It sounds like good “old blue” may be gone, but there’s Thetford Aqua Max; so dont get too worried yet.

For Years Thetfords Aqua Kem was what everyone seemed to use in their black tanks. Most folks know it as the blue colored black tank treatment. Aqua Kem smelled great and did a fairly decent job taking care of any waste problems in the black tank.

Then the market changed. People switched to the Geo Method or treated tanks with probiotic enzymes to break down the waste. Trust me, we tried several, none impressed me with their odor control.

We ran out of Aqua Kem on our recent journey to the great North. So I ordered Aqua Max which also relies on probiotic enzymes to break down waste. The product has a nice scent to it but its not nearly as strong a scent as Aqua Kem.

We found that this might be the best product we’ve ever tried for digesting waste, but it controls odors poorly. After three days, I noticed that odor control was an issue. Reading online reviews, I see that many others report the same problem.

I had a conversation with a Thetford representative on whether they were considering tweaking the odor control. The Rep told me that are currently revising the formula. He explained that the company discontinued Aqua Kem due to its formaldehyde content.

If Thetford finds a way to improve odor control I would always buy Aqua Max. It works really great at digesting solids. For better odor control in the meantime they suggest adding another bottle to the black tank….but thats expensive!

So, for now, we will rely on our back up supply of Aqua Kem. We will see what improvements are made to Aqua Max.

To read more about Thetfords Aqua Max click here.