RO Holding Tank Smells Funny

[ericwithac]

Hey All!

Ive noticed over the past month or so that the 40 gal garbage can I used to hold and mix my salt water has an odd smell. I wish I could describe it more, but it just smells funny to me. I have a small pump that comes on for 5 minutes every hour to circulate the water a bit.

Has anyone had this issue or know what might be causing it?

Thanks
E

 

[bigdrew]

@ericwithac Good question. I have a similar issue. I’m using a 32 gallon food grade trash can (Brute). It smells almost moldy...but not quite moldly. It’s different. I’m curious if others are experiencing the same thing.

As for my solution to the problem: I’m using all of the water over the course of a few weeks and then letting the trash bin sit dry for a few days before re-filling. It definitely solves the odor issue and the odor doesn’t come back until the end of the next few weeks. My RODI water is definitely still 0 TDS, according to my meter (which I have tested repeatedly and it seems correct. I used it on my tap water and it reads 185).

 

[bigdrew]

PS. I also don’t pre-mix any salt water. Mine only holds fresh RODI water. I read the bucket on the Red Sea Coral Pro salt and it says not to pre-mix salt water for more than a day, so I never have.

 

[ericwithac]

Yeah I dont think its tainting the water, at least I hope not!

 

[ericwithac]

Ah well that could be it! I premix the salt and let it sit till i need it.

PS. I also don’t pre-mix any salt water. Mine only holds fresh RODI water. I read the bucket on the Red Sea Coral Pro salt and it says not to pre-mix salt water for more than a day, so I never have.

 

[Meatloaf1909]

I've been having a similar problem. The walls of the Brute also usually start to get a slimey feel.Whenever I notice the smell coming in or feel the slime I usually dump 2.5 gallons of distilled white vinegar, fill it up with RO water and leave the pump on for ~8 hours to clean it. I do premix Brightwell NeoMarine and it sometime sits in there for a few days.

 

[Peace River]

Hey All!

Ive noticed over the past month or so that the 40 gal garbage can I used to hold and mix my salt water has an odd smell. I wish I could describe it more, but it just smells funny to me. I have a small pump that comes on for 5 minutes every hour to circulate the water a bit.

Has anyone had this issue or know what might be causing it?

Thanks
E

Do you leave the top on tightly? If so, you might try placing the lid lightly on top of the container. This doesn’t fix the issue that is causing the smell (off-gasing or something else), but it may help dissipate the odor.

 

[ericwithac]

Do you leave the top on tightly? If so, you might try placing the lid lightly on top of the container. This doesn’t fix the issue that is causing the smell (off-gasing or something else), but it may help dissipate the odor.

No i just kind of leave it on top.

 

[mav3rick478]

What's your fluoride level of your tap water? When we lived in Hawaii in military housing they use to put Florida in the water. One year when we went on vacation for a month and came home the water in a pitcher in the fridge basically went bad. Just a guess.