holding tank treatments (snake oil)

[bostonhatteras]

I have been on the hunt for an effective holding tank treatment. I've tried sealand products and seem to be mostly fragrance, the west marine 'nitrator' is what i have used mostly. what I'm looking for though is a way to get alot of oxygen into the tank, inexpensively and convieniently. having read REbrueckners 'simple ideas' post made me think of the alka seltzer as a way of introducing the oxygen, then I thought of hydrogen peroxide and did a little searching for hydrogen peroxide effects, etc. The following is from a web site I found.

"The reason why it foams is because blood and cells contain an enzyme called catalase. Since a cut or scrape contains both blood and damaged cells, there is lots of catalase floating around.
When the catalase comes in contact with hydrogen peroxide, it turns the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into water (H2O) and oxygen gas (O2).


2H2O2 --> 2H2O + O2
Catalase does this extremely efficiently -- up to 200,000 reactions per second. The bubbles you see in the foam are pure oxygen bubbles being created by the catalase. Try putting a little hydrogen peroxide on a cut potato and it will do the same thing for the same reason -- catalase in the damaged potato cells reacts with the hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide does not foam in the bottle or on your skin because there is no catalase to help the reaction to occur. Hydrogen peroxide is stable at room temperature."

i would imagine the waste would contain plenty of these 'catalase' enzymes. the resulting product, water and oxygen seems just right. has anyone had any experience with this or found an effective way to keep the holding tank 'processing' without oxygen pumps or additional chemicals?
thanks

[SKYCHENEY]

I've been using OdorLos which is just a food for the good bacteria. It seems to work well and you can buy it cheap at WalMart.

[Walter P]

Sky

Several years ago I tried Odorlos and after a few months I didn't seem to get the desired result so I stopped using it and since have been using just about anything that is available... all to no avail. Perhaps I am expecting too much from these additives. Anyway I have heard from various folks that Odorlos will work but there are special procedures to be followed. What's your result and what procedures do you follow?

Walt

[Beckytek]

Buy an aquarium air pump connect a tube to it and feed into the bottom of your holding tank. Turn it on and forget about buying any more chemicals. The odor will be gone. Ron

[hattitude]

Buy an aquarium air pump connect a tube to it and feed into the bottom of your holding tank. Turn it on and forget about buying any more chemicals. The odor will be gone. Ron

The aquarium pump would be a cheaper way. I bought a Groco Sweet Tank system, several years ago when it was about half this price, but it's the same idea.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...=24-13075234-2

The sweet tank and an occasional shot of "Raritan KO" additive has kept my odors in check

[Passages]

Holding tanks make neat little anaerobic units. They are not anaerobic digestors however as the retention time is inadequate of oxidize ureas and organics.

The unpleasant odor is hydrogen sulfide gas caused by the break down of organics in the absense of oxygen.

Adding oxygen to the mix via a small bubbler will help keep things 'fresh' but I doubt the results will be completely satisfactory. First, you may find the bubbler system is a PITA to install. Can be done, but it will not be a fun job. Second, a small aquarium bubbler may be undersized to provide sufficient oxygen or turbulance in the holding tank. Dead spots within the tank will continue to behave anaerobic. Third, by constantly pressurizing your holding tank, there will be a steady stream of emissions as opposed to the big stink when someone flushes.

H202 may provide temporary relief. The extra oxygen atom will be released quickly and then you are back to having a stinky tank of water and waste.

My suggestion is to proceed as follows:
- Continue to experiment with over the counter potions just to see if anything helps.
- If no, empty tank, pressure wash deposits and shock the system with a strong dose of bleach. Make sure you also get the valves & hoses.
- Still not good? Try to determine if the transfer hoses are the culprit. If so, replace them.
- If STILL not good, install an activated carbon filter on your vent line. You will need to replace the carbon canister ocassionally but they seem to work. SeaLand has an overpriced carbon unit for this purpose but if you are creative, you can configure something using a carbon filter from Home Depot.

[SKYCHENEY]

I have had good luck with Odorlos, but I found that I had to shock clean the tank periodically to keep it odor free.

I add OdorLos to the tank after each pump out. This will works for several months of use. Once it starts to smell upon flushing, I try to flush about a quart or so of bleach down each head. Then I fill the tank with fresh water and let it sit for a couple of days, then pump it out. After that, it's good for a few more months again.

[Nonchalant1]

If you have a head smell problem anywhere except the vent line air that escapes when somebody flushes, you have some different kind of problem that can be found and mechanically fixed, like bad hose clamps, bad hoses, a leak somewhere, etc. For the vent air issue, Odorlos works fine for us. We use the dry chem Odorlos and add it to the heads every pumpout.

Doug Shuman

[SKYCHENEY]

If you have a head smell problem anywhere except the vent line air that escapes when somebody flushes, you have some different kind of problem that can be found and mechanically fixed, like bad hose clamps, bad hoses, a leak somewhere, etc. For the vent air issue, Odorlos works fine for us. We use the dry chem Odorlos and add it to the heads every pumpout.

Doug Shuman

You are correct, Doug.

I use the liquid OdorLos and it works fine but after a few hot summer months, I do start to get some smell out the vent when the tank nears full. That is when I pump out and do the bleach treatment. Usually one bleach treatment during the summer and one at haulout takes care of it for the season.

[Jaxfishgyd]

We use OdorLos plus a little white vinegar in our holding tank... The Admiral has a sensitive nose and this makes her happy. We pour both into the heads and flush them when the tank is empty.

But then again we live full time onboard so have the holding tank emptied fairly often ( a LOT more often when grand kids are onboard!!)

We also fill the tank with fresh water after it's been pumped out... Then have it pumped out too...