Algae in my water filters - Montana Owners Club

dsprik · 08-07-2007, 05:13 PM

I have a double water filter setup with the filters from Lowes. We have had no problems at this CG for the two months we have been using the system. Suddenly, yesterday, I noticed the water in the clear plastic housing units starting to look cloudy. Today, they really looked bad, I opened them up - first time - and the housing and both filters were loaded with algae. I immediately called Lowes and the guy told me that he is getting complaints on this. We are in a severe drought right now and he said that as the water tables are dropping, algae is starting to sucked into the aquifer and then into the water system. This CG has it own water well. We are right on a lake shore. Not sure exactly how the water system works here.

Went to the CG mgr and his response was that the water was just tested 2 weeks ago. I re-explained that this was something that just had happened within the last 2 days. He repeated that the water was fine as it had just been tested 2 weeks ago. Being obvious that we were not on the same page, I left.

I immediately re-supplied my bottled water and at the Lowes guy's suggestion, in the morning I will put a little liquid bleach in the bottom of each of the filter containers, re-connect the housings w/o filters and then turn on my cg water and and slowly open my faucets until I start to smell bleach in each one. Then I will let it sit for 6-8 hrs in the system, then flush it out. Sounds like a good plan.

Never heard of this happening before...

jsmitfl · 08-08-2007, 03:42 AM

Dave, If the filter container is clear, clean it out like you said your going to do and then wrap it with tin foil so no light will get into it. This should stop the growth of algea. They do it here on all the home units.

dsprik · 08-08-2007, 03:12 PM

Great idea! I will do that immediately. That way I can still unwrap and look at it if needed. Shouldn't be algae in a closed system like that anyway, I wouldn't think. I was pretty sure I was careful enough putting the filters together. Plus, the filters have been doing great for 2 months - up to two days ago...

Ozzie · 08-08-2007, 03:22 PM

We've had ours trashed before too...but yours is scary.

We also run a double filter, but since we only get out every couple weeks, I take them apart and put the filters in the wire basket in the sink to thoroughly dry. I wouldn't want them standing in water for that length of time, it has to be unhealthy.
Sometimes that 1.29/gallon for drinking water doesn't sound so bad.
If we were using it more often it would be a different story.

dsprik · 08-08-2007, 04:29 PM

I should have taken a picture of that. Got bad real fast. Started to discolor a little the day before yesterday. Then yesterday, when I walked around the side of the rig, I was actually shocked at what I saw...

noneck · 08-08-2007, 04:39 PM

Ahh, Algae...not good, bacteria...worse. This battle we will never ever win! Net is if there is a colony and it gets into a static location like a filter housing they will multiply when its not constantly moving. Wrapping in aluminum foil may keep certain types of bacteria...algae from forming BUT there are others that like the dark! Chlorine...good for some cleaning BUT there are forms of algae and bacteria that are not cleared. Therefore...our solution has been, no filtration and use water at our own risk but always drink bottle water, run water freely to make it as fresh and close to campground source condition as possible....yes...there is an answer, create an ozone system to bubble O3 into the water stream, your water will be quickly safe to drink, although you need to let it stand for a short duration to allow 03 to naturally decompose.

dsprik · 08-08-2007, 04:45 PM

Thanks, noneck! Good info.

ols1932 · 08-08-2007, 05:47 PM

Dave,
Anything clear or opaque (this includes filter housings and hoses) are breeding grounds for algae. A lot of people are using those colored coil water hoses and algae forms in those. Algae loves warmth and dampness along with light. We've used specially made hoses by the Water Filter Store along with double filtering for over seven years and have never experienced any algae in our filters, our hoses, or our fresh water tank.

Orv

dsprik · 08-09-2007, 02:33 AM

Boy, Orv, I don't know how water stayed that long in those filters. I run a lot of water through them, dumping gray tanks every 2 days. I definitely need to get them out of the sun, though. Guess algae really doesn't need much time to get going. 3 hrs sitting in the hot sun - which they are - while we are gone somewhere would probably be plenty of time for growth. I'll move them today.

jsmitfl · 08-09-2007, 12:32 PM

If you are on a well it has algae already in the water. Is it bad for you. Who knows.Im not dead yet and Im not going to pay for RO water. When we go someplace we take our own(well) drinking water, or we buy it in the 5gallon jugs. I still haven't aquired a taste for the water going thru the trailer system.

dsprik · 08-09-2007, 04:57 PM

Well, I pulled in my kitchen slide and put the filters and brackets right next to the wheels so the slide would provide as much shade as possible. Then this afternoon, I wrapped both filters in aluminum foil. We'll see how this works.

ols1932 · 08-09-2007, 05:33 PM

Dave,
I don't know that you have to go through all that trouble unless your filter canisters are clear or opaque. Mine are standard white canisters and they've been in the sun and out of the sun for over seven years and we've never had the problem you seem to be having. I'm sure you have good RV water hoses, so that can't be the problem. I sometimes set my filters under the rig to keep them out of the sun only because Ken Dahl of the Water Filter Store told me that the canisters deteriorate if they spend too much time in the sun. I know this doesn't solve your problem but it's just our experience.

Orv

dsprik · 08-09-2007, 05:49 PM

Thanks, Orv! I did get the clear ones so I could monitor the filters. I'm not sure what happened. Guess I'll keep my eye on it. Still not sure how algae could get in a closed system like that...

Dave Nowlin · 08-09-2007, 08:13 PM

Years ago I worked facilities maintenance in a large printing plant. We had cooling towers and the distribution decks were not covered. The algae growth got so bad during the first summer we operated those towers you could wade out on the deck and scoop up huge chunks of algae in your hands and throw them out on the ground. When we finished cleaning this excess off this way it looked like spinach on the ground. After this we put hinged plywood doors over the distribution decks and the algae wasn't nearly as bad. If you think about it the glass in an aquarium will form algae much quicker if you leave the light on all the time. I would see if I could get replacement white bowls for the filter system.
Dave Nowlin

dsprik · 08-10-2007, 02:16 AM

I would, Dave, but I still want to be able to see those filters at least once a week - especially now that I had a problem. This way I can just unwrap the filters - not even all the way off. This happened overnight and it was really scary.

Dave Nowlin · 08-10-2007, 06:03 AM

I don't know what your 2 filters consist of. You should have a sediment filter first then a carbon block with a membrane as the second stage. When the filters become clogged your water flow rate will fall off dramatically and you can change your filters. As long as you expose them to sunlight, you will have problems. The amount of heat and light will determine how quickly you have the problem. If you have buildup you can leave the sediment filter in place and shock treat it with bleach. Don't do this to the carbon block as you will use up it's absorptive capacity. If you must use a clear bowl, just do so for the sediment filter not the carbon block.
Dave Nowlin

dsprik · 08-10-2007, 08:13 AM

Thanks, Dave! Good info. I threw both filters away - had backups of each. There was no way those were going back in my water system. I have the two filters set up the way you describe above. The problem is that we had NO pressure loss to warn us something was going wrong. Algae was so thick I could not SEE either filter in the clear plastic. Happened very quickly. I now don't trust anything but my constant visual inspection on those filters.

Dave Nowlin · 08-10-2007, 09:29 AM

The thing that needs to be understood is the algae growth was mostly if not totally caused by sunlight. Algae doesn't really clog up the filter. The filter flows from the outside to the inside so the contaminant was isolated to the outside face of the filter. It didn't really get through the carbon block with membrane filter and it probably didn't get through the sediment filter. Examine the inside surface of the sediment filter very closely. I doubt there is any algae to be found there. These sediment filter should be changed when the flow begins to fall off. When you begin to notice a change in the taste of the water. The carbon block is the culprit here due to the fact the carbon's absorptive capacity is used up and it should be changed. The carbon filter should not cause a loss of flow when a sediment filter is used as a pre-filter.
Dave Nowlin

dsprik · 08-10-2007, 11:09 AM

My wife just mentioned to me that she did start to notice a slight drop in our water press just before I changed the filters. Dave, this is great info - not just for me, but for other MOCers out there. I will certainly watch the INSIDE of those filters - didn't think of that.

I still wonder how algae got introduced in to the system in the first place. It can't just grow out of nothing. And it grew in both filters at the same time.

Bleach worked great, but it takes a couple days to get that all back out out the system. Wife was scared to do colors in her laundry for a few days...

Dave Nowlin · 08-10-2007, 11:24 AM

If you turn all your faucets on and let them run for 10 to 15 minutes wide open with both the hot and cold turned on the chlorine taste should be all gone. That should replace all the water in your system several times. There is one thing you must remember. I sell filtration products for a living to commercial and industrial customers. This is waht I have done for the last 21 years.
Dave Nowlin

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