Dumping saltwater

[bigredwalk]

Dumping saltwater down the drain after water change will this hurt the plumbing

 

[kfisc]

No- but the gunk will clog your pipes eventually if you siphon/clean as part of your water change.

 

[Sparkysreef]

I remember seeing this in a thread waaaaaaay back. I was concerned becasue I have a septic tank which is made of concrete. Basically the amount of freshwater going down the drain vs the amount of SW you put down the drain makes it very diluted. Therefore it shouldn't do any harm.
Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[jerm290atlc]

It was discussed awhile back, not sure if we got a definite answer on whether it is good or bad:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=709360

 

[crpeck]

The first year I had my tank, I poured my tank waterchange water down the side of my sink where the garbage disposal is. Don't know why ... seemed to make more sense.

My disposal completely rusted out, started leaking water under my sink and had to be replaced.

Salt water is REALLY corrosive to metal. If your pipes are PVC at least for a portion and you wash the saltwater down with tapwater, I think you're fine. I have been for almost three years on the side of the sink with plastic pipe. If you have lead pipes or garbage disposals on the line you're pouring saltwater down, I'd be careful and make sure you flush like crazy after pouring down saltwater. My plumber said he'd never seen a disposal rust out like mine. He never knew anyone with a satwater tank, either.

Cathy

 

[m3rcury]

so, i tend to actually dump my water into my toilet because i don't want to pour all that nasty water into my bathtub. is there anyting to worry about pouring it down the toilet?

 

[sandiegan]

dunno if there's anything wrong with it, but I pour it down my toilet all the time.

 

[BadOleRoss]

Go with the toilet. Going from the porcelin to PVC will not harm anything. You should in no way clog your plumbing by siphon cleaning unless you vac half the substrate off the bottom along with the fish waste.

 

[mcox33]

I use a 5/8ths clear hose and dump mine outside. Doesn't seem to hurt the weeds or grass. But I don't have to worry about pipes either. By the way I stop my sink up constantly. Use the red stuff from the dollar store to clean it out.

 

[jerm290atlc]

There should be no problem dumping the saltwater down the drain as long as you have PVC pipe. Didn't consider the Garbage Disposal tho. May have to check mine. The only concern may be the leach line on the Septic Tank system. Not sure if it will affect the bacteria in the Septic System.

 

[Wryknow]

I would be leary of dumping it out on the grass. Depending on the drainage is like in the area the salt levels may eventually rise to a level that the plants cannot tolerate. Especially if you dump salt water in the same place repeatedly.

 

[Snowboarder2757]

if you have some rocks by your house, just dump them in the rock area. No harm to plants, sinks, toilets anything.

 

[sruiz]

Dump the water outside on the dirt.

 

[WiscSea]

I drink mine!

 

[coyoteseven]

I pour old SW onto the crushed stone border around my house, works better than RoundUpÃ"šÃ‚® to control weeds and grass... and is a lot cheaper.

Also, when it rains, I don't have to worry if I'm going to find a large patch of the grass I want to keep, has died from unexpected runoff.

Just my 2Ã"šÃ‚¢

 

[jerm290atlc]

This is what I got back from the company that installed my septic tank:

"There are varying opinions on this, but most believe that the added salt
upsets the ph of the septic tank. Also in this area, the soil is alkali and
salt binds with the soil and forms a barrier that can negatively affect the
drainfield. It's best to use potassium if you can or plumb the salt water
into a french drain."

I live in southern New Mexico, we are one big sand box out here.

 

[Fast Fred]

Would anyone like to venture a guess as to the specific gravity of a healthy person's urine?

Well, I'll tell you....it's between 1.010 and 1.025.

It has the same salt content as our tanks do! So where's the problem?

 

[Sparkysreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7091925#post7091925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fast Fred
Would anyone like to venture a guess as to the specific gravity of a healthy person's urine?

Well, I'll tell you....it's between 1.010 and 1.025.

It has the same salt content as our tanks do! So where's the problem?

I hear ya. With the amount of shower/bath, toilet, sink, washing machine useage shouldn't the SW be extremely diluted by the time it get into the septic tank? Let's not forget about the amount of water in the tank too. I think you would have to be putting copious amounts to do damage. Am I wrong?

 

[Fast Fred]

I think, if I'm not mistaken, that our household uses about 10,000-30,000 gallons of water per month. Most, if not all of it goes down the drain. By dumping 25 gallons per week of salt water from the tank down the drain, the dilution ratio would be a minimum of 400:1

I'd say that's safe.

 

[ratziel]

All mine goes in the driveway, it helps keep the weeds down.