. FYI: It takes 5 ½ cans for one 250 gallon tank.
Part 1: https://steemit.com/homesteading/@hansjurgen/homestead-water-collection
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Great tip with painting it black! Where do you get the tanks? Are they easy to find where you live?
We have a source here in town, but a lot of folks get them from Little Debbies. Most food manufactures will probably with them.
I have two underground. 😎
I didn't know that algae could form so easily in domestic water systems. Here in Trinidad, most people buy TuffTank water tanks that are already black and opaque from the hardwares. If I ever have to use water tanks that let sunlight in I believe I would be quite prepared from now on!
I know those tanks work great last year, no algae or scum. Painting them black is a great idea. @ironshield
Using completely opaque water storage tank may be a solution to this algae problem,since Algae uses photosynthesis to reproduce. So if your tank does not allow light in, algae cannot grow. To help you understand this fact, read this blog
http://blog.enduraplas.com/water-storage-rain-harvesting/will-algae-grow-in-your-water-storage-tanks
Thanks for sharing this tip! We are investing in tanks to start rain water collection here. :)
This is a great idea. How do you keep the pipes from freezing in the winter? Following you now.
We turn the tank valve off and drain the lines.
We turn the tank valve off and drain the lines.
Very useful! Thank you for this tip! I'm gonna paint mine today! 😊
good informative on how these stuff works...never thought of such...
thanks for sharing@hansjurgen