Septic Tank Design - What You Should Know 

If you have never known what a septic tank design looks like, you probably want it to stay that way. Who really cares what my septic tank looks like anyway, you say. That's the job of the people who make a living at this as well as pumping out other people's septic tanks, not me.

Knowing your septic tank design is probably not something you would like to waste a lot of your time on, but if you are a homeowner you probably need to know at least the basics on how your septic tank is designed so that when trouble strikes, you will have a pretty good idea of where to begin looking.

Your basic septic system design consists of an inlet pipe that connects to your house and leads to the tank which can usually contain up to 5500 liters of sewage. Modern septic tanks now have two chambers which are divided by a wall perforated by holes between the floor and roof of the tank. Waste flows and settles in the first chamber, which is further processed in the second chamber resulting to a more or less clearer liquid that flows out into the leach or septic drain field.

You may have a piping network which is designed with holes along the network to distribute the wastewater evenly in the field. Your septic tank system may also be designed with an incorporated pump if gravity alone is not enough to operate the system. A good indicator that you have the right septic tank design in your home is if your system is odor free. That's one of the main goals with any system.