Calcium biuld up in fresh water tank

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DUSTCUTTER

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I just pulled my filters located just before the pumps. Lots of white calcium chips. A friend says use product called Flow Aide. Tank holds 200 gals. About $30 per gal. Drain tank, use about 3 gallons and dilute with 3 gallons of water, go for a ride and let it slosh around. Run a hose from the furthest faucet back to the tank and let it circulate for about 2 hours. Water tank is steel. Pex tubung for hot and cold feed lines. Will Flow Aide be safe on system? What other options do I have? What recommendations do you have.

Ron
 
Anything that is gonna clean up calcium is gonna be acid-based. On a steel tank, I would be very hesitant to use any kind of strong acid. Vinegar is a weak acetic acid that might help clean up the tank without doing much damage. If you have an access cover on the fresh water tank, you may just want to hit the interior with a high pressure water hose and dislodge any mineral buildup. It's very unusual for minerals to precipitate out in a tank unless heat or evaporation is a strong influence.
 
Vinegar works well on Calcium and is probably less damaging. You'll need more than 3 gallons though.
 
why is that a probem? Same thing happens in water heater at home but you dont worry about it. just clean the filter from time to time.
 
I am not sure but the Flow Aide is very likely citric acid which is standard de-scaler. I would 1+ the vinegar first. Do you know how hard your water supply is?
 
I have used vinegar and also lime away, on scaled stuff at home and business, limited success. And I might add I am sure I expected immediate results. I suggest dumping 5-10 gallons of vinegar in there and let it set overnight, something will dissolve. Now for the bad news. Those chips you've seen in your pre fill filters, well now your gonna see the same thing coming out of your faucets, AND those paint chip size pieces of scale will lodge in your "faucet seats",(you have to take these apart to clean them, mostly by turning the water on and hoping they blow out while it's apart) shower head, faucet aerators and it will drive you crazy . They are just big enough to lodge in there and keep water from flowing properly. (for years to come) If it ain't broke don't mess with it.
 
my suggestion is to purchase a water softener filter system and use this when filling your tank at the dock. best solution is to keep the minerals out of the water right from the start.

if there are deposits in the lines/fixtures you can use barnical buster to clear these without destroying the metal. this stuff will work but may not be the best product for potable water supply system. the same mfg. makes products for cleaning water lines that may be less dangerous to drink.
 
Thanks to all for the quick responses. This weekend I will open up inspection port and take a look inside. Right now I plain on a high pressure wash down, followed by a pump out, then shop vac out all the particals. Bleach/water in tank and lines for a couple of hours then pump down twice with fresh water.

Ron
 
FWIW, grocery store vinegar is usually diluted to only about 5% I think...

Anyway, I just saw a reference -- I think it was in the April/May BoatUS mag -- to a Raritan product called CH (to go along with KO, CP, etc.) that supposedly works against calcium buildup.

-Chris
 
Whatever you choose to use, make sure it's fit for human consumption. You don't want to poison your family.
 
Raritan's CH is intended to dissolve calcium from sewage lines. I'm not sure3 if I'd consider using it for potable water lines. Plus, it's relatively expensive! Distilled white vinegar is the way I'd go...
 
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