Question on my fresh water tank for watering plants

Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I've got a 23 gallon tote that I like to keep part way filled with water, which I wish right out of to water my plants. A 3 stage r.o. system feeds it and give me about 10 ppm. I have an air stone and long air tube that stretches across the bottom that runs constant. The water stays relatively cool, low to mid 60s. I'll also add that the tub was cleaned well before use.

I was told in order to keep the water good and fresh keep the lid on so no light gets in. I drilled holes through the lid for the air tubes and r.o. drain line but everytime it seems within a week or so the water takes on a bad smell and I have to drain it, clean it and start over.

So I tried leaving the lid off and now for a few weeks I've had no bad smell that I can notice, of coarse the lid is off so it's pretty well aired out. Even with the lid off the only lights the tote sees is a couple household ceiling lights.
Well I just noticed today that the air tubes have slime growing on them, pretty nasty looking, didn't see it until I pulled them out of the water.
I drained the tote and once it was empty it smelled like a slightly dirty fish tank, atleast not like a clean pool anyway. Cleaned it and now I'm beginning to refill it again.

So my question's: I assume that slime and fish tank smell is no good??
How do I avoid the slime? Some people put h2o2 in their tanks but I don't want to kill my good microbes in the soil.
When I keep my lid on the water takes on a stinky feet like smell if I remember right. Yet I'm puting clean fresh water into these and that's it, why isn't it staying clean and fresh?
Any recommendations? Is there something I can use to add to the tote to keep it all clean that won't kill the microbes? Or should I be cleaning the tote weekly?
I appreciate the help! The water always seeming to go bad has plagued me for the last couple grows.

Your fresh water tote has algae growth due to the air stone. I suggest adding a couple table spoons of hydrogen peroxide every month or so. It will dissipate in the water. It wont ruin your soil.

If you're growing in soil I wouldn't worry about it. That slime is only an issue for hydroponics growers. You could use H202 in the water if you wanted to keep the tub clean, won't hurt the soil.

Awesome guys, I appreciate the response.
Do you recommend I keep the lid on or off the tote or does it not matter?

NugHeuser said:

Awesome guys, I appreciate the response.
Do you recommend I keep the lid on or off the tote or does it not matter?

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Lid on! Cover will slow the growth as well. Just think, ponds aren't covered, they have lots of sun..and algae.

Always keep stored water covered and aerated. Just the dust from the air is enough to contaminate it and promote bacterial growth, nevermind larger plant matter, bugs, hair, etc, etc. I used to dose my 55 gal RO holding tank with hydroguard every few months. Even with the dosing there was always a thin surface slime on the inside, but it never got it of control or spread to my buckets or totes. I believe it was just the hydroguard colonizing the barrel.

You either need to go 100% sterile or use beneficial microbes and bacteria.

WeedFreak78 said:

Always keep stored water covered and aerated. Just the dust from the air is enough to contaminate it and promote bacterial growth, nevermind larger plant matter, bugs, hair, etc, etc. I used to dose my 55 gal RO holding tank with hydroguard every few months. Even with the dosing there was always a thin surface slime on the inside, but it never got it of control or spread to my buckets or totes. I believe it was just the hydroguard colonizing the barrel.

You either need to go 100% sterile or use beneficial microbes and bacteria.

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Beneficial microbes and bacteria as in like simply using soil amendments for the living soil?

NugHeuser said:

Beneficial microbes and bacteria as in like simply using soil amendments for the living soil?

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No, beneficial hydro bacteria in your water holding tank. Something like hydroguard, which contains Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which is also good for soil. It pretty much eats anything in the water that other bacteria could feed on, starving out the bad stuff.

From Wiki:

"...B. amyloliquefaciens is considered a root-colonizing biocontrol bacteria, and is used to fight some plant root pathogens in agriculture, aquaculture and hydroponics. It has been shown to provide benefits to plants in both soil and hydroponic applications. It takes action against bacterial[12] and fungi pathogens, and may prevent infection though competitive exclusion or out-competing the unwanted pathogen.[2] It has been shown to be effective against several root pathogens that hurt agricultural yields in soil and hydroponics, such as Ralstonia solanacearum in tomatoes,[2][3][13] Rhizoctonia solani in lettuce,[5] Pythium in tomatoes,[4] Alternaria tenuissima in English ivy[6] and Fusarium in bananas and cucumbers.[7][8] It also appears to improve root tolerance against abiotic stress, allowing plants such as maize to tolerate high salt concentrations in hydroponic applications, while also reducing salt concentrations in the plant tissue.[9]..."

WeedFreak78 said:

No, beneficial hydro bacteria in your water holding tank. Something like hydroguard, which contains Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which is also good for soil. It pretty much eats anything in the water that other bacteria could feed on, starving out the bad stuff.

From Wiki:

"...B. amyloliquefaciens is considered a root-colonizing biocontrol bacteria, and is used to fight some plant root pathogens in agriculture, aquaculture and hydroponics. It has been shown to provide benefits to plants in both soil and hydroponic applications. It takes action against bacterial[12] and fungi pathogens, and may prevent infection though competitive exclusion or out-competing the unwanted pathogen.[2] It has been shown to be effective against several root pathogens that hurt agricultural yields in soil and hydroponics, such as Ralstonia solanacearum in tomatoes,[2][3][13] Rhizoctonia solani in lettuce,[5] Pythium in tomatoes,[4] Alternaria tenuissima in English ivy[6] and Fusarium in bananas and cucumbers.[7][8] It also appears to improve root tolerance against abiotic stress, allowing plants such as maize to tolerate high salt concentrations in hydroponic applications, while also reducing salt concentrations in the plant tissue.[9]..."

Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks for the info.