Clean those storage barrels!

[RyanH]

Hey All,

I just wanted to shout out a friendly reminder to everyone here that stores their water in barrels.

I'm a busy guy with alot going on in my life. In the hustle and bustle of trying to meet all of my responsibilities, especially during the school year, I will often neglect my storage barrels and other equipment. The problem is, these types of things, although easily forgotten, are pretty much constantly wet and are a bacteria and algae magnet! They need to be cleaned regularly as well as your hoses, nets, pales, and other commonly used but often forgotten equipment.

I decided today to clean mine out as it had been awhile. What I found what pretty disgusting. :o :o :o

If you haven't done it in awhile or your fish are telling you that they aren't feeling well and you can't figure out why, clean your barrels and equipment and see if that helps.

-Ryan

[brewmaster15]

Good point Ryan.

some good cleaners...

bleach
potassium permanganate
Hydrogen peroxide.

Rinse RINSE RINSE

NO SOAP, , don't even wipe it with an article of clothing that has been washed..soap films and coats everything!

-al

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Just curious here .... but could you use the PP just like you would with a tank of fish to kill off the bacteria?

Just add it to the full storage tank and let it do its thing??

[brewmaster15]

Absolutely...one of its commercial uses is to clean out water tanks and plumbing systems....thats one of the reasons many Sears sell it.

-al

[CAGE-RATTLER]

If done on a regular basis ............ how often would you reccomend?

[brewmaster15]

when it feels slimmy is when I do it.! I know , not very scientific on my part..but its true. Thats how I judge when to clean it.:)

-al

[CAGE-RATTLER]

when it feels slimmy is when I do it.! I know , not very scientific on my part..but its true. Thats how I judge when to clean it.:)

-al


Works for me ..... lol.

Do you just do the 4 hour treatment the same as treating fish or do you do it differently?

[brewmaster15]

Cage,
I actually let it go about 24 hours...drain and fill..neutralize with peroxide... use a scrub brush and wipe the sides and then rinse last time.

-al

[RandalB]

I've often wondered about bubbling ozone into the storage barrel...

At the new place, I'll have to store water and I have an Ozone Generator... Hmmmmmm....

RandalB

[gillyweed]

Randal,

What's an Ozone Generator? Can you explain? I'm out of fish for 1/2 a year, but pretty much out-of-date!

gw

[tomcatbubba]

Question.

If chlorinated tap water will kill beneficial bacteria in filter material, would it not kill any nasties that happen to take up residence in our aging barrels? It sure would be a lot easier than worrying about chemicals getting into our tanks.

[Dave C]

After reading this thread I decided to clean my 180g water storage barrel. I've had it for about 4+ years and have never cleaned it. It has a cap that sits on it but not tightly because of the pipes going into it, but the cap does keep out most dust & other crap. There was visible algae on the sides of it towards the top 1/3 of the barrel and some reddish/brown stuff on the bottom of the tank. The sides were kinda slippery but not much was there. All I did was empty it, lay it on its side and wipe it down, scraping off algae when it wouldn't come off with an algae scrubber. But the bottom line is, it wasn't that dirty, algae isn't harmful in my experience and leaving it that long hadn't been an issue. I'm sure the state of your tanks after 4 years will depend on your water & your setup, but it didn't affect my fish or my setup.

[crimson cross]

If you prefer not to use any harsh chemicals, viniger or lime juice works great too. hth.

[tentman]

cleaned my storage barrel last week, next day everything inside covered with white slim . just wiped it out, no chemicals. any ideals what it is ?

[alpine]

I have always wondered when I go into some discus shops that have water containers that are about eight to ten feet tall how do they cleaned them. They have told me they clean them often( they seem to have a small opening at the top and a drain ??) but I have doubted since it looks to me that it would be imposible to get inside and scrub the sides and bottom. Maybe there is another way of doing it.

roberto.

[Cosmo]

Roberto,

What you describe sounds similar to my storage barrels, except they're only 4 ft tall and have an 8 inch opening on top. Cleaning these isn't easy so not sure how'd they do the ones 8 to 10 ft tall.. Dan at GulfCoast has one, maybe we should ask him :D To clean mine, I attach an algea scraper pad to a length of PVC pipe using nylon ties.. then I rinse, and wipe it down with paper towels attached the same way to the pipe.. then rince again. Can't imagine this working with a much larger tank though :confused:

Jim

[ronrca]

Roberto,
I have a 7' storage tank with a 1' opening at the very top. There is about a 1' clearance between the top of the tank and the ceiling. Very, very hard to look inside never mind trying to clean it. Any suggestions are welcome.

Just a thought and question in regard to cleaning due to slim/aglae. What do you do inside the pipes in such systems as centrals? I have taken apart some pipes and inside........yuck! Very slimy and brown! What is it and is it harmful? Ive never given it much thought before.

Inside my storage tank that I have running now 2 years, around half I can see brown 'stuff'. Given that I only fill my tank with tap water, no dechlor and still get slim growth, I am curious to what actually grows in chloramine water.

[troyclark]

I also have a tall storage barrell that is pretty much impossible to take down and clean. I was going to try the PP method of cleaning it and was wondering where you all buy your Potassium Permanganate. The only place I found it at is PondRX.com. They have a 1 lb container for about $25.00. Does this price sound good to you guys and gals. I have never bought any before. BTW, what dose should I use as a cleaner. I plan to rinse several times after I treat. Thanks for all the help.

P.S. I have had this tank for around 6 months and have never cleaned it. Could this be the reason my 3 month old fry are not looking so good. I try to do a 90% water change each night in their 55 gallon with water out of this tank.

Thanks again.

[jeep]

You can also use 35% HP to clean them out...

[RyanH]

Places like Sears sell PP as well. I can't remember what I paid off hand but a 1 lb. container will last you the rest of your natural life.




I also have a tall storage barrell that is pretty much impossible to take down and clean. I was going to try the PP method of cleaning it and was wondering where you all buy your Potassium Permanganate. The only place I found it at is PondRX.com. They have a 1 lb container for about $25.00. Does this price sound good to you guys and gals. I have never bought any before. BTW, what dose should I use as a cleaner. I plan to rinse several times after I treat. Thanks for all the help.

P.S. I have had this tank for around 6 months and have never cleaned it. Could this be the reason my 3 month old fry are not looking so good. I try to do a 90% water change each night in their 55 gallon with water out of this tank.

Thanks again.

[troyclark]

Should I use a normal dosage or should I do a double, triple dose or something like that since I am just going to discard the water anyway ?

I checked on Sears website and saw that the products they have contains potassium monopersulfate. Is this similar to PP or is it a no-no to use ?? Thanks