Please tell me pros and cons of mound septic systems

Pink_Carnation · #21 01/10/09, 06:53 PM

If the septic smells there is a problem. The water is not supposed to leak out to the surface and the lids should be sealed so that no gas escapes. The odor can help you find where the problem is though. The idea of the mound is the ground can't filter it without building up to get the right drainage to filter it. A basic mound is anerobic and no water is supposed to reach the surface.

Chinquapin · #22 01/10/09, 08:16 PM

My system has a pump because the mound is about 200 feet away and uphill of the tanks. The pump alarm was part of the package.

I agree that if a mound smells, there's a problem. It's certainly not a normal "feature" of a mound. My mound has been very well-behaved.

I'm lucky that my mound is located where the land naturally rises so it doesn't stand out. I have to tell contractors where it is.

KindredSpirit · #23 01/10/09, 09:33 PM

Is 20 x 50 an average size for a mound system?

**Cabin Fever** · #24 01/11/09, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalynx

Is the mound system the same as an aerobic system? I have never heard of the mound system, but we were required to but in an aerobic system where it had 3 chambers with pumps. you treat it with chlorine. It worked exactly like a real water treatment plant with the "cleaner water" flowing over to the next chamber until the cleanest water was sprayed via water pump to sprinklers in the yard in the night.

No. An aerobic system is a unit between the setpic tank and the wastewater disposal area (eg, mound or trench or sprinklers). The purpose of an aerobic unit is to further treat wastewater...using some sort of aeration....coming out of the septic tank and before it is discharged to the drainfield or mound. SOme of the pumps in an aerobic system are to pump water and some to pump air.

**Cabin Fever** · #25 01/11/09, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pink_Carnation

.... A basic mound is anerobic and no water is supposed to reach the surface.

A properly functioning mound should be aerobic. Aerobic conditions typically do not result in odors. An improperly fuctioning mound....due to flooding or sewater-logging....will turn anaerobic and can odors can result.

Aerobic = with oxygen

Anaerobic = no oxygen

Pink_Carnation · #26 01/11/09, 03:07 PM

Ok...learned something new. I thought if it didn't introduce oxygen that it would be anerobic.

Graystone · #27 01/11/09, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KindredSpirit

Another question I had is about odor. Any problems with that. We know someone who has a system that smells.

No odors here. We had the tank pumped shortly after we moved in the house for curiosity sake and the septic guy said everything looked fine.