Sterilizing Water

[KP]

Hey Folks, I am setting up a system to do water changes. I can't use my tap water, my water softner de-ionizes the water ( not good for fish). I put a bypass in the water line to get water straight from my well. I put this un-treated water in a 32 gal. trash can that is on canister wheels so I can move it around. I have a heater (to bring the water up to temp) and a Rio 3100 pump (to pump the water into my tanks) in the trash can.
After the water has been in the trash can for a few days I noticed algea and god only knows what else growing in the can. The way I see it I have two choices. Use Chlorine Bleach or a UV sterilizer to kill any unwanted critters.
The bleach is less expensive and easy, but the thought of not having all of it neutralized before a water change scares me. The UV sterilizer will take longer and is more expensive.
I am hoping someone here might have an opinon on these options, I cant make up my mind. TIA Keith

 

[nejsux]

I think most people will agree with me that using bleach (especially on softish plastic that may absorb some of it) is probably not a good idea. If you do use bleach, you should dilute it quite a lot and make sure its rinsed thoroughly afterwards. I'd also suggest adding some kind of chlorine neutralizing agent to the water afterwards, just in case. I don't know how much a UV sterilizer is, but it seems a bit much. Another option is just to soak it & scrub it out good using a clean rag and some hot very salty water. That will most likely kill anything that grew in freshwater in just a few days. Of course you don't want it in your tanks, but I doubt any of the algae could grow in only a few days in stagnant water can be THAT harmful, anyway.

How big is your tank? How many gallon water changes are you doingat a time? How often? Are you letting the remainder water sit inside or outside? Is the bypass in your water line convenient to get to, or very difficult? For future reference, if I were you, I'd calculate an average of how much water I needed for all my tanks and mark it off on the garbage pail. Then when you do water changes every two weeks or so, you can just fill it, use it all, (dump out any puddles left at the bottom from the pump) and let the pail dry bteween changes. That would save you from the hassle of cleaning the pail repeatedly.

 

[Anemoneman]

Challenging problem. If you use bleach to kill the microbes you can neutrilize it with some chlorine remover made to remove chlorine in tap water.

On a side note (just out of curiosity) you use your well water for your domestic water supply? No chlorine or flouride? What keeps any microbes from growing in your pipes? Forgive my ignorance if that isn't the case.

 

[KP]

Anemoneman, my tap water enters the house from the well, goes through an in line hemp filter ( replaced every 3 months), to a UV sterilizer, to the water softner. Life in rual Pa has its ups and downs. My area has a lot of dairy farms, all that manure has to go some where.
nejsux, I have 55, 50, 40 breeder,30 breeder. I am getting in to Central American Cichlids, they are dirty buggers, so the changes a substantal and often. Thanks Keith