Reed Bed Septic Tank System

RTNI

I have just moved into a property in the countryside and it's off the mains sewers. Accordingly, there is a septic tank which discharges 'cleaned' effluent into a steam through a reed bed system.

Having done a bit of reading on the internet, I have a horizontal system.

I am looking to know what maintenance is required for the reed bed, and the electrical 'blower' (is that the right name?) device. The blower seems to run all the time, is that normal? This system is at the rear of the property which is a good 25 m from the main house, so I am not 100% sure if it is going 24/7 or not. It just seems that when I am going to the garage and listen then it is going everytime.

Any help on this would be welcome - I know the septic tank was emptied in September, so there should only be about 6 months worth of sludge in it. I think I remember seeing an instruction book in the garage, I must have a look for a make or model etc of this system.

tonyh66

sounds like you have a small treatment plant rather than a septic tank. The 'blower' does run all the time at it introduces air into the effluent and this helps it break down quicker and more efficiently. These systems produce very little sludge so the tank can be emptied less often as a septic tank.
Just make sure the electricity doesn't get cut off (does it have a solar panel back up?) and ensure the reed beds stay healthy.

RTNI

Tony,

Thanks for the reply. No solar back up on the blower - just running off a 13A plug in the garage. Would there be much power drawn by this blower? Can I attach a timer to say only turn on the blower from say 6am through to 10pm when we are up and water is likely to be entering the system or would that be a bad idea?

Other than the emptying, no other maintenance is required? Suppose I need to see if there are filters in the blower that require replacing or cleaning.

Stooby2

I know sod all about these but it seems quite interesting so I had a dig around on Google. This site has some quite good info and seems fairly pragmatic about them.

http://www.wte-ltd.co.uk/reed_bed_sewage_treatment.html

this leaflet has more sources...

http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=e%2FOUEgT%2FUsI%3D&tabid=151

tonyh66

RTNI wrote: »

Tony,

Thanks for the reply. No solar back up on the blower - just running off a 13A plug in the garage. Would there be much power drawn by this blower? Can I attach a timer to say only turn on the blower from say 6am through to 10pm when we are up and water is likely to be entering the system or would that be a bad idea?

Other than the emptying, no other maintenance is required? Suppose I need to see if there are filters in the blower that require replacing or cleaning.

Im not sure you can turn the blower off, it is an important part of the treatment, basically it gets air into the sludge which encourages the bacteria to break it down quicker and cleaner. The effluent discharged into the reed bed has to be cleaner than the effluent from a standard septic tank. Check out the links posted they contain some good information.
with regards to the solar panel, its not essential but a great way to self contain the unit from possible power cuts and reduce the elec bill (the power requirement for the unit isn't that much anyway)