Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 Apr 01, 2017 2:28 am Hi, As part of the 6 star energy rating, my builder has installed 2000L slimline steel water tank; the water tank is going to all toilets. The idea is great to save water bills, but then it created yellow stains on my toilet bowl. I have tried to discharge all waters but the yellow water remains. I went to Bunnings, they said this is normal; I then purchased Everhard Drain Matting and tried to cover the inlet DIY way; but the issue remains. Does anyone know whether there is a way to 'clear' this water to ensure no stain made on the toilet bowl? Thanks Re: Yellow-ish water from rainwater tank 5Apr 09, 2017 7:58 am televis I went to Bunnings, they said this is normal; It is normal for a substandard installation. Without even seeing photos, I can tell you that your rainwater harvesting system has not been installed to best practice and this is the cause of the problems. I estimate that about 95% of all rainwater harvesting systems on new houses are installed with inherent problems...compliance does not ensure that the installation will not be substandard. You need to address the problem(s), not apply bandaids. How old is the house? Is the property also supplied recycled water? How many downpipes are harvested to supply water to the tank? Are you able to post some photos that show from several metres away the pipe that supplies water to the tank? Do you have a submersible pump and if so, do you know the make and model number? If you have an external pump, can you also post a photo (from a few metres away) showing the tank's outlet that supplies the pump? It would also be good to see how they have connected the suction hose that transfers water to the pump, can you also post a photo that shows the suction hose where it connects to the pump? This is separate to your issue but I will also check for a common bad mistake that can substantially shorten the pipe's life. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Yellow-ish water from rainwater tank 6Apr 09, 2017 1:30 pm Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Yellow-ish water from rainwater tank 7Apr 11, 2017 5:26 pm Typically staining occurs due to either trees/plants/leaves/dirt entering your system. Pumps only emit a discolour if they are cast iron and the cast is leaking. Generally your pump will have little to do with the staining. Also the connection to the pump has little to do with it. A flexible pipe is only used to prevent damage to the tank and fixed water pipe on start up with the pump. Same with the outlet connection from the RW Tanks. The only time the pipe will cause an issue is if it isn't food grade, or is deteriorating, but then you will have plastic leaching... Different issue and easily fixed. I assume as you mentioned the house has a energy rating that all the downpipes are connected. What you need to understand is a charge/flooded/wet system has stationary water in your drainage lines. The water in the drainage lines only moves when it is raining. (Water finds its own natural level) and as such pushes all the stationary (dirty) water into your RW tank. You then flush your toilet and the water is transferred to your toilet. There is only a couple of ways to fix the problem properly. Filters (inlet, and outlet, with two outlet filters, one to catch sediment and the other 0.5 micron or lower level). Cleaning out your pipes, cleaning your first flush device (if you have one) regularly. Your outlet on the RW Tank should be a min 50mm from the bottom of the tank to allow the sediment to settle on the bottom. You can also get inlet diverters that settle the water as it enters the RW tank to prevent the sediment on the bottom being disturbed. I suggest - clean all filters, flush out water at drain points (if you have them), use all the water in the tank on the lawn/garden. Tip out a 2ltr bottle of coke/or similar in the toilet bowl to clean the bowl and leave it overnight, clean your cisterns as well (they will be stained). Make sure you have 1st Flush devices, leave eaters or similar. Basically start again. It will take some time to get the pipes cleaned that feed your toilet so if you can and if your system has it, switch it to mains water until the water is clear for a couple of days... then start using the RW again. check this site out for some info - http://rainharvesting.com.au/ hope this helps.... Re: Yellow-ish water from rainwater tank 8Apr 19, 2017 7:21 pm The house is brand new (settlement Sept 2016). I just took picture, if it's not clear please let me know and I'll try take another one tomorrow morning. What do you think? Thanks Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Yellow-ish water from rainwater tank 9Apr 19, 2017 11:24 pm The photos are great, thanks. If you are not sure of any of the terms I use, just ask and I will explain. Photos 1, 3, 4 and 5 show that you have a submersible pump and a Davey Rainbank mains water switching device. The submersible pump is 99.9% certain to be a Davey pump but Davey do make good pumps. There are better and cheaper options than the Rainbank though. Submersible pumps are a prime cause of dirty water being supplied to cisterns and washing machines but this is not the pump’s fault. Some submersible pumps come fitted with a ‘stand’ that raises the pump’s water intake above the sediment layer but many don’t. If a submersible pump without a stand draws water from the bottom of the pump, the pump’s fitting instructions will state that the pump must be placed above the sediment layer (it will also be a condition of warranty) but large numbers of such pumps are simply plonked on the bottom of the tank where they sit happily vacuuming the tank's floor and delivering suspended sediments and the worst of the water from the anaerobic zone to the cisterns and washing machine. The photo below shows a Davey submersible pump with its bottom suction inlet holes. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It will be difficult for you to see the pump without draining the tank but photo 2 shows that the drain valve is open and so I assume the tank is already empty...unless the drain valve’s handle has not been correctly fitted. To inspect, you only need to remove the tank’s top meshed inlet and look inside. I would also be checking the supplied pump’s fitting instructions to see whether the pump should be raised above the tank’s floor (does it sit on a stand?) before looking at other possible causes of the staining. A note about the tank's 'flush' outlet, this is a drain...it will not flush the tank. To clean the tank, you will need a stiff broom and a hose but if the submersible pump draws water from the bottom and it is sitting on the tank's floor, the tank will be getting regularly 'cleaned' anyway plus the water entering through the tank's top meshed inlet will be doing a good job of spreading and re-suspending any sediment every time it rains. You would be surprised (or perhaps not) at the number of external pumps that are supplied water from an outlet fitted as low as your drain outlet which is the reason why I asked for a photo of your outlet if you had an external pump. Again, no surprises as to why dirty water is delivered to cisterns and washing machines when a tank's pump draw valve is fitted so low. Photo 3 shows cloths placed over the tank’s inlet mesh, what have your observations been regarding captured organic matter? There are several other issues with the installation. The reason I asked whether there was recycled water delivered to the property was because if there is, then the water tank or alternative gas boosted solar HWS was no longer a mandate. If there isn’t recycled water delivered to the property, then the water tank must harvest a minimum of 50 square metres of roof catchment area. Just to explain what the roof catchment area is...the roof plan area as seen from above is termed the roof space but for roof drainage compliance, the roof slope is subjected to a multiplier to allow for wind driven rain. If your roof slope is the standard 22.5 degrees, the multiplier is 1.21. In other words, every 10 sq m of roof space would be decreed to be a roof catchment area of 12.1 sq m. I see in photo 3 that you have a single ‘dry’ pipe plumbed to deliver water to the tank. If you have standard 115mm slotted quad gutters, the gutter’s cross sectional area is about 5,200 sq mm for most 115mm quad gutter manufacturers. If this is the case, then one compliant downpipe will be harvesting less than the required minimum 50 sq m roof catchment area and if the tank was required for the 6 star standard, then the roof catchment area harvested does not satisfy the 6 star requirement. Two downpipes are required but this invariably entails one being a charged "wet system' pipe. Standard wet systems are not good news. Copper pipes are fitted which isn’t the wisest thing to do with naturally acidic rainwater but if the pipes are subjected to UV (heat), then they are required to be lagged. Water tank overflow pipe mosquito proof mesh often gets gummed up with the fine organic matter that floats on the water surface after rain. If this blocks, the tank will over-top and this will necessitate removing the tank’s top meshed inlet to clean the mesh (or for routine maintenance) but the tank’s top meshed inlet and the overflow pipe are at opposite ends of the slimline tank! Best practice would have the tank's inlet and overflow fitted close to each other and the pump at the opposite end. They haven’t supplied you with a garden tap, did they offer? Cisterns and washing machines are low flow end fixtures with numerous short start/stops and a pump’s life is directly proportional to its number of starts. Fitting a pressure tank to a small economical pump will save numerous pump start/stops and substantially prolong the pump's life but you cannot use a pressure tank with a Rainbank. The tank’s overflow pipe has no mitigation above the top of the pipe. This severely restricts you from harvesting additional (3 or 4) downpipes to the tank. The overflow pipe's discharge capacity is calculated by Torricelli's theorem plus a deduction for the overflow's mesh restriction but I strongly suspect that the calculations are rarely done and the homeowner told what the tank's overflow capacity is or what maintenance is required. Supplying a tank's overflow capacity should be mandated but it isn't which is pretty poor in my book. If you have a leaf problem in the gutters, the ICON "Leaf and Debris Controller" is the best leaf diverter available at the moment but because of Melbourne's rainfall pattern, the gutters are only flushed by heavy rain a handful of times annually and this causes problems. If any reader has an external pressure pump, check to make sure that the pump's suction hose is not connected to an elbow fitted to the pump as this is a common mistake that can result in cavitation during high flow demands that will severely shorten the pump's life.Cavitation sounds like a rumbling sound akin to a flowing mixture of fine gravel and air. The pump's suction hose should respect a straight length of at least 8-10 internal pipe diameters at the pump's suction end. Hope this helps. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair But if it is a ground level open pit, then it is not a charged system. No surprises there. The pipes have obviously been altered and there would be a reason for this.… 3 31284 Grate, thank you! RexChan if thats the reason i could sleep well without thinking about additional cost. 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