# Water Storage



## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

I have been prepping for awhile. My weak area has been water. This weekend I purchase a 2,500 gallon drinkable plastic water storage tank. My question is even with it being new what do I need to use to clean it. My other question is I plan to fill it with our tap water. Is there anything extra I need to do and how long is the water good for.:???:


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## nadja (May 1, 2012)

As far as cleaning it, really nothing comes to mind. It should be clean already. You can add some oderless bleach to it the first couple of times you fill it. Is it the black or white type ? If it is the white, you need to paint it black to keep algie from growing inside.


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

It's black and thanks for the tip.


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## badey (Nov 9, 2012)

Old Man said:


> I have been prepping for awhile. My weak area has been water. This weekend I purchase a 2,500 gallon drinkable plastic water storage tank. My question is even with it being new what do I need to use to clean it. My other question is I plan to fill it with our tap water. Is there anything extra I need to do and how long is the water good for.:???:


If it is for long-term storage (more than a couple of weeks), you will need to add some unscented chlorine bleach. I have never done a calculation for 2500 gallons, but I believe it is 1/4 cup for 5 gallons. i have an earlier post with a link to a podcast on this issue, and with a chart in the post.


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

If you get a chance will you sent this to me. Thank you.


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## badey (Nov 9, 2012)

Old Man said:


> If you get a chance will you sent this to me. Thank you.


Here is the link to the old post. My post is post #4.

http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/...-simple-water-storage-question.html#post13972


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

I know, plastic containers are better than dying of dehydration, but am I the only one who is concerned about the chemicals leaching into the water?


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

Thanks this is very helpful. I was also thinking of add a water filter of some kind. Any suggestion.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Old Man said:


> Thanks this is very helpful. I was also thinking of add a water filter of some kind. Any suggestion.


I couldn't find one that did better than the Pro Pur, and you get a discount by going through infowars to get it.
ProPur Water Filtration


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

Thank,s i will check it out.


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## Desert Marine (Nov 20, 2012)

nadja said:


> As far as cleaning it, really nothing comes to mind. It should be clean already. You can add some oderless bleach to it the first couple of times you fill it. Is it the black or white type ? If it is the white, you need to paint it black to keep algie from growing inside.


I have a 1500 liter water tank (white) and we never have had a problem with algae growing in it. We also rotate the water in and out of it (which is what you should be doing anyway to a certain degree) and both of our tanks are out in the desert area.


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

How often do you rotate the water in and out and do you use any type filter system.


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## mvan70us (Nov 24, 2012)

Denton said:


> I know, plastic containers are better than dying of dehydration, but am I the only one who is concerned about the chemicals leaching into the water?


I agree and yes I would worry about the chemicals as well. But maybe the filter would take care of most of them


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

I thank you for your input. The question I have is what chemicals are you refering to. The plastic water tank meets the goverment specs. I know that does mean it perfect or I trust the goverment, but i need water. I read and see most are storing in plastic bottles and 55 gal plastic barrels. I know that i need to treat the water. The land I live on is mostly rock and unable to drill a well. I will take any suggestion on keeping the water safe. I also plan to rotate the water as much as I can. The winter months I will use it less mostly on the animals we have. Summer will be more used for the animals and the garden to help rotate the water. I hope to keep it as fresh as I can.


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## yzingerr (Dec 9, 2012)

They are reffering to BPA. It can be found in everything from baby bottles to metal food cans. Some epoxy coated and lined water tanks have been known to have BPA. BPA can leech into the water in the tank.


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## Desert Marine (Nov 20, 2012)

Old Man said:


> How often do you rotate the water in and out and do you use any type filter system.


Old Man I don't use any filtering system on the water tank. I do filter my drinking water with a Berkey Water Purification filters. You can make one using Berkey filters as well using food grade buckets. I'll post a follow-up link on this as it will be helpful for other people here. Again I am speaking from personal experience. I live in the desert both in West Texas and Egypt and we add nothing to our water tanks that are white in color. Actually IMHO black will attract heat which will cause algae to build up. Think about it, when you make a solar oven system you paint the inner part of the system black to attract heat, white is used to reflect heat. Being in the desert we don't have a issue in terms of heating things obviously so white is the color of choice. Again anyone who has a solar hot water tank paints the tank black. So from a practical point of view I would stay away from black tanks as they may be the cause of algae build up due to the black color attracting the heat. Just a thought.


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## Dunbar (Sep 17, 2012)

I buy the "PUR" water packets. Each little pack can treat 2.5 gallons. The company has a video showing a guy scooping 5 gallons of muddy river water, adding two packs of PUR to it, and the water turns clear and safe to drink. They are expensive. But I found a place online that sells them for 60 cents a pack. I have bought 500 packs.


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## WoadWarrior (Oct 10, 2012)

OK... Dunbar... you can't post something like that and not share the link. That could get you shot!


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## Old Man (Dec 10, 2012)

So what is the online place you found for 60 cents


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## Dunbar (Sep 17, 2012)

Well, the price has went up to .76 cents. That is still a good price. For $38 you can buy 50 packs - which will clean 125 gallons. 
Travel Size Emergency Supplies - for all your travel size needs


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