I do not sell anything but am posting this to help others who are facing this same problem.

Do you own a house that runs a septic tank and field that is more than 15 years old? or sometimes even less!


Did you encounter these problems lately?

• Back-ups and slow-flowing drains,
• Waste water pooling in the yard,
• Septic odor,
• Frequent tank pumpings
• High water levels in the septic tank,
• Runback into the septic tank from the drain field when it is pumped,
• or are you seeing greener patches of grass over some areas of the field?

All those are signs that your field is failing or has failed!!

There is a solution,   Read on!!!
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My system was 16 years old when the problems appeared.
I had been very careful with my system and followed every recommendations that was to follow since I had it installed.  I had been diligent in getting the system pumped every 2 years!

Waste water pooling in the yard above my field

The length of time before these signs appear will vary depending on the installation and the usage.   BUT the truth is that ALL fields will eventually fail!!!

If you are like me,  you will first think the problem, is temporary, it will go away on its own. But the pounding on your lawn will only get worse!   Eventually, the system will be so full that it will back-up in the house.



The first thing I did was to call septic field installers.  Of course they are the experts and should have known what is going on and help me fix it.      Oh yes, they did have a fix!!!!! They first told me I had the wrong system in place and of course they would install the "perfect system"....at the tune of $15,000  plus the landscaping !!!     WOW!!!!
What a bonanza for the installers! 

I have a University background in Microbiology and it got the wheels turning in my head right away.  I had not until then had any second thoughts about what was going on in my septic or in my septic field.    But the sound of $15,000 (plus landscaping) got me thinking!!!

The secret lies in the way we are running our septic tanks.  We are using them in the absence of oxygen, thus creating an environment where ANAEROBIC bacteria live.
Those bacteria are inefficient in degrading the material that is the tank and very importantly, they create something called  BIOMATE in and around your field.   It is a black membrane like substance.    With time, this Biomate is responsible for blocking your field.

The key to solving your problem is to turn your system into an oxygen rich system!!!

New more effective AEROBIC bacteria will grow, take the system over,  destroy the biomate and be more effective at degrading the organic matter in the tank.

It makes all sense. You have certainly seen municipal waste water treatment plants.  They all operate open lagoon where they pump air into.  It is the same principle here.


These videos explain very well what happens in your septic and how it eventually fails!!

Warning:   Septic field installers will not want you to see these videos!!
Again,  I am not selling anything but am steering you in the right direction to fix your system for a LOT less money!

or this one:

While you are there, have a look around on youtube.  There are a number of videos discussing the transition to an oxygen rich environment in your tank.   They all have the same conclusion:  IT WORKS!!
It has worked for me too!!

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This is a picture of the inside of my tank before I made the change and that was 6 months after having it pumped:

Notice the level of the fluid.  Almost to the top of the tank, 3 inches to be exact.

Now this is a picture of the tank 1 month after I have changed it to an aerobic system (oxygen supported environment):

1 month after the switch.  I also added a concrete riser as I had enough of shoveling to reach the cover...

The liquid is much clearer,  and the level is down to 8 inches from the top of the tank.  

The liquid pooling at the surface on my lawn is gone.

This is the patch of lawn 1 month after the installation of the system where the liquid was pooling at the surface (before I installed the system) :

How does it work??   The principle is quite simple.  You have to run your tank like you would run a fish tank by simply pumping air into the tank!  Easy enough!
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HOW TO DO IT?


I have found a number of companies selling those products on the web.  All Americans.
If you find a Canadian reseller, let me know.
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Here is the list:

Aero-stream    (http://www.aero-stream.com/)

Septic Solutions  (http://www.septicsolutions.net/store/SepAerator.htm)

and Septic Genie (www.septicgenie.com)

I have no experience with the last 2.  I used Aero-stream and found their product to work as described and easy to install.  Their support is amazing!!!   A lot of local businesses here would learn a lot from them about customers' support.
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This is a picture of all the products I got from them:

This is the assembled diffuser that goes inside the tank:

Diffuser.   It assembles with 2 screws.  The top floats and the bottom is weighted.  As a result, it stands upright in your tank.

Here is a video of their system running in my tank:

The whole installation which took me about 2 hours to do as I stopped to take pictures. It set me back by $1,400.
Remember that the quicker you act after you notice the first signs of failure, the faster the results will happen!
It took about 1 week of pumping air in my tank to see the benefits on the lawn. It took 2 weeks to see the level drop in my tank.
Remember, I initiated the treatment as soon as I noticed the water pooling on my lawn.   If you have had a failure going on for a while, it may take longer for the system to be functional again as the Biomate may be thicker and more widespread.

Tip:   Go with a refurbished pump those companies sell.   The rest of the gear will be new but the pump will be a rebuilt.  It is probably just as good as a new one and will save you hundreds of dollars.  Those $$ go a long way with the crazy CAN/US exchange rate  we are forced to swallow.


UPDATE:  10 months after installation:
The level of fluid in the tank is at the bottom of the output pipe.   All is good and the field was not showing any signs of pooling waster water even in the spring when the ground is naturally wet from the snow melt.