# Septic Systems



## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

Anyone have a simple septic system for their kennels. I need a design for one able to handle four dogs.


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## Molly Graf (Jul 20, 2006)

get a bucket, put trash bag into bucket, put poop in trash bag in bucket. when it's almost full, close trashbag, remove from bucket, put into empty dog food bag (so there will be no spillage) and place into trash receptacle that is picked up weekly. Easy and cheap.

molly


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## Kevin Barrett (Dec 16, 2009)

Patrick Cheatham said:


> Anyone have a simple septic system for their kennels. I need a design for one able to handle four dogs.


 The first thing you will need is a perc test to see what your soil will call for. You prob could get by with a 300 gallon tank and 1 or 2 fingers. Depends on the size of your lot and where your potable water comes into home how long they will need to be. Hope that helps.


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

We made a septic for our hunting camp with two plastic 55 gallon drums. It handles the waste of 8 men with no problem. One toilet connected....Washer and shower ammenities drain to an exposed trench.


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## Pamella Renaldi (Mar 6, 2010)

Reading this thread makes me wonder, can you use dog poop as a fertilizer?


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## chris haynie (Sep 15, 2009)

I do not fertilize or compost with dog shit. it smells like dog shit and will make your garden/compost pile smell the same.

it is also not composed of the same nutrients as bovine or equine shit and will probably be a lot less usefull to your plants that cow or horse shit. and it stinks like dog shit. ](*,)

when i need a bunch of cheap organic fertilizer or compost starter i just call up a horse stable. they are usually very happy to help me fill up my truck bed with shit and never charge me a thing.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Pamella Renaldi said:


> Reading this thread makes me wonder, can you use dog poop as a fertilizer?


I'm a regular composter and I wouldn't use dog crap in my bins.
Besides the smell, it breaks down slower and those that do use it in compost say to use it on ornamentals only and not food producing plants. 
There is also much less nitrogen and organic matter in dog crap and those are a couple of the reasons for horse/sheep/cow/chicken manure. 
A good compost pile should be a hot (160 + degrees) pile and that requires work from you.


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## Pamella Renaldi (Mar 6, 2010)

I also have heard of people using dung beetles to clean cow's dung. Did people ever try using dung beetles to clean dog's poop?


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## James Lechernich (Oct 20, 2009)

A bunch of poop fetishists, the lot of ya!!


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## Angie Stark (Jul 10, 2009)

You're not supposed to use poop from meat eaters to compost/fertilize, I think it actualy might even have possible dangerous effects....maybe something about disease or something. All I know for sure is dog poop....NO good for fertilizing/composting.

op, I'd do a perk test and once that worked out, I don't know why you couldn't use a plastic 55 gal drum. Get a skid steer with the biggest auger bit you can to make diggin the hole easier. I did a search and this was the first thing that popped up http://www.ehow.com/how_4867856_make-septic-tank-gallon-drum.html


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## Molly Graf (Jul 20, 2006)

I have a manure pile where horse and sheep poop is dumped - I also dump dog poop in there - and the dog poop doesn't break down (and become fertilizer/mulch) - really AT ALL - it stays dog poop - for a very long time - I wouldn't use it for composting. Though the farmer who picks up the manure pile and spreads it on his fields doesn't seem to care if there is dog poop in there.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Doug is just starting to put in a 500 gal septic system for my kennels....along with concrete run offs so I can hose it all into the run off and it slides into a slot and into the tank.....

Not sure how much it is costing as that is one of the things our Contracting business does....will check the prices on the tanks for you though.....


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Molly Graf said:


> get a bucket, put trash bag into bucket, put poop in trash bag in bucket. when it's almost full, close trashbag, remove from bucket, put into empty dog food bag (so there will be no spillage) and place into trash receptacle that is picked up weekly. Easy and cheap.
> 
> molly


The only thing wrong with this is the weight. Not even getting into the fact that you'd have to use super heavy duty trash bags so that they didn't break, but I don't even put my cats' litterbox waste in the garbage can anymore because I can't lift it out of the can if I do. I tie it up in plastic grocery store bags and leave them next to the trash can, which is, admittedly, gross, but what else am I going to do with it? I have a lot more dog waste than litter. I can't imagine having all that crap just sitting out like that. :-&


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## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

OKAY........... Yea my thoughts were to use a buried 55 gallon drum. With the PVC line off the back side of kennels running to it. But I need to determine how much and what type of material would be best suited for filtering. How deep should it be (line and barrel) and what would be best suited to help with the dog hair. I don't think there will be much hair but I wouldn't think it would break down that easy.


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## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/Dooley-2000-Septic-Tank-Style-Pet-Waste-Disposal/dp/B0002DI34A

They sell dog septic systems. I don't think I would bother with the composting for doggy doo. You could probably make a better one by burying a 55 gallon drum with the top exposed to drop the crap into. Also that septic tank charger will need to be added to break everything down.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Angie Stark said:


> You're not supposed to use poop from meat eaters to compost/fertilize, I think it actualy might even have possible dangerous effects....maybe something about disease or something. All I know for sure is dog poop....NO good for fertilizing/composting.


Yes, that's definitely true. Both cat and dog poop have too many things that can be passed to humans (like roundworms in dogs and cats and toxoplasmosis in cats). Another important reason to keep both dogs and cats from pooping in the garden. I've actually herd the very best fertilizer is rabbit manure. Something about the balance of the chemical components are just about right.


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## jay lyda (Apr 10, 2006)

How many dogs do you have Patrick? If only a few then a 55 gallon drum will work just fine and cost plenty cheap enough. Dig you a hole, cut out the bottom of the drum, drill some big holes on the side above the bottom, pour some rocks in the bottom of the hole and then set the drum in it. Dig it deep enough so that the lid is flush with the ground. You can pour in some septic treatment about once a week and wash it down with water. This should hold you for about a year with 3 to 4 dogs. After that your best bet is to empty the drum in the dead of winter, and after that you are good for another year. Its cheap and it works.


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## Molly Graf (Jul 20, 2006)

get a bucket, put trash bag into bucket, put poop in trash bag in bucket. when it's almost full, close trashbag, remove from bucket, put into empty dog food bag (so there will be no spillage) and place into trash receptacle that is picked up weekly. Easy and cheap.

molly 

Kristin Cabe wrote: The only thing wrong with this is the weight. Not even getting into the fact that you'd have to use super heavy duty trash bags so that they didn't break, 

I've done this for my boarding kennel for years. I use a regular "tall kitchen" trash bag, put it in a regular-size bucket - 5 gallon bucket? And fill the bag in the bucket. So the amount is only the amount that fits in the bucket. It's not too heavy, but I do put it into an empty dog food bag just in case. No problem lifting it and putting it into the trash container - much easier and cleaner and less smelly, cheaper too - than storing it, disposing it or otherwise on my property.


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