Cistern Question

[Neal Flatley]

Hi Guys

My wife does extensive gardening and I was thinking of constructing a rain water recovery storage system to help her water and releive the draw on the domestic system. The cistern water will never be used for drinking.

My question is, in a cistern, what prevents the water from turning green like an untreated swimming pool. I can locate the cistern in the basement or underground if that helps. Thanks

Neal

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Neal, the ones that I have seen, DON"T! :) You put a pump in the bottom of them and let the water fill it up. Then you pump the water back out for irrigation. The main concern is the allow and plan for the cistern to overflow in consequtive days of heavy rain.

All they are is a big container, buried in the ground, pump in the bottom and a valve to let water back out if it over flows.

[Lee Schierer]

The water won't turn green if there is no light. Algae needs light to grow. If the cistern is dark all the time, no algae will grow.

[Neal Flatley]

Thanks guys. I thought it might have something to do with the light.


Neal

[Jim Becker]

Just be sure to put a BT cake in it every once in awhile to insure that mosquitoes don't breed in the still water... ;)