Commissioning new waste system - question on treatments

[eruizgarcia]

We are about to put our new waste system in use next weekend, and since we're starting over, we are hoping to do things right! I have read a lot about treatments etc from Peggie Hall's book, forums etc, and yet I still have a few questions.
The system we just installed is two fresh-water flush Raritan Marine Elegance heads with smart control panels, saniflex hoses, and a Raritan/Ronco 37-gallon waste tank. We used the original 5/8" vent fitting for one vent at the stern but added a second 1" vent to the stbd side of the boat. This second vent hose is longer to get to the thruhull (probably a bit over 10') but the 1" diameter allows me to also spray water in during pumpouts (I used an open thruhull). I've also installed a SCAD monitor and the Raritan full sensors that connect to the smart controls. We've tested the flushing and everything seems to be working great. Before putting it in service we want to do a test pumpout and get our gameplan for treatment finalized.
We have bought Noflex Digester and plan on using this product mostly, based on what we've read. That said, because of the frequency of treatment that it asks for, I wonder if I should complement with another treatment, such as KO. The reason is that our boat use is sporadic. Sometimes it's weekends only. Sometimes we'll be on it for a week or two. But sometimes we may be gone for at least a couple of weeks and it's just sitting there. So, to my questions:
- I wonder if a "good bacteria" treatment like KO could be part of the solution? I keep reading conflicting info regarding whether these treatments can be combined. But if Noflex is good at creating oxygen and KO could help build up the good bacteria for when we're gone, wouldn't this be a good combination? Or would Noflex work just fine even if we are away from the boat for a couple weeks?
- Similarly, our tank may often contain mostly pee in it, until we are suddenly onboard for a prolonged period. What if the system is only peed in for a month? Would that affect the treatment? With Noflex, is it important that #2 be in the mix for it to work, like I believe it is with KO?
We only get one shot at getting it right from the start, so thx for the help!

[peghall]

If you use No-Flex according to directions and add a "dose" to the first flush each time you return to the boat, regardless of the time away from it, you shouldn't need anything more. However, No-Flex doesn't generate oxygen, it works in systems that may not get enough via the vents regardless of whether there's any poop in the tank or not.

I'd replace the the "vent" thru-hull with an open thru-hull, same size.."Vent" thru-hulls are designed to keep sea water out of fuel and fresh water tanks, so they don't allow enough air exchange to do any good. Do NOT spray water into the vent DURING pumpout...that will interfere with the pumpout's ability to pull IN the air it needs to replace contents as they're pulled out. Backflushing the vent line is only done to prevent vent blockages...so just do that every time you wash the boat and/or pump out, but not during pumpout.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions...I'll be glad to answer them.


--Peggie

[eruizgarcia]

Peggie - thanks for the input! I had hoped you'd see this and chime in! We'll stick to Noflex per your guidance.
I will also refrain from flushing through the new 1" vent during pumpouts, thanks. I had thought the original vent would have done the ventilation job since that's all the previous tank had, but I hear what you're saying and I like the suggestion of doing when washing the boat. BTW, I probably didn't explain this right, but the original vent is also "open" at the end except that it has a screen (mesh). That thruhull fitting is probably the only part of the waste system I kept LOL. But who knows, I may replace it in the future with a fully open one like the one I put in for the second vent.
Thanks again!