# 300 gallon water tank - purification



## sdnapier

I have a friend who bought a 300 gallon water storage tank for her family. She is filling it with city water. Her question to me was how much bleach to put in. Does she need to put in bleach at the beginning or do you just treat it when it is used? How long can water stay in the tank and still be good? I have never worked with this much water so I don't know what to tell her. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks, Sheryl


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## Forerunner

Bleach is of the devil. 


Use one cup of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide for three hundred gallons of water.

Chlorine is a cold blooded killer to all things living.

Peroxide is a cleansing oxidizer that is good for most things living in the proper ratios.
Funny how it kills bacteria, yet oxidizes the human body as well as the plants that should get that water when you are done with it.


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## terri9630

I keep our tank in the back corner of the garage covered to keep it as dark as possible to help with the algee growth and treat as we use it. I also drain it every 6 months and use the water to water the trees in my wind/sand block.


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## happydog

Forerunner said:


> Use one cup of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide for three hundred gallons of water.


Wait, what?? Regular peroxide is 3%, where do you buy 35% peroxide? Does it need to be food grade? I agree, I'd rather drink peroxide than bleach. I didn't know this was an option.


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## blufford

happydog said:


> Wait, what?? Regular peroxide is 3%, where do you buy 35% peroxide? Does it need to be food grade? I agree, I'd rather drink peroxide than bleach. I didn't know this was an option.


 
Amazon.com: 35% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide: Health & Personal Care


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## Forerunner

Good tip, Blufford.....

I pay between 6-10 bucks a gallon for the stuff, depending on the quantity I pick up at a time......
I get mine locally from an independent feed dealer.


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## Trixters_muse

If you only need 1 cup of peroxide for 300 hundred gallons of water then how much would you use for a gallon of water? A few drops?

How long can you then store the water for? 

Should you still filter it before drinking or it is ok straight from the storage container?

How long will the peroxide its self last once you open the bottle?

What else can you use the peroxide for?


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## dlskidmore

Chlorine and hydrogen peroxide both evaporate, useless for long term storage. You'd have to add it as you used the water. You could try to sterilize the tank when full, but any time you broke the seal you'd have to sterilize again.

Easier to just boil the water if you have fuel.


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## Packedready

We bought 55 gallon water storage containers that came with chemical that is suppose to keep the water good for 5 years. I don't know what the chemical was but replacements are $5-$10 each.


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## happydog

dlskidmore said:


> Chlorine and hydrogen peroxide both evaporate, useless for long term storage.


How would it evaporate if it was in a closed container?


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## dlskidmore

happydog said:


> How would it evaporate if it was in a closed container?


Even if you had the container filled to the very top, you can get bubbles forming in it as gasses (Chlorine or Oxygen in this case) that don't want to stay in solution come out of solution. Then if you don't have pressure release in your container, you could put undue stress on it.

If you don't have a pressure equalization valve, then when you first use the water you'll either have to introduce an air bubble, which may contain bacteria/mold or you'll get vacuum which will pull dissolved gasses out of the water faster.

Think of what happens with a bottle of soda. Release all the pressure, reseal, and then put it in the sun for an hour. What happens when you open the lid? More pressure is released, as more gas has come out of the solution. It's less extreme if your solution is not super-saturated and you don't heat it, but it happens to a lesser degree.

I work in a medical company, and the scientists won't use bleach for sterilization because of this problem. The chlorine just dissipates over time, so you don't really know if you have enough to do a good sterilization job when you need it.


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## rancher1913

if the container is clean and the city water is treated, which it would be unless you are on a small well system, you do not need to add anything to the water. your city water should have enough residual chlorine to keep the water safe for a good long while.


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## Forerunner

Trixters_muse said:


> If you only need 1 cup of peroxide for 300 hundred gallons of water then how much would you use for a gallon of water? A few drops?
> 
> How long can you then store the water for?
> 
> Should you still filter it before drinking or it is ok straight from the storage container?
> 
> How long will the peroxide its self last once you open the bottle?
> 
> What else can you use the peroxide for?


There is an alternative health cleanse in which one adds eight drops of 35% peroxide to a pint of water, working up to 12 drops over a weeks time.....drinking that mix two or three times a day.
I've done it, on several occasions, no adverse effects.

I would say by that gauge one could determine a maximum.
Peroxide falling into the "alternative" category as it does, there isn't a lot of published info about it.
I have a dairy friend who is obsessed with "a better way of doing things/alternative health, farming, business, etc. and he uses 35% food grade peroxide in everything. 

He puts some in his own water jug each day, sanitizes dairy equipment with it, keeps a percentage in his animal waterers....his chicken waterers stay notably clear and fresh that way...
My late wife was an advocate of the stuff for all manner of disinfecting, cleaning, laundry (in place of bleach).
For that matter, almost anything that bleach will do, peroxide will do better, and that in far more environmentally friendly manner.
There are those who use a percentage in all of their green house waterings, claiming many benefits and accelerated plant growth.

The stuff needs be stored cool and dark.
It does lose potency over some years time, but I've had it maintain what seemed full strength for up to ten years. If you spill any on your skin without diluting the stuff with water, first, it's not hard to determine whether or not it has full strength.  Your skin will turn white and burn pretty good......just dip and slosh the effected area in water to alleviate.

I have no experience with the above-referenced tendency for the stuff to evaporate, over time. I do know that a 500 gallon rain water barrel that has become home to an off-odor bacterial colony can be freshened, absolutely, to odorless and crisp, with one pint of peroxide.

Whether or not I chose to filter peroxide-treated water would depend on the source and condition of the water other than potential bacterial contamination.


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## meanwhile

When I have water questions of any type, I go read from these three sites. I can always find ideas and solutions. The sites are huge but I have found them worth book-marking and reading from.

Oasis Design: Grey Water Books, Ecological Design Information & Consulting

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster

Home | Greywater Action

Remember that the tank needs to be kept dark and as cool as possible. If it is outside, paint it brown or dark green. Another idea for outside tanks is to grow vines in front of it to shade it. Good luck.


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## meanwhile

When I have water questions of any type, I go read from these three sites. I can always find ideas and solutions. The sites are huge but I have found them worth book-marking and reading from.

Oasis Design: Grey Water Books, Ecological Design Information & Consulting

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster

Home | Greywater Action

Remember that the tank needs to be kept dark and as cool as possible. If it is outside, paint it brown or dark green. Another idea for outside tanks is to grow vines in front of it to shade it. Good luck.


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## meanwhile

Sorry - will someone please remove one of my posts above? I cannot see how to remove it. Our internet did a hiccup and the post was put on twice. Thank you.


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## Tobster

Forerunner said:


> Whether or not I chose to filter peroxide-treated water would depend on the source and condition of the water other than potential bacterial contamination.


What sort of filter are you using and how did you setup your filtering system? Thanks


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## Forerunner

All I've ever done is hose clamp a big ole sock over the pipe that drains into the tank from the roof. When the sock gets full, replace it. :shrug:


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## terri9630

I've been wanting a rain barrel for those rare days we get rain. I'm just not sure we could keep it sand free.


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## Trixters_muse

Forerunner said:


> There is an alternative health cleanse in which one adds eight drops of 35% peroxide to a pint of water, working up to 12 drops over a weeks time.....drinking that mix two or three times a day.
> I've done it, on several occasions, no adverse effects.
> 
> I would say by that gauge one could determine a maximum.
> Peroxide falling into the "alternative" category as it does, there isn't a lot of published info about it.
> I have a dairy friend who is obsessed with "a better way of doing things/alternative health, farming, business, etc. and he uses 35% food grade peroxide in everything.
> 
> He puts some in his own water jug each day, sanitizes dairy equipment with it, keeps a percentage in his animal waterers....his chicken waterers stay notably clear and fresh that way...
> My late wife was an advocate of the stuff for all manner of disinfecting, cleaning, laundry (in place of bleach).
> For that matter, almost anything that bleach will do, peroxide will do better, and that in far more environmentally friendly manner.
> There are those who use a percentage in all of their green house waterings, claiming many benefits and accelerated plant growth.
> 
> The stuff needs be stored cool and dark.
> It does lose potency over some years time, but I've had it maintain what seemed full strength for up to ten years. If you spill any on your skin without diluting the stuff with water, first, it's not hard to determine whether or not it has full strength.  Your skin will turn white and burn pretty good......just dip and slosh the effected area in water to alleviate.
> 
> I have no experience with the above-referenced tendency for the stuff to evaporate, over time. I do know that a 500 gallon rain water barrel that has become home to an off-odor bacterial colony can be freshened, absolutely, to odorless and crisp, with one pint of peroxide.
> 
> Whether or not I chose to filter peroxide-treated water would depend on the source and condition of the water other than potential bacterial contamination.


Thanks for the great info Forerunner! 

I am going to research this, I prefer natural/homeopathic remedies and "green" cleaning. Only cleaning I ever have done with peroxide is when I worked in a hospital I used it to get blood out of my uniforms before washing.


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## Trixters_muse

terri9630 said:


> I've been wanting a rain barrel for those rare days we get rain. I'm just not sure we could keep it sand free.


I use a double strain system on my barrels. The water first goes into a fine mesh strainer (clean wire screen would work) to catch any bigger pieces of debris then through cheese cloth. I tried muslin but it was too tightly woven and the water backed up and flooded. You could always filter it though muslin in smaller amounts, that would take longer but would work.


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## texican

The water itself never goes bad... it might pick up some algae in long term storage, and have an off taste if it did... "treated" water shouldn't get any 'bugs' for a long time, if it's sealed off...

I'd just pipe the 300 gallon tank into the existing line... that way it's always good (aka 'safe')... if the shtf, you still have your 300 gallons available, and no worries about algae or other bugs...


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## terri9630

Trixters_muse said:


> I use a double strain system on my barrels. The water first goes into a fine mesh strainer (clean wire screen would work) to catch any bigger pieces of debris then through cheese cloth. I tried muslin but it was too tightly woven and the water backed up and flooded. You could always filter it though muslin in smaller amounts, that would take longer but would work.



I could try with the muslin. Sand will blow right through the cheesecloth. Or I may just have to put a filter on the barrels spout. I'd like to put a rain barrel on the barn to help water the chickens.


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