Re: Inexpensive Aerators for the Septic Tank
FYI,
I have abandoned the aerator completely. Every attempt to use an aerator in my standard tank has resulted in sludge being sent to my septic field. I've gone back to the standard Anaerobic tank design that had worked well for 18+ years. My testing proves that the only way an aerator will work properly is when used in a tank designed for an aerator.
If you install an effluent filter, it will clog up with sludge stirred up by the aerator, then water pressure will just force the sludge right through the filter into your exit pipe creating a THICK, BLACK SLUDGE going into your leach field, as happened to me.
The whole problem is caused by the aerator stirring up the sludge, new solids and the scum into septic soup that gets thicker every month, until your septic field gets clogged up.
Sludge MUST be allowed to settle to the bottom and scum MUST float to the top. This means no aerator is allowed. Bacteria will not eat up all the sludge. Sorry, but that is the results of my 6 months of testing my own aerator.
Details here:
http://tinyurl.com/Septic-Solutions
My testing has proven this statement to be true:
“There are several companies marketing an air pump and diffuser system that will convert the septic tank into an aerobic tank in order to repair the drainfield. These systems typically include an air pump or blower that compresses air and disperses it into the septic tank via a diffuser. The diffuser spreads the air out into the water to provide a good transfer of oxygen and to mix the air into the water......
“...they have one large drawback. These systems must aerate the septic tank continuously so that the contents of the tank are mixed and oxygen is transferred completely throughout the tank. These processes are called complete mix aeration systems. The problem with these type of systems is that the mixed contents of the tank (we engineers call this the “mixed liquor”) is full of solids and bacterial biomass. In a normal wastewater treatment plant, this mixed liquor is allowed to settle in a separate tank so the biomass and solids sink to the bottom and the clear water is taken off the top. These septic aeration systems don't have a settling process. When water from the house enters the tank, it displaces an equal volume of the mixed liquor out of the tank and to the drainfield. So the drainfield is receiving aerated water, but the water is full of solids and biomass that will again eventually plug the soil pores in the drainfield.”
http://www.saberseptic.com/
This "Mixed Liquor" is not solids that can be stopped by your filter. It is gooey sludge particles that clog up & slip right through your effluent filter, and get concentrated by the filter into MUD that exits into your septic field.
My next experiment is to add a 120 gal tank between my septic tank & the D-Box, and aerate that water.
Regarding Aeration demanded by some counties, that is for using tanks designed for aeration. A septic tank designed for aeration has a settling chamber for suspended sludge to settle to the bottom.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aerobic-septic-system.com%2Fdesi...
IMO, My testing over the last 6 months confirms there is no way to aerate a standard tank without creating Septic Soup to foul up your septic field. If you figure out how to do this let us know. The goal is to aerate the tank and do this without disturbing the water. If we figure this out, it is a $Billion Dollar idea. Scum must float to the top and sludge must settle to the bottom. This is a critical balance.
Grizz