Waste Tank Carbon filter

aero3113

2 seasons ago on my 242 I pulled the tank and cleaned it out, looked like new when I was done with it.

Liberty44140

reneechris14 said:

dude that gross

Lol I was thinking the same. Nice work aero, looks good!

aero3113

I popped out the vent I installed and was able to use the hose to spray down the sides of the tank. No more waste sticking to the sides. I was wondering if the vent would pop out so I can do this. 

J3ff

I've never had a problem with this.. are you guys just filling that thing with crap? 

aero3113

J3ff said:

I've never had a problem with this.. are you guys just filling that thing with crap? 

Mine was bad because the previous owner didn’t pump out often and keep it clean. If you look at my pics on page one of this post you’ll see how bad the tank was. I couldn’t clean it then because it was back in February .

Aqua_Aura

Just take his word for it. Don't look back on page one 🤣

aero3113

Aqua_Aura said:

Just take his word for it. Don't look back on page one 🤣

LoL!

mattie

Hey Aero, did you end up using the “tank buster” stuff or just spray it down?clean up pretty good?

aero3113

mattie said:

Hey Aero, did you end up using the “tank buster” stuff or just spray it down?clean up pretty good?

I sprayed it down really good, got the sides pretty clean then pumped it out. When I got back to the dock I opened it back up and saw there was still some waste on the bottom of the tank . I poured a packet of tank buster in (supposed to be good for 50 gallons) and only put in a couple of gallons of water. I figured I’ll let that sit for a couple of days then fill it up with more water then pump it out again. After that I’ll fill it up full and add a packet, let it sit again, should be fairly clean after I pump it out. 

aero3113

I filled up the waste tank with about 10 gallons of water through the valve today with high pressure aiming throughout the bottom of the tank. Went and pumped out, I opened the valve again when I got back to the dock. It still looks like there’s about a half inch of solid waste on the bottom of the tank. I’m going to have to make some kind of scraper that I can adjust to loosen that up.

aero3113

I made a scraper to get to the bottom of the waste tank. I used it today to loosen up the waste on the  bottom of the tank. It worked really well, I filled up the tank with about 20 gallons of water after and pumped out again. I think I’m satisfied now. 

davidbrooks

@aero3113 so i will be the first to say it. There you go stirring up sh$% again.

aero3113

That’s funny @davidbrooks, LoL!

mattie

I made up something similar with a small bristle brush on it to scrub the bilge. Hard to reach between the twins. Lol

TonyG13

Went looking for some ways to route wires for a cell phone charging outlet and found this behind my aft storage cabinet!

So now I've added changing the carbon to my to-do list. (The Admiral was complaining of some smells late in the season.) I'm guessing it hasn't been changed since new (2014).

Some people say to get aquarium "air" carbon, not "water" carbon. How do I tell the difference? Any brand recommendations and how much to buy - Big Orange wants $40 for their refill kit.

Dream_Inn

Tony, since you already have it installed, I'd just continue changing out the big orange filter every other year.  It has a nice built in bypass while you are pumping out and is already installed.  Nice find!

Liberty44140

This is what I use in my home made filter. Have been using this successfully for 6 years. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Tech-Activated-Carbon-Aquarium-Filter-Water-Cleaner-9-oz/10313138

TonyG13

Dream_Inn said:

Tony, since you already have it installed, I'd just continue changing out the big orange filter every other year.  It has a nice built in bypass while you are pumping out and is already installed.  Nice find!

I plan on keeping the Big Orange, but some people are buying generic carbon for a lot less than what Big Orange charges for their OEM carbon ($40) - I'm just confused as to what type of replacement carbon/charcoal to buy.

TonyG13

Liberty44140 said:

This is what I use in my home made filter. Have been using this successfully for 6 years. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Tech-Activated-Carbon-Aquarium-Filter-Water-Cleaner-9-oz/10313138

Awesome. Thanks! Is one container enough?

Liberty44140

For both of my home made filters, yes it’s more than enough. Not sure on big orange but they have this in stock in the aquarium isle so you could buy two and return one if you don’t need it. I bet one is more than enough though 

MarkB

TonyG13 said:

Dream_Inn said:

Tony, since you already have it installed, I'd just continue changing out the big orange filter every other year.  It has a nice built in bypass while you are pumping out and is already installed.  Nice find!

I plan on keeping the Big Orange, but some people are buying generic carbon for a lot less than what Big Orange charges for their OEM carbon ($40) - I'm just confused as to what type of replacement carbon/charcoal to buy.

Just try it ... just get activated carbon ... it works for both air and water-based pollutants.  For $20, it's worth the experiment. You'll find out easy enough.

Dream_Inn

yep, that is what I use for mine as well.  I buy at the local pet store.  It is usually enough for 2 times for me.

MarkB

Make sure you get pellets, not powder ... you need to have sufficient void to pass the gas (excuse the pun) ... but more importantly, you don't want to block the vacuum relief ... I can't remember if that by-passes the carbon, or goes through the bed in reverse ...