Do you own a houseboat but still unsure of the workaround of things especially in treating its sanitation system particularly its holding tank? Holding tank treatments include the methods to mask or eliminate odors from wastes that are being broken down.
To know more about these, here are the common methods of tank management and the pros and cons of each.
1. CHEMICAL TREATMENTS
Pros: Chemical treatments are the most popular because these are effective in odor control. The best quality chemical treatments deodorize by utilizing chemical reactions with the odor-causing substances. Compared to other treatments, these are relatively inexpensive.
Cons: However, these treatments kill bacteria immediately. Therefore, they don’t help in the breaking down of wastes. Moreover, chemical treatments are not environmentally friendly.
2. BIOACTIVE TREATMENTS
Pros: Bioactive treatments contain live aerobic bacteria which are the ones that digest waste producing odor-free byproducts. These treatments are environmentally friendly.
The components or microbes in these bioactive treatments multiply so adding more in between pump-outs won’t be necessary.
Cons: Aerobic bacteria require a good ventilation because oxygen is needed for them to live and reproduce. If a holding tank has bad air-flow, applying bioactive treatments may not be effective. Also, these treatments can be expensive initially. (But as mentioned, they can multiply on their own so these are cost effective in the long run.)
3. ENZYME TREATMENTS
Pros: These treatments accelerate the digestion of the organic materials in waste while deodorizing at the same time. Also, some combine paper and sewage entirely. On top of that, they have relatively low toxicity (almost zero) making them environmentally friendly.
Cons: Enzymes must be regularly added ideally in well-ventilated systems. They don’t work well with extremely hot or cold climates. The holding tank should also be free of residues from other treatments.
4. NITRATE TREATMENTS
Pros: These treatments use a different approach. In place of oxygen, nitrates are introduced to act as nutrients for the bacteria. Using these treatments is ideal for sanitation systems with poor ventilation. They are environmentally friendly, too.
Cons: They also require the tanks free from any other treatment products’ residuals.
Now that you know the different holding tank treatments, you can finally identify which would work well with the sanitation system of your houseboat.
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