# Water Tanks - How Long Can They Stay Filled?



## NJDevilsFan (Jul 19, 2005)

Hello. How long can I safely leave fresh water in the holding tanks? My dealer filled the tanks when I bought my 26RS. If I am not going to use the TT for a few weeks, should I drain the tanks and just refill them when I camp? If so, what are the dangers of not doing that, and how long can water be left in there? Thanks. Jon


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Usually if water is filled from municipal source that contains chlorine, it is good for several days. Well water with no treatment is good for about 2 days.

Water taste will be affected also by sitting around.

You can add water treatments to extend it, but I personally would drain the tank whenever it is not being used.

Water can spoil and when it does, you will need to sanitize the complete system.

the dangers are Giradia with soupy poopy and possible health problems.

kevin


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Absolutely - drain it ASAP. I made the mistake of leaving it in there after dealer pick-up and it went bad in the worst way. You don't want to HAVE to become a sanitizing expert.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

soupy poopy?


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

PDX_Doug said:


> soupy poopy?
> [snapback]51724[/snapback]​


I think that's a technical plumber term.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

One needs to be selective of which posts to read while eating I suppose.

I would add this note - until I started keeping fish I never realized that tap water from municipal sources are high in phosphates. This means you have lots of food for algae to startup even with the chlorine in the water (I had a green fish tank for a while as a result of this sad fact). I'm not clear why, but they actually add phosphates in many cases.

Running tests (usually reserved for my fish tank water) on tap water was a real eye opener. It sounds sick but the water in my fish tank is much more clean than tap water - except for the salt of course.

BBB


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Phosphorous is a prime nutrient needed for algae growth. As a result, municipal treatment plants in many areas are required to remove phosphorous in their treatment process. I'm not a water expert but I have people here in the water testing lab that could probably give me a lesson on this stuff, maybe I should go pay them a visit.

Fresh aquariums have a high dissolved oxygen content, that may be why you had a algae bloom. Sunlight is killer on aquariums also.

How big is your tank? I am going to get back into the hobby, as soon as I can find where to put a 110 gallon tank.

Kevin


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

We must have really good water in Idaho. I never drain my system during the season, just use and refill. With the enclosed belly there is almost no light source for an algae bloom. Bacteria could be an issue but so far it has not been an issue. One reason why I do not worry about it is under the best circumstances you can not fully drain the tank or system. So any little pocket of soupy poopy germs will just be restricted to that little wet spot and when you fill the tank it will still be there and spread. If you fear for your health or are susceptible only use your trailer water to flush the toilet and used bottled or can beverages.

BTW - I love the soupy poopy description.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

CamperAndy said:


> under the best circumstances you can not fully drain the tank or system. So any little pocket of soupy poopy germs will just be restricted to that little wet spot and when you fill the tank it will still be there and spread.[snapback]51773[/snapback]​


I know what you mean about that. The first time I pulled the trailer out with an "enpty" water tank and had left the valve open I must have dropped 1+ gallon of water as I pulled out. Now when I get home from a trip I dump the water and then drop the tongue all the way down and get a bunch more water.

I don't really like to dump water in the campgrounds. Did it before and got alot of dirty looks









The next time we camp I leave the valve open and put in another 5 or so gallons to flush out whatever might be left. Hopefully this will dillute the remaining old water.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

The dissolved oxygen is part of what fueled the bloom but the real nasty component was the phosphate content. We ended up doing multiple water changes using distilled water to get away from the phosphate. It is now to zero (we also used Phosban as a chemical filter) and the oxygenation is the same as before and the algae problem is nearly gone. Nitrates have been low the whole time so that hasn't been an issue or a contributor.

We have a 55 gallon tank Picture of it here.

Andy,
You are on the aquifer there aren't you? Best water in the world! Underground river from Lake Pend Oreille - crystal clear. (I grew up in Spokane Valley where open irrigation ditches pumped straight from the aquifer were the best thing on a hot summer afternoon after playing baseball!)


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Soupy Poopy Avoidance...the reason I drain then ENTIRE fresh water system after every trip (and as you all are very well aware, that includes the hot water heater).

Randy


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

When we had our Coleman Niagara popup I always stored it with the water tank (20 gal.) full whether the trailer was inside or out. Sometimes it sat for several months that way and in five years I never had a problem. I did nothing special to the water, I just filled from my hose in the garage. I would train the tank, water heater and porta potti before a trip to keep the trailer weight down. I always thought of the water in the trailer as part of my emergency earthquake supplies.

In 94 after the Northridge earthquake I got 5 6-gallon water containers and ever since then I have kept them in my backyard shed as part of our earthquake kit. I change the water in them every 6 months and do nothing special to the water. In 11 years I have never seen even a hint of anything growing in the water that I dump out. I check the water jugs before refilling them to make sure they're in good shape and so far no problem.

Now that I've got the Outback I've kept the water tank full except when travelling and so far no problem. Maybe I'm just lucky but I see no problem with keeping the fresh tank full for extended periods.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Dudes. You don't usually "see" anything in contaminated water, do you? Often the Soupy Poopy is the first clue. Around here various beaches closes every once in a while because of E. Coli counts that are unsafe. You can't see anything different, but you sure don't want to be drinking that stuff!

I really don't have enough knowledge to say whether it's safe to store for several weeks between trips or not, but nobody should feel safe because they can't see anything.

I just don't understand why you'd ever want to haul it around, except for short trips between the campsite and the nearest fill location. I can appreciate the convenience of being able to add that to the pre-trip prep you can do in your driveway, but for me it's not worth the 400 pounds I'd have to haul around.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

So far we have done nothing with the Outback, except 'wet' camp, so we only keep water in the tank to supply the toilet for any in route potty stops.

When we had the Coleman, we dry camped a lot. Never stored water in the tank, and if it had been more than a month since the last trip, I always flushed the system with bleach and three additional full tank fresh water flushes.

Never had any problems with algae, e-coli or... soupy poopy.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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