Septic Air System Comparison – The Facts

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Septic Air System Comparison – The Facts

Consumer Protection Alert

You are facing one of the most expensive problems you may ever experience in home ownership. There are several companies selling septic air pumps and diffuser combinations. You will hear and read about more questionable claims and solutions than perhaps any other subject. As a home owner you are thrust into a situation with little or no experience with your problem.

Carefully Select a Septic Air System That is Proven to Work

This technology when properly applied is the only long term solution to resolve failing septic systems. Within this solution you will again see many claims of superior septic air systems or designs or systems. As a consumer you will again be confused by false claims.

One company with a catalog based Quad horizontal pond diffuser touts to be the best. This design is borrowed from and intended to be used in pond aeration applications. The “synergistic lift” pond design is very effective at pumping large volumes of water to eliminate stratification layers in ponds. This pond design mixes the water extremely well to ensure the dissolved oxygen level is uniform throughout the pond. 

septic_aerator_engineering
The flaw is that aerobic treatment of pond water is significantly different than septic tank water. This catalog Quad horizontal pond diffuser increases the septic tank turbidity so much that it will fill your drain field with suspended solids. This has been documented and published on the web by one of their customers. Unfortunately the customer assumes that all systems are equal so he recklessly claims that septic aeration doesn’t work. We have also tested this horizontal design verifying this known issue. Because of this know issue the company now adds some “Magic bugs” to solve the problem. This will not correct the fundamental design flaw. They are now “distributing” the product of others that also uses “Magic Bugs”. The truth is, there are dozens of expensive packaged aerobic treatment units on the market. None of them require any additives to clean the wastewater. Additionally, this design rests on the bottom of the tank with the systems water recirculating inlets at the bottom of the “barrel”. Unfortunately this is the zone of the tank that is required for proper settling of solids.

As a selling tool, some web sites recklessly state that “recent studies indicate that you only need to pump the tank every 10 – 12 years if a septic aerator is installed”. However, they fail to site any credible studies. Anyone that makes this statement without scientific evidence is simply not telling the truth. In a perfect world, the byproduct of aerobic digestion is carbon dioxide and water. As we all know, we live in a less-than-perfect world. There will ALWAYS be byproducts of the process e.g. inorganic material that is flushed into the system, dead bacteria cells, difficult to digest material such as hair, etc. The proper and easy way to determine when a tank should be pumped is to measure the sludge depth annually. When the sludge layer reaches about 30% of the tank volume it should be pumped. I suppose if the diffuser system is not allowing proper settling and a considerable amount of solids exit the septic tank and flow to the drain field you could delay pumping, however, we know the solids belong in the tank not the drain field!

This web sites claims that if the bubbles are released deep in the tank the additional pressure will increase oxygen transfer. Nothing is farther from the truth. The pressure within the bubble is equal and opposite to the external force the water applies to the bubble, therefore the bubble remains stable in size. With fine pore diffusers, increasing the liquid depth seems to have no significant effect on the oxygen transfer efficiency. Also, the septic air pump has a specific performance curve. As the depth of the bubble formation becomes deeper in the tank it requires more pressure from the pump to drive the air through the diffuser, called back-pressure. As the back-pressure increases on the septic air pump the air flow volume decreases reducing the available oxygen supplied to the waste water.
septic air bubble

While we do not expect you to become an expert on oxygen transfer efficiency, we do encourage you to spend the time to research this solution. Our case studies further prove that our septic air systems perform as claimed. We believe that after you study these septic air systems, you will conclude that the patented Aero-Stream® Remediator® is the only solution based on testing and has over 325 five-star 3rd party vetted peer reviews.

Not All Septic Air Systems Are Created Equal

Below are time lapse comparison photos of controlled septic aeration using the Aero-Stream® septic air system vertical diffuser and a catalog septic air system “synergistic airlift” quad horizontal pond diffuser.

Test conditions are identical. The difference is clear. The catalog “synergistic airlift” quad horizontal pond diffuser creates excessive suspended solids that will exit the tank and clog the drainfield. This damage is irreversible and your only solution will be to dig up the drain field and replace it!

Before You Spend Your Hard Earned Money to Buy a Septic Air System you Must Watch This Video.

Buy from the experts with 20 years of experience!

In a side by side National Sanitation Foundation/ American National Standards Institute (NSF/ANSI) test there is a difference.

The test was conducted by an independent lab for a 3 bedroom home. The Lower the Number The Better.

Aero-Stream® septic air Vertical Diffuser  – Biological Oxygen Demand = 18 mg/L & Total Suspended Solids = 19 mg/L

Horizontal Catalog septic air “Synergistic Airlift” Diffuser – Biological Oxygen Demand = 340 mg/L & Total Suspended Solids = 570 mg/L

The Aero-Stream® Remediator® septic air system produces effluent that is 30 X Cleaner! Watch the Video!

Aero-Stream® has more installations around the world than anyone. We solve more problems every day than most companies solve in a week. With 20 years of experience, we have the technical knowledge to solve your problem. Beware of companies that have a money-back Guarantee that is twice as long as they have been in business selling a pond diffuser found in a catalog. As you know, you are dealing with an expensive and stressful situation. Rely on the #1 authority in septic aeration – Aero-Stream®!