Did I just contaminate my tanks?

[nuru05]

So stupid question, I was playing with my water maker, which I have never used on the boat. And I had the valve turned the wrong way for the sample water. This resulted in 1 to 2 gallons of Erie canal water going in my tank. It had gone through the membrane so it was “filtered” but my understanding is that this doesn’t filter of biological components. The particulate tester shows that it’s clean, but again this is not biological.

If I have about 100 gallons of water in my tanks should I shock them, just dump and refill them at the next marina, or not worry about it?

[rslifkin]

If you're worried about biological contamination just add a little bleach to the tanks and let it sit for a bit before using any water. Not much biological stuff should make it through the membranes anyway.

[donradcliffe]

Fugetaboutit.

from Wilipedia
RO can remove dissolved or suspended chemical species as well as biological substances (principally bacteria), and is used in industrial processes and the production of potable water.

The trend in municipal water supplies is going towards "toilet to tap" using RO. It takes a lot less energy than desalinization.

However, you shouldn't run your boat watermaker in fresh water unless you have a way to reduce the pressure on the membrane. It should only take about 50 psi to clean up Erie Canal water, vs 800 for ocean water.

[cofc]

Originally Posted by nuru05

It had gone through the membrane so it was “filtered” but my understanding is that this doesn’t filter of biological components.

You’re fine. An RO filter membrane has smaller holes in it than a membrane that is made to filter biological contaminants from fresh water. So it absolutely filtered out any critters in there. If your water maker filters out sodium and chlorine elements that have dissolved and been surrounded by water molecules, it will absolutely filter out animals swimming in the water.