Disgusting.... (warning long post)
Septic tanks built in the DR generally bear no resemblance to any proper system build! They are purely botched up concrete block rendered holding tanks in most cases - hence the need to empty them with the 'sludge gulper' every now and then.
A proper tank has 3 compartments. The first collects the flushed stuff and the 'floaters' - but the delivery to the tank should be by a tee piece pipe which discharges below the surface of the contents to prevent stirring up of the floating crust.
The second compartment is separated from the first by a concrete wall which effectively blocks surface contents from the 1st bit from flowing into the 2nd. This is acheived by the wall not being built to the bottom of the tank. This allows the 'sinkers' and the fluids to pass from 1st to 2nd section where things further settle down.
3rd section is optional but is built on the same principle and clears the fluids further.
There should also be an outlet, again a tee piece pipe, to allow the excess fluids to overflow and percolate along either a perforated pipe or French Drain and filter out into the surrounding soil. Works well with a series of pipes laid below a convenient lawn and does the grass good! The fluid by this time is almost clear!
1st section forms a hard crust on top, which gets thicker the longer the tank is functioning, where the natural aerobic germs (those that need oxygen), do their stuff and break up the crud.
2nd section works more by anaerobic germs, (those that do not need oxygen), which work away eating up and breaking down the detritus which settles near the bottom of the tank.
3rd section is just really a holding area to allow more settling of the fluids before discharging them via overflow to your drains.
Modern toilet paper usually has a printed message which informs the user that the paper is suitable for septic tanks. But in general, most papers break up very quickly these days.
If your kitchen discharges into the same tank then you should really have a grease trap in that line as this stuff will kill off the good bacteria. Same thing with your kitchen cleaners etc.
If your washing machine discharges into the tank as well then the detergents will also kill off the useful bacteris making your septic system less efficient.
Septic tanks should be charged with water, yes, that's filled up, when first built and the same after any emptying! Otherwise the sewage just slops into the bottom of the tank and the poor little germs can't do their stuff - you want it to float!!
If built properly, a well constructed/designed septic tank will function without any worries for many years. You only need to empty it when the crust in the 1st section becomes excessively thick and starts to go under the separation wall into 2nd section and you start to get sewage backing up along the delivery pipe.
After 10 -15 years you may have to dig up the overflow drains and clean out the perforations or replace the filter media stones as this clogs up with grease and suspended particles which escape the germs process.
Now I've bored you with all this crap....... if your delivery pipe system is less than 100mm diameter and not laid to a fall of 1 in 4 (McGuires Rule) then you will have problems delivering your waste to the septic tank. (It won't flow uphill)!! AND it won't flow through a 50mm pipe laid almost flat - like most of the bars systems on Cabarete Beach, who also discharge overflow (?) directly into the bay!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, that was a shitty job, but someone's gotta do it!!
Stinky :tired: :cross-eye