Guidelines for Cleaning Polyethylene Lined Steel Rainwater Tanks

In the next couple of weeks when the community water scheme becomes operational we propose cleaning our 104,000 litre Rhino polyethylene lined steel rainwater tank given that the community scheme supply will be high quality clear bore water. We want to clean the tank given:

• To date we have been using dam water which is not clear due to natural tannins. It may also have contained some sediment that will have settled on the tank bottom
• We have had some challenges with frogs living in the tank and they naturally produce excrement. We do know that they were able to access the tank for a while due to some vermin proofing being missing when the initial installation was done and it is also possible frogs’ eggs entered the tank from the gravity fed dam water.

We’ve been in contact with the team at Rhino Tanks to seek guidance on how best to approach the cleaning task. The main things to remember in cleaning this type tank given it was filled with dam water are below.

Getting Started

• Make sure it isn't a windy day as the liner will blow around and move inside the tank and give you all sorts of trouble when you fill it up again.
• Take the first and last roof sheet off for ventilation
• Test the air for hazardous gasses with a Gastec machine and purge the tank if needed
• To begin the draining process grip the scour drain pipe as well as the bung when loosening or tightening to prevent the drain pipe from twisting
• If using a separate ladder from ground level to access the man-hole ensure it is stable
• Given the edge of the man-hole is sharp it is not a bad idea to wear gloves until you are in the tank

Doing The Cleaning

• Don’t wear shoes or waders as you won’t be able to feel for any rocks or lumps under the liner or in the tank
• Lightly sweep the sediment to the scour drain with about 150mm of water still in the tank
• Clean/flush the tank with just water and don’t use any chemicals or cleaning based products as you would only be dissolving soil based solids
• If using a hose from, say, a fire fighting pump the water pressure must be no stronger than low pressure. Don’t use a pressure washer.
• A soft horse hair broom can be used if you have one, but nothing with stiff bristles.
• With shoes removed swirl the water around to stir up the sediment and drain through the scour valve.

Refilling the Tank Post Cleaning

Make sure the liner hasn't moved or twisted. Reset the liner with the floor to wall seem in correct location as the water is running in

Frog Removal Tips

Some tips in getting frogs out of tanks (including poly tanks) based on our recent experience are below:

• Ideally the water depth should be knee depth or lower
• To locate the frogs use a very strong torch or spotlight
• Remember to check every little nook and cranny for frogs, including the hole under the intake float valve and on top of it PLUS under the lid of the tank itself
• Frogs seem to be able to stay under the water for several minutes so be prepared to stay in the tank for quite some time in order to ensure you locate them all
• It is much easier to catch the frogs using a flexible net, obviously with no sharp edges
• It is also a good idea to have someone outside the tank at the same time, for occupational health and safety reasons and to assist in spotting the frogs in the water
• Turn the torch off at some point for a while to see where light is entering the tank. Gaps will need to be filled to prevent frogs returning.

Community Water Scheme Close to Operational

In March last year we posted an article on Ochre Archives where we shared some of the base information about the Ooma Water Scheme. At that time the scheme had been in the planning stages for a few years and construction had just commenced. Since then the local area has had its wettest year on record, making it impossible for the contracted company to complete the task in what would normally be considered a reasonable period of time. It’s ironic that the idea for the scheme came out of many years of drought but then completion was delayed due to flooding!

Last Saturday we decided to take a drive down to the main bore site as we’d learned that some of the members in the scheme were now receiving water. Our own supply from the scheme has yet to commence for various reasons, including the fact that we are at ‘the end of the line’ and thus will be last. We expect our own connection, though, to be operational ‘soon’.

  

Here are some of the photographs we took and some accompanying commentary.

Forbes Shire Council and especially the Mayor, Phyllis Miller has strongly supported the project from the start. Three very tangible forms of support have included creation and future maintenance of a gravel roadway to the main bore pump site (see photo), support for our grant application to the NSW State Government (approved) seeking funding to cover the cost of the main pump, and lobbying to several key players at at least State level to help ‘remove roadblocks’.

Country Energy was engaged by the main contractor to supply mains power to the main and other pump sites. This photo shows the new ‘heavy duty’ power pole and transformer at the main bore site. Cabling from the power pole is underground which makes for better safety all-round.

Dubbo based irrigation supplies company ‘Aquawest’ was / is the main contractor for the scheme. Jeff Vandermaal has been the lead contact point all the way through and has been great to deal with. This photo shows the main pump overall set-up, with shed close to completion.

The above photo shows the main pump set-up above ground. Components from left to right are: (partially obscured) ball valve to allow to air release and on-site water access, main joiner in case of the need for repairs, water metre, air pressure tank (NB: I’m not exactly sure what it’s role is but hope to find out at some point), gate valve (to close off the flow on the main line if necessary), water pressure metre and the bore casing / head. From memory the bore is around 110 metres deep. The pump is fully submersed which also means it is totally silent when running.

Here is a close-up of the water pressure gauge. The pump was running when we were on-site. Pressure was around 520 kilopascals which in theory suggests that water was being pumped to around 50 metres above the height of the pump prior to adjusting for pipe friction loss.

The above two photos are of the pump control unit … as a whole and a close-up of the control panel.

Here is a close-up of the water metre. At that moment at total of 2,468 cubic metres had so far been pumped. If you look closely you will see that the metre actually measures down to 1/1,000^th of a cubic metre which equals 1 litre.

In closing … countless amounts of time, effort, persistent and creativity have gone in to making the Ooma Water Scheme a reality. I ‘take my hat off’ to all of the Committee members and especially the Executive: John Johnson, Clemence Matchett, Robert Johnson, Bill Matchett and Murray Mitton. Our little piece of the world is a better place thanks to these good folks.

Inland Carpet Python

 Yesterday we were heading off to town and were surprised and pleased to come across the 1.5 metre Inland Carpet Python (Morelia spilota metcalfei) in the accompanying photos just inside our front gate.

It's been over 7 years since we saw another of these on the farm. It was about 2 metres in length and not far from Lookout Rock.

It is unusual to see Carpet Pythons locally and discussions with local long term residence suggests they were once more common. Whilst Carpet Pythons are not listed as endangered nationally (Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999) or in New South Wales (Threatened Species Conservation Act of 1995) they are listed as 'threatened' in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. (NB: Our sincere thanks go to our nephew Scott H for researching the status on these 3 Acts of parliament for us).

To quote from the Melbourne Museum website: "Inland Carpet Pythons are preyed upon by foxes. Furthermore, habitat loss through logging and firewood collection has reduced their range. They are also commonly killed by humans, even though they are largely harmless and are natural enemies of pests such as introduced mice and rats. Inland Carpet Pythons are semi-arboreal, living in tree hollows and rock crevices. Females lay 10–50 eggs every 3–4 years and guard their clutch, ‘shivering’ to generate heat to warm the eggs. Inland Carpet Pythons are not venomous, but kill their prey by constriction. They ambush their prey and wrap themselves around the animal, squeezing until it dies from suffocation. Despite this, Inland Carpet Pythons are popular as pets since they are generally not aggressive towards humans."

Peron's Tree Frogs in Big Numbers on Ochre Arch

The continuing comparative wet conditions have been a catalyst for the increase in frog numbers here on the farm. It was only yesterday with the help of our friend Tamara G that we learned that the main species we are seeing (especially in the outside loo and in some of the new poly tanks) is Peron's Tree Frog (Litoria peroni). Here's a link to a website that provides more information. Those reading this who live in or have visited south east Australia might like to click on the 'Hear it now' link ... and may recognise the call of these critters.
We do find it curious that these are tree frogs given we find them in wetlands and pasture ... but stranger things have happened. Maybe they do spend much of their time in trees. They certainly move around quite a bit, and find our mobile stock troughs quickly after each move.
The photo was taken a few days ago at one of our stock water troughs.

Himalayan Crystal Mineral Rock Salt Analysis

On Tuesday we expect to collect 1 tonne of Himalayan Crystal Mineral Rock Salt which we intend giving our sheep constant access to. We've selected this product and option for several reasons:

• The salt is world renowned as being the best of its type ... containing as many as 88 separate trace elements. See analysis included at the bottom of this post.
• We are able to purchase it reasonably large quantities, which makes both the product and transport cost effective. The supplier is based at Uralla in the northern tablelands region of NSW and there is regular truck transport services that run from there to Grenfell (Uralla to Tamworth, Tamworth to Dubbo, Dubbo to Cowra, and Cowra to Grenfell). Cost per dry sheep equivalent is expected to be in the order of $1-1.50 per annum on a long term basis.
• We know that our soils are 'light' and the samples we had analysed last year demonstrate that there are some mineral gaps. Mineral gaps in the soil translate to mineral gaps in the plants which in turn translates into mineral gaps in the diet of the sheep. If the right minerals are able to get to the life forms in the stomachs of the animals then they are capable of better utilising the herbage mass the animals  consume.
• It will be very simple to both store and make available to the stock. The salt blocks can be left in the rain without damage (unlike some granulated salts and licks) if left on a simple platform of some type that allows the blocks to dry completely post rainfall events.
• We want our sheep to be healthy and have access to appropriate dietary input.

The supplier has given us an analysis of the product taken from the book "Water and Salt: The Essence of Life" by Dr. Barbara Hendel MD and Peter Ferreira which we've included below.

Element	Order	Num.	Results	Analysis Type
Hydrogen	H	1	0.30g/kg	DIN
Lithium	Li	3	0.40g/kg	AAS
Beryllium	Be	4	<0.01ppm	AAS
Boron	B	5	<0.001ppm	FSK
Carbon	C	6	<0.001ppm	FSK
Nitrogen	N	7	0.024ppm	ICG
Oxygen	O	8	1.20g/kg	DIN
Flouride	F-	9	<0.1g/kg	Potentiometer
Sodium	Na+	11	382.61g/kg	FSM
Magnesium	Mg	12	0.16g/kg	AAS
Aluminum	Al	13	0.661ppm	AAS
Silicon	Si	14	<0.1g/kg	AAS
Phosphorus	P	15	<0.10ppm	ICG
Sulfur	S	16	12.4g/kg	TXRF
Chloride	Cl-	17	590.93g/kg	gravimetrie
Potassium	K+	19	3.5g/kg	FSM
Calcium	Ca	20	4.05g/kg	Titration
Scandium	Sc	21	<0.0001ppm	FSK
Titanium	Ti	22	<0.001ppm	FSK
Vanadium	V	23	0.06ppm	AAS
Chromium	Cr	24	0.05ppm	AAS
Manganese	Mn	25	0.27ppm	AAS
Iron	Fe	26	38.9ppm	AAS
Cobalt	Co	27	0.60ppm	AAS
Nickel	Ni	28	0.13ppm	AAS
Copper	Cu	29	0.56ppm	AAS
Zinc	Zn	30	2.38ppm	AAS
Gallium	Ga	31	<0.001ppm	FSK
Germanium	Ge	32	<0.001ppm	FSK
Arsenic	As	33	<0.01ppm	AAS
Selenium	Se	34	0.05ppm	AAS
Bromine	Br	35	2.1ppm	TXRF
Rubidium	Rb	37	0.04ppm	AAS
Strontium	Sr	38	0.014g/kg	AAS
Ytterbium	Y	39	<0.001ppm	FSK
Zirconium	Zr	40	<0.001ppm	FSK
Niobium	Nb	41	<0.001ppm	FSK
Molybdenum	Mo	42	0.01ppm	AAS
Technetium	Tc	43	unstable	artificial isotope - not included
Ruthenium	Ru	44	<0.001ppm	FSK
Rhodium	Rh	45	<0.001ppm	FSK
Palladium	Pd	46	<0.001ppm	FSK
Silver	Ag	47	0.031ppm	AAS
Cadmium	Cd	48	<0.01ppm	AAS
Indium	In	49	<0.001ppm	FSK
Tin	Sn	50	<0.01ppm	AAS
Antimony	Sb	51	<0.01ppm	AAS
Tellurium	Te	52	<0.001ppm	FSK
Iodine	I	53	<0.1g/kg	potentiometrie
Cesium	Cs	55	<0.001ppm	FSK
Barium	Ba	56	1.96ppm	AAS/TXR
Lanthan	La	57	<0.001ppm	FSK
Cerium	Ce	58	<0.001ppm	FSK
Praseodynium	Pr	59	<0.001ppm	FSK
Neodymium	Nd	60	<0.001ppm	FSK
Promethium	Pm	61	unstable	artificial isotope - not included
Samarium	Sm	62	<0.001ppm	FSK
Europium	Eu	63	<3.0ppm	TXRF
Gadolinium	Gd	64	<0.001ppm	FSK
Terbium	Tb	65	<0.001ppm	FSK
Dysprosium	Dy	66	<4.0ppm	TXRF
Holmium	Ho	67	<0.001ppm	FSK
Erbium	Er	68	<0.001ppm	FSK
Thulium	Tm	69	<0.001ppm	FSK
Ytterbium	Yb	70	<0.001ppm	FSK
Lutetium	Lu	71	<0.001ppm	FSK
Hafnium	Hf	72	<0.001ppm	FSK
Tantalum	Ta	73	1.1ppm	TXRF
Wolfram	W	74	<0.001ppm	FSK
Rhenium	Re	75	<2.5ppm	TXRF
Osmium	Os	76	<0.001ppm	FSK
Iridium	Ir	77	<2.0ppm	TXRF
Platinum	Pt	78	0.47ppm	TXRF
Gold	Au	79	<1.0ppm	TXRF
Mercury	Hg	80	<0.03ppm	AAS
Thallium	Ti	81	0.06ppm	AAS
Lead	Pb	82	0.10ppm	AAS
Bismuth	Bi	83	<0.10ppm	AAS
Polonium	Po	84	<0.001ppm	FSK
Astat	At	85	<0.001ppm	FSK
Francium	Fr	87	<1.0ppm	TXRF
Radium	Ra	88	<0.001ppm	FSK
Actinium	Ac	89	<0.001ppm	FSK
Thorium	Th	90	<0.001ppm	FSK
Protactinium	Pa	91	<0.001ppm	FSK
Uranium	U	92	<0.001ppm	FSK
Neptunium	Np	93	<0.001ppm	FSK
Plutonium	Pu	94	<0.001ppm	FSK

Additional Combined Elements

Water	H2O		1.5g/kg	DIN
Ammonium	NH4+		0.010ppm	Photometrie
Nitrate	NO3-		0.09ppm	Photometrie
Phosphate	PO43-		<0.10ppm	ICG
Hydrogencarbonate	HCO3-		<1.0g/kg	Titration

The inert gasses Helium-He-2, Neon-Ne-10, Argon-Ar-18, Krypton-Kr-36, Xenon-Xe-54, and Radon-Rn-86 could not be included in the research. Many of the elements could not be proven with conventional chemical analysis. Through the transfer of frequency patterns by means of wave transference, it was possible to prove the frequency pattern with the aid of frequency spectroscopy. With this, the dectection of elements even smaller than <0.001 ppm was proven.

The research analysis confirmed the holistic properties of the original Himalayan crystal salt. The sodium chloride content is 97.41% and meets the worldwide necessary standards for table salt.

g/kg	Grams per kilogram
DIN	German Standards Institute
ICG	Ionchromatography
AAS	Atom absorbtion spectrometry
TXRF	Total reflection -X-Ray -Floresence-Spectometry
ppm	Parts per million
FSM	Flamespectrometry
FSK	Frequency Spectroscopy

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