Usually through the means of a mechanical agitator or air pump, an Aerobic Treatment Unit (ATU) uses the addition of oxygen to better treat the sewage and create cleaner effluent discharge to the final treatment area of your system.

• Mechanical aerators are usually a motor connected a shaft that turns submerged agitators to introduce oxygen into the effluent. These will need to be periodically removed so they can be inspected and properly cleaned.

• The other type is a pump system (varying types of pumps) that pumps air into some type of distribution system, usually diffusers, located inside the aerobic treatment compartment. These systems commonly have filters that need to be cleaned and the air delivery system is subject to plugging if the unit is not properly maintained and cleaned on a regular basis.

There are a vast number of aerobic tank designs, but they all generally are composed of three main parts.

• The septic or trash tank

• Followed by the aeration chamber

• And finished up with a clarification chamber.

• Sometimes there are additional chambers depending on the design to hold pumps or disinfection components.

These systems often require a monitoring and maintenance contract with a registered service provider.

All the tank’s compartments will need to be pumped and cleaned periodically in order to insure proper operation

• Typically, this will fall between every 24-36 months for most users.

• This time can fluctuate depending on usage.