How do I clean water tank mesh

[Heatherhopwood]

 i have a water tank in my garage that clogs up every time it rains and floods the garage floor. Getting fed up with it now! I can see that I need to clean the mesh filter but can't workout how to get it out to clean it. The black tubing is how the water comes out when I turn on the garden hose. It is fairly sturdy and I can't bend it. Inside the tank it seems to go on forever - it hits the roof before I even get to the wet part of the tubing. 

So... How do I get the mesh out to clean it when I have this in the way? 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Heatherhopwood,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

As the pipe will need to be long enough to reach the bottom of the water tank, meaning you can't simply lift it out, and the elbow is connected with crimped connections, there is no real way you can remove the pipe and with it the tank filter screen.

Unfortunately, I think your best option is to grab a dustpan and brush and remove as much of the dirt as possible, then grab a garden hose and rinse the screen off.

Allow me to tag @Noyade, @TedBear and @Jewelleryrescue to see if they have any good ideas.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Heatherhopwood 

I think the trick here is to pre filter the water before it hits the black tank mesh screen as to improve the ease of clean up.  There are a couple of options.

First lets clean the mesh screen I would clean up as much of the Leafs and extra muck as it allows then with a stiff nylon/plastic bristle brush scrub and hose the remainder of the muck through the mesh to clear it and use gurney too or hose at  max pressure The goal is to clean the mesh 100%, The mesh isn't super fine that means the tank will have a sediment layer at the bottom anyhow. All tanks get this so no biggy.

Now the black mesh is clean.

Best option.

Search  for fish filter foam ( fish filter foam is designed to good water through put)  I use 50cm x 50cm fish filter foams over the top of the black tank mesh to catch and filter the water  and at the same time done right will exclude leaf matter.

So the idea is the foam cut to a round shape to fit snug inside the water catchment ring, Also it needs a single cut  from the middle to the edge so   it looks like a pacman. that allows the foam to wrap around the centre pipe. The diameter  of your tank water  trap may larger than 50cm?  Simply buy some  cheap concrete  expansion foam 80mm wide and glue it inside the water catchment rim to reduce the diameter so the round cut foams fit with no gaps,

This  makes servicing it a  breeze the foams simply lift out.

Now this part is important I use a foam called Japanese Mat filter media it is a long lasting  99% clog free coarse filter mesh that forms the first (top) layer of your filter it is ok to have it sit above the rim of the tank catchment rim in fact it is prefered as any leaves will sit on top of the mat filter and blow away.  

Foam filter two under the jap mat put a coarse fish filter foam to catch smaller partials of crap so the black tabk mesh never clogs again., this will make sure your tank is cleaner than before and it is a breeze to take out the foam filters and simply hose them clean, a 2 min job and your good to go.

Don't be tempted to buy a fine fish filter foam it will clog too fast.  Stick to a coarse foam  and the top jap mat layer 50x 50 cm is normal purchase size. 

The other option is to use a filter foam at the inlets  to the down pipe at roof level .

[Heatherhopwood]

Thank you for this. I'll give it a go. 

[TedBear]

Hi @Heatherhopwood , I like @Jewelleryrescue 's idea of pre-filtering the water before that large filter, as a long term solution.

I would consider using a wet-dry vacuum cleaner to clean the existing filter in the meantime.  (You'd probably get by with just a dry vacuum if the debris isn't damp.)   

You could buy a cheap one if you don't have one already and this is all you'll use it for.

Ozito have one for about $50.

You can get an 8M extension hose for $29.00.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/pts-8m-vacuum-hose_p0293227

[EricL]

Hello @Heatherhopwood 

I totally agree with @TedBear's suggestion, using an Ozito 1250W 12L Stainless Wet And Dry Vacuum will will easily clean the surface of the tank filter. I also suggest installing a Rain Harvesting First Flush Downpipe Diverter - 90mm. This will catch all the debris in your downpipe before it gets to your tank. For even more filtering, I also recommend looking at installing a Rain Harvesting Leaf Eater Original Rain Head - 90mm. This will divert all the leaves that have fallen into the gutter and prevent them from entering your storm water pipe.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric