How To Stop Algae From Forming In My Fresh Water Hose.-gctid808607

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

I live on board full time. So I am hooked up to fresh water 24/7. When I leave I do shut off the water. This happened last summer and I am starting to see it again. I use the white hose for drinking water. I am in my slip bow first. So the water hose lay's on the deck all the way to the water hook up on the aft section of my 3870. The only way that I have been able to clear the algae out is to let the water run for a while until the green color is gone. But latter on it is back. I just put a new water hose on 3 months ago. Is there something that I can flush the hose with that will stop the algae from forming?

[diveguy]

Can you fill the hose with a mix of bleach and water and let it sit overnight? Flush well in the morning. Are you certain your hose is the only source for algae growth?

[Destiny_4588]

is your hose connect to the water pressure deck inlet or just laying there open to the air when not in use? Thinking if you purchase a new hose and create an air tight system, the algae issue should disappear, unless your water is from well and not from a municipality that treats it. Treated water in a closed system should not grow Algae.

[Ruffryder]

Drinking dock water? inch:

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

Not drinking dock water. Use bottle water for that. The hose is hooked to the dock hookup, and to the boat fresh water inlet. The algae could be coming from the dock supply lines. I will try the bleach solution.

[Fire Escape]

Could the white hose be transmitting sunlight which accelerates the algae growth? You might try a different hose, or shield yours to block the uv light.

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

Rick you may have a point here. The white hose does lay on the deck from bow to where it hooks into the boats fresh water system at the aft end of the boat. Even when I turn on the cold water in the boat it is very warm and has to run for a little bit before it becomes cold. The hose may be acting like a solar panel. I wonder if putting pipe insulators around the hose could help get rid of this problem? Have any other ideas?

[Guest]

I use a filter on my fresh water hookup hose although I also don't stay connected and I always just fill the fresh water tank to keep the water in their from getting stagnant. If I was faced with your issue I would consider hooking up to "mixer" between the spigot and hose and putting a bleach mixture in their. It might help keep algae from forming if the source is the water and not from the hose.

Something like this filled with a bleach solution and connected to the fresh water hose at the spigot:

https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Terminato...H19XFK3Y3GWW0N

[SomeSailor]

There's nothing growing in fresh water that will hurt you. Just let the hose run awhile and off you go. If you're worried about pathogens, just add a tad of bleach as you full your tanks. Your dock water should be chlorinated (city water?) and that should keep stuff from growing. Draining the hose after each use will help. I pour a bit of bleach into my potable water hose at the beginning of each season just to freshen things a tad.

[Four_Pyrates]

http://www.boattest.com/view-news/42...ater-drinkable

This is a good read about water onboard.

[boatworkfl]

I may have missed it, but, is the water supply at dock side well water?

[brad4550]

Hi Bill

I bet your problem is w/ dock water....not your hose. From dock spigot fill a white 5 gal,bucket and see if that's your problem??

To clean your hose use a little bleach some water connect hose ends together and rotate hose so mixture coats the inside.

Also their was a post about water tank freshness most use a little bleach however the best one was using Vodka...think I'll try that this season ....Good luck Brad

[boatworkfl]

"brad4550" post=808758 wrote:
Hi Bill

I bet your problem is w/ dock water....not your hose. From dock spigot fill a white 5 gal,bucket and see if that's your problem??

To clean your hose use a little bleach some water connect hose ends together and rotate hose so mixture coats the inside.

Also their was a post about water tank freshness most use a little bleach however the best one was using Vodka...think I'll try that this season ....Good luck Brad

Some years ago in Seward AK we had a boater that used Vodka to prevent his water lines from freezing on his boat, he recycled it.

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

The dock water is city water not well water. I will try the five gallon bucket idea.

[nile]

Algae need light to grow. Use a high quality black hose (available at Sears) to connect to the spigot. City water is clear of algae but marinas sometimes use white PVC piping along the docks which let light in and algae might grow there when the water sits and the chlorine dissipates.