Routine Maintenance Failure

I prefer to prepare for emergencies rather than have to react to them. That's why I clean pumps on a regular basis, clean skimmers on a regular basis, test to make sure automatic air pumps are working, etc.

I have two trash cans in the basement for RO/DI water and mixed/heated/aerated saltwater running at all times. (Yes, they are food-grade Brute trash cans so I don't have any leaching). It's located in a fairly dark area of the storage room. Yesterday I couldn't find my RO/DI filter wrench so I was using my flashlight and happened to look into my water storage cans. I don't really know how, but there was some cyanobacteria visible. It's apparently a very low-light strain. Then I ran my hand around the inside of the can and I could feel a bacterial biofilm. If there's a biofilm, that means that the Nitrogen cycle is occurring. The end result of the N cycle is Nitrates so I haven't been topping off with 0 Nitrate water. : Looking back, I can see how stupid I was. They've been in use non-stop for a long time. Empty it out, fill it back up. However, I've never cleaned them. Who knows when the contamination occurred, but it doesn't really matter. I've learned my lesson.

Friendly reminder folks.....PERIODICALLY CLEAN YOUR WATER CONTAINERS AND KEEP THEM COVERED.

 

Nice bit of info....thanks.

 

LOL well atr leat it wasnt an emergency and you had to fing out

 

Interesting. This happened in you RO/DI container, not your saltwater can? I get a periodic "film" in my saltwater Brute. I test the water for Nitrates and Phosphates and come up clean. However, I realize that a brown film can't be good, and dump my saltwater, clean it and refill. This film occurs for me every 3 months or so. I have never had any film/bacterial residue, or algae in my RO/DI container (also a Brute). Both are covered in my kitchen, and only have the tops off when water-changing, or refilling my ATO container.

 

How do you clean them? Scrub them out with a brush and a light bleach solution?

posted with tapatalk please ignore bad spelling and grammar

 

It happened in both.

The brown film you are finding in your saltwater is most likely clay from your salt mix. Luckily, clay is inert. (If our salt mixes didn't have impurities, we couldn't afford this hobby. Not only that, we call most of those impurites Trace Elements ;D)

I'm just using vinegar, water, and a rag....then rinsing well.

 

I have the covered part, but haven't done any preventive cleaning, better get that on my list.

 

I get a clear film on anything I put in my salt water storage bin(also brute) overnight.I wash it every 3-4 weeks using rodi water and vinager.test kits show 0s anything to this or it it just biofilm?

 

......and THAT'S what I should have been doing all along!!! LOL I have a lot of years in this hobby but it really doesn't matter how long you've been doing something.....you might make a different mistake, but it's still a mistake nonetheless.

If you're cleaning every 3 or 4 weeks, I can almost promise you that's nothing but clay and it's inert.

 

I found this intriguing. Even if there were some sort of minor incidental contamination, it is amazing that the film grew, as there is pure water in there. Well, they have found life in the ocean where they swore none should be, like total acidic water, so who knows.