Are there any uses for old saltwater
- Thread starter genxbigboy
- Start date
Jmnazari
Hangin' w/ Rome from SWR
I use mine for curing lace rock, and for rinsing new dry sand before adding to the tank. I suppose you could grow extra coraline algae; fill a bucket with some: lace rock and a starter rock, old tank water, a couple capfulls of calcium, heater/powerhead,) and run actinics 24/7.
Millticket
New member
In regards to those who use the water for QT tanks. Would a 10 gallon be fine for a QT tank for smaller fish i.e. royal gamma, small clowns,gobies?
Yeah. I would have no problem QTing the larger species of clowns in a 10 gallon too. I have a breeding pair of clarkii in a 10 gallon.
sslak
New member
Then it's not cold where you live. It really doesn't melt ice well at all.
Here it would just freeze on the driveway. Saltwater isn't really all that salty when it comes right down to it.
The freezing point is only 4 degrees colder than freshwater, so unless it's just barely below freezing outside, you're just adding to the ice...
32F isn't cold..when it gets to single digits or negatives, then it's cold. Trust me, a bucket of saltwater will freeze pretty fast at below 0 temps.
coralnut99
New member
Along these same lines, having both a reef tank and fowlr let's you get twice the miles out of a water change.
Wolverine
Premium Member
There was a huge discussion about that several years ago in NTTH or RD.
There are much easier ways to get a cycle going.
As for the water, ours goes into the septic; our septic guy said that the volume we put in compared to the volume of wastewater from everything else in the house is pretty minor, and shouldn't be a problem.
As mentioned by others, if I have a QT going, will use the water for that first.
Acanlover123
New member
i tried to use it to deice sidewalk once..i just throw it down the drain now
geaux xman
New member
pour'd 60g out the front door yesterday and let it run down the front cemented walkway.
oflaherty21
New member
got some new great ideas reading this, thanks everyone
atreis
New member
Mine goes into the septic. I happen to know (because we moved in before the leach field had been completed, so had to pump the tank for a while) that we fill our 2000 gallon septic tank in about a week and a half (3 kids, 2 adults, and no real need for water conservation where we live). Over a period of 3 weeks that's about 4000 gallons of household waste water. To that I add 4 gallons a week of salt water from the tank, or 12 gallons over those same 3 weeks - about 3 tenths of 1 percent.
That said, I do figure that salt is going SOMEWHERE ... Building up in the rock under the leach field, getting picked up in the surface water and carried into the creek, or slowly making its way down into the deeper aquifer. None of these is likely good, but the quantity is small enough that I also doubt it's a serious problem. (e.g. the creek probably gets more salt contamination from use of road salt in the winter, etc...)
That said, I do figure that salt is going SOMEWHERE ... Building up in the rock under the leach field, getting picked up in the surface water and carried into the creek, or slowly making its way down into the deeper aquifer. None of these is likely good, but the quantity is small enough that I also doubt it's a serious problem. (e.g. the creek probably gets more salt contamination from use of road salt in the winter, etc...)
RSantilli
New member
Is it possible to dry it out and reuse the salt for the tank???:idea:
fishhead79
Member
Gargle it for a sore throat...
JSeymour
New member
Not a good idea. By reusing it, you would be reintroducing the same organics you removed when you did the water change. That could be the least of the problems associated with it. It would also be deficient in trace elements. With corals emitting allelopathic toxins, like Palytoxin, these toxins could concentrate in the salt too, making it a very deadly substance.
There are only a few real uses for used saltwater. If it's water from a reef tank, it possibly could be used in a fowlr. The used water can/should be used in quarantine. You can also use this old saltwater to cure DIY liverock. Hatching brine shrimp is another good use for it.
Most other uses won't work or are dangerous to do. Just toss it.
Wolverine
Premium Member
Yep, these are the reasons i decided not to try this "a few" years ago.
Peter T
Gallantly Forward
I usually keep a 5 gallon bucket of old tank water and towel beside my tank so I can use it to rinse my hands before I do anything with the tank. Not having the best of memory, I sometimes may of just washed my hands with anti-bacterial soap or have some other product that may be harmful to the tank on my hands. The 5 gallon bucket works as a buffer for me and my tank.
Of course if I know I that I have just washed my hands or have something on them, I just wait until later before I touch the tank. The 5 gallon bucket is just protection for my faulty memory and is a system of redundancy.
Of course if I know I that I have just washed my hands or have something on them, I just wait until later before I touch the tank. The 5 gallon bucket is just protection for my faulty memory and is a system of redundancy.
