What if my Septic Tank fails?

Posted by jhirstz on Dec 26, 2011 in Articles | 0 comments

Septic tank failing or getting smelly? Ground conditions changed so you can no longer discharge effluent safely into the soil? Well, before rushing off and replacing it with another tank or sewage treatment plant, the good news is that you might be able to install a septic tank conversion kit.

Yes – turn your old septic tank into a sewage treatment plant! There are a number of options available to you – some electrically operated e.g. the Jewel Sewage Treatment System. This is cheap to run and needs little maintenance. It’s easy to install and compact and you can discharge effluent safely into a nearby pond or watercourse.

There’s also a non-electric option called the Biorock – the only non-electrical sewage treatment unit on the planet. There are no moving parts to a Biorock so there’s less to go wrong – it works entirely on movement of air through the system.

What is a Septic Tank?

Posted by jhirstz on Dec 8, 2011 in Articles | 0 comments

Ever asked “what’s a septic tank?” Well if you’re thinking some kind of infected storage receptacle then think again – Septic tanks are essentially small scale sewage and waste water treatment plants for properties not connected to mains drainage.

Septic tanks usually range from 2800-5000 litre capacity – one side of the tank gets connected to the waste pipe of the property and the other end to what’s known as the drainage field or soak-away. A septic tank should have a T- pipe on the inlet and the outlet so that no solid waste enters the drainage field.

OK so why “septic”? This refers to the fact that anaerobic bacteria (the type that breeds without needing lots of oxygen) work on and mineralize the waste that is discharged into the tank.

What happens inside a Septic Tank? When waste enters the first chamber, solids settle and a scum floats to the surface and forms a crust, and the settled solids get digested by the bacteria. Remaining liquid waste flows to the second and third chamber where more settlement of the waste happens – are you keeping up? Finally, excess water flows out via the outlet to the drainage field for further treatment from the soil.

OK then but what about the remaining solid waste? This must be removed by having the tank emptied at least once a year.