Diesel Bug

Recently a colleague suffered this unfortunate sympton and it almost ruined a cruise with friends, fortunately they are easy going people and managed to make the most of a poor situation. The Diesel bug as it is generally known, is effectively contamination of the fuel system by microbials that clog the filters and fuel lines, it emulsifies the fuel making it sludgy and the end result is that the engine wont run very well or very long!
There are many additives that can be added to the fuel claiming to keep everything clean and in tip top condition, however the best way to combat this unfortunate sympton is to be selective where you buy your fuel and alway try to leave the tank full especially when leaving the boat for a period of time. The daily temperature changes and tank airspaces create the perfect breeding ground for these microbials, water condensation is the prime culprit where the droplets form on the inside of the tank before sinking to the bottom where the microbial spores feed on hydrocarbon fuel and multiply, so the less airspace the better.
If you are unlucky enough to experience the dreaded bug, there appears to be little remedy other than draining the system, flushing through with clean diesel and re-filling, changing the filters is simply not enough as they wil re-clog in next to no time.
As mentioned there are many additives on the market and in the past I have seen a sytem flushed through by passing the contaminated fuel through a series of filters several times before returning to the main tank.
If you have overcome the BUG in the past, let us know what methods were used and how successful the results were