I drain and clean my 10-gallon water tank about every 2 years whether it needs it or not . I inspect it weekly apart of filling the tank and mixing in my KHC03 solution; stays clean looking/feeling/smelling. FWIW, I use distilled/purified + RPavlis' KHC03 recipe and have had zero issues with mold/slime in the tank.

Well...I ordered the black 6 gallon tamco, 2 gallon SS shurflo accumulator, aquatec pump, 560 regulator and all the fittings. I've been obsessing over the idea of biofilm growing within this system since I ordered the parts. I was debating between black/opaque tamco reservoirs and obviously the opaque would let me see that water level, but the paranoia of potentially growing biofilm made me go with the black. I went down a rabbit hole of adding a UV sterilizer inside the tamco {which I still might do), maybe I'm a little too worried about this, but the idea of growing slime inside my nice new machine/reservoir has me freaked out. I'm planning on getting a plastic 5 gallon carboy and filling it up at the RO station at the local grocery store and adding the rpavlis salts (or some similar recipe). My rabbit hole brain is wondering if I can trust the RO station at the grocery store or if I should try and figure out how to make my own. Clearly I have issues.

spressomon wrote:I drain and clean my 10-gallon water tank about every 2 years whether it needs it or not . I inspect it weekly apart of filling the tank and mixing in my KHC03 solution; stays clean looking/feeling/smelling. FWIW, I use distilled/purified + RPavlis' KHC03 recipe and have had zero issues with mold/slime in the tank.

Great. I noticed there is a small hole on the lid of the tamco tank, I'm guessing this is to allow air and pressure. Did you close this hole or you left it open as is?

^ The tank just needs a vent of some kind. You can leave the lid cracked or use one of the fittings they provide, assuming the tank you select has additional fitting bosses, for venting purposes or drill a small hole in the top of the tank to equalize the pressure as water is drawn out of the tank.

Also, I used a couple full extension drawer slides and a simple pine 1x10 to make filling and/or servicing behind the tank easier.

Also, I recommend incorporating in-line shut off valves all along the water path, between the tank and espresso machine to make servicing, if/when needed, much easier; I used John Guest brand as I've hand 100% reliability from JB products for a couple decades now. But Watts brand, typically available at Lowes & Home Depot in the USA is good too.

Per above a few posts: Fresh Water Systems is where I have purchased all my John Guest fittings and line (3/8"). I also have a pressure regulator in my systems along with a couple of Kasa digital wifi timer-controllers so it turns on/off on schedule.

I mounted the pump, accumulator, pressure regulator, 120v power strip to a piece of plywood that is screwed to threaded fittings in the cabinet back so everything is easier to remove if servicing/replacement, etc., is required.

mason a wrote:Well...I ordered the black 6 gallon tamco, 2 gallon SS shurflo accumulator, aquatec pump, 560 regulator and all the fittings. I've been obsessing over the idea of biofilm growing within this system since I ordered the parts. I was debating between black/opaque tamco reservoirs and obviously the opaque would let me see that water level, but the paranoia of potentially growing biofilm made me go with the black. I went down a rabbit hole of adding a UV sterilizer inside the tamco {which I still might do), maybe I'm a little too worried about this, but the idea of growing slime inside my nice new machine/reservoir has me freaked out. I'm planning on getting a plastic 5 gallon carboy and filling it up at the RO station at the local grocery store and adding the rpavlis salts (or some similar recipe). My rabbit hole brain is wondering if I can trust the RO station at the grocery store or if I should try and figure out how to make my own. Clearly I have issues.

I don't know how you will see the level with the black? What's your plan?
I have never considered the water to be slimy.
You can clean it more often if you like. Make sure you have in line shut off valves.
As Spressomon says and shows, this just works.

mason a wrote:My rabbit hole brain is wondering if I can trust the RO station at the grocery store or if I should try and figure out how to make my own.

With an inexpensive conductivity 'TDS meter' you can trust and verify the RO dispenser at your grocery. You can expect the TDS reading to be low and consistent if the RO dispenser is properly maintained. How low depends on the location but it's probably less than 20 - 30 ppm which is acceptable for use in these recipes. Look for a grocery that lets you choose de-ionized water, which would be RO that has been further treated by a mixed bed de-ionizer resin to get it down below a few ppm on one of those meters. (My local grocery sells de-ionized at the same price as their RO water.)

CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote:I don't know how you will see the level with the black? What's your plan?
I have never considered the water to be slimy.
You can clean it more often if you like. Make sure you have in line shut off valves.
As Spressomon says and shows, this just works.

I don't really have a plan except be vigilant about checking or setup a reminder to tell me to go look at the water level on a set schedule. It's probably not the best choice, but I guess I have to live with it unless I want to hassle with sending it back and re-ordering. I'll upload some pics when everything gets here and I get it situated. Gonna be a long 6-8 more weeks until my new gear arrives (EG-1 and GS3-MP), but at least I'll have time to set up the reservoir/pump and have it all tested and ready to go on day 1.

Hi all,

I have a question and concerns regarding exposing the water tank to air (through the hole in the lid). Specially for long period of time. Wouldn't that encourage the formation of mold/slime/or other bad stuff? Specially that this is RO/distilled water with no chlorine.

Wouldn't it be better if the system is closed up, similar to how flojet seals the water bottle top?

I have the same question, although I haven't seen how the flojet addresses the problem, air has to displace water somehow. Still considering a UV light mounted within the lid or something. But others in this thread dont seem to have any slime issues, I'm just a little paranoid possibly.