SW into Septic Tank?

[CJ31]

Has anyone had any problems with putting waste water into their septic system? I have asked around a little bit locally, and have gotten pretty vague answers.

Also, if anyone has been doing it without problem...for how long and how many gallons/month?

Thanks

 

[Jimmy]

You should not be putting SW in your septic system. The SW could kill the bateria in your septic. Since my water changes/etc are done in my basement, which has a walk out basement, all my used SW gets dumped into a gravel driveway. I also make it a point not to dump it near any of the trees/shrubs, etc.

HTH,

Jimmy

 

[joe123987]

It is my understanding that bacteria in a Septic System is absolutely essential in breaking down solids. Without the bateria you are just about guaranteed to back up the system fairly quickly. This is why you are recommended to add "Rid-X", a bacteria supplement, every month.

While not a biologist, I can hazard to guess that salt water will do a pretty good job of killing much of that bacteria - the result can be pretty messy.

 

[CJ31]

Thanks for the replies.

Actually I am a builder and I understand how a septic system works. And I talked to a guy that does a lot of septic soil work for us and he seemed to think the amount of SW I am talking about (10-15g/week) would not have a bad effect on the bacteria. He has seen a lot of water softeners that put salt into the system and the tank has not been an issue (the softeners put out a lot more gallons than I would be talking about, but at less concentration). However he has seen the salt have a negative effect on the soil in the field, depending on soil type. His final recommendation was "should be OK, but you never know"

So I just wanted to see if anyone had any personal experience to relate...good or bad, as his answer did not instill confidence.

Jimmy, I like the idea of the gravel driveway, but I have paved and grass everywhere else. My only other option I think is to send it to the sump pump and bury the line all the way to the woods (which I really don't want to do).

 

[Tomzpc]

Do you have a separate drywell system that your washing machine pumps into? That would work.

Personally, I just dump mine in the lawn in a different place each time. I have yet to notice any damage to my grass after about eight years of this.

 

[CJ31]

Unfortunately don't have a drywell. I could try taking it into the woods, but it is a 220g tank and 30-50 gallons a month will probably get old fast (especially when there is a drain 3' away in my fish room)

However I did a RC search on the subject (which I could not do yesterday because it was disabled for some reason). I found a couple people who have been dumping it into the system without incident. Who knows what the long term effects are, but it seems to be OK for some.

I called the local Health Dept today and talked to a septic inspector and he said he thought it would be OK too. However I am still hesitant and still want other opinions

I also found a name of a professor of Hydrogeology that is said to know a lot about this stuff and have sent him an e-mail. I will post his reply if I get one.

Thanks again for the responses.

 

[joe123987]

Thanks for all the research CJ. I have been pumping mine into the soil under my deck where it doesn't affet my grass. But, like you, it sure would be a lot easier to run it to drain. Let us know what you find out.

 

[Bomber]

It won't hurt your septic system CJ.

Clorox in the laundry, now that's something different.

 

[Aquaman]

Been dumping my saltwater into my septic for several years now, and have had no problems. .

Now the household cleaning agents, such as bleach, dawn, clorox, Pine Sol, and others distroy that bacteria very quickly. So remember to add RidX or some other monthly bactera agent into your septic.

 

[Tomzpc]

It won't hurt your septic system CJ.

Clorox in the laundry, now that's something different.

I have to agree. Best thing you could do is dig a drywell to drain your washing machine and your sw. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it if you never worried about detergents draining into the septic. Maybe add those septic bacteria treatments periodically for peace of mind?

 

[bdr127]

Although it is by no means a scientific opinion, my thought would be that you would have to dump significant amounts of SW into your septic system in order to cause problems. Think about how much FW you use to shower, wash, use the toilet, etc... Comparing that to the occasional water change of SW, I can't imagine the salt levels being high enough with all that dilution to harm bacteria levels. Not backed up with data, by any means, but just my thoughts....

 

[CJ31]

My Longest Post ever!

My Longest Post ever!

I did more in depth research on this to try & get a definitive answer one way or another from someone who would know. I wanted to post my findings here so anyone searching this in the future would have the benefit of this info.

I found several websites and e-mailed a number of authorities. And I can say I now know more than I ever hoped to about the old poop-pit. You could say I am pretty knowledgeable in the field of Septics....I am really knee deep in it...truly flush with information. OK I'll stop there, but it is too ripe a subject to not let a few of them pass. OK now I'll really stop.

Anyway, the easy answer to my own question is....a definite maybe. I got opinions both ways from a couple different people. Some said the amount of SW I am talking about is insignificant and probabaly would not hurt. However some others said that it could be a factor, siting problems with the soil in the field (particularly clay type soils), and not really the tank. No one really mentioned a problem with harming the bacteria in the tank as I have heard mentioned before. I have posted the most pertinent responses at the bottom.

It is also interesting that I found out that the additives are not recommended by anyone. The opinions I saw said that at best they do not help, and at worst some of them can cause real problems. I also put a couple of the websites below in case anyone has a burning desire to look more into the fascinating subject of septic systems. But there are a couple of interesting pages of the doââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s & donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ts that may be helpful for some.

For me, I have a fairly new split field system that was put in with very buffered tolerances because our local Health Dept is pretty tough on it. My soil has very little clay, so I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t forsee too much of a problem in my case. Since I have a drain next to my tank, I will most likely put mine into the field unless I come up with some other easy way to divert it otherwise. I think every situation is different and everyone probably needs to assess their own situation individually. However if you can easily put it somewhere else, that is certainly the way to be safe rather than sorry. See posts & sites belowââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

Dr. Don Jones of Purdue University:
ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œI doubt if 2-3 gal/day of saltwater from an aquarium will impact your field if it is designed for 750 gallons/day (i.e., a 5 bdrm home). Your filter field is apparently sized at about 1 gal per sq ft of trench (assuming an alternating system with each side sized for 75% of daily loading) which would imply a relatively sandy soil, according to IN State Bd of Health soil loading rates.
I am copying this email to Dr. Brad Lee, a soil scientist in Agronomy here at Purdue, to see if he has any thoughts on this.ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚

Dr. Brad Lee of Purdue University:
ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œDr. Jones has a good point, as your soil absorption system is large relative to the amount of salt water you will be adding to the system. However, I would suggest that you discharge the salt water to an alternative drain if it is not too much trouble. Salts can adversely affect the clay mineralogy of a soil. Even if the clay content of your soil is low, sodium and magnesium ions can cause clay minerals to disperse and clog the soil pores. It does not take much clay for this dispersion to cause problems. This clogging can reduce your soils ability to disperse the wastewater into the soil causing your system to fail. I do not believe you have to discharge your salt water tank to the septic system as it should not contain any human pathogens and is not part of the typical household wastewater. You might want to check with your local health department to be sure there is not a local ordinance that prohibits this activity.ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚

Local Helth Dept inspector:
ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œI wouldn't recommend it, particularly since we tell folks to route their water softener discharge around their septic system and not through it. It depends on how many gallons you're talking about, how large your septic tank is, and the typical water usage for the household. For example, if you're one person, living alone with a 1000 gallon septic tank and you're dumping a 100 gallon tank - I would say no. But if you're a family of 5 (with teenagers - who use more water) with a 2500 gallon septic tank, and you do 2-3 loads of laundry daily, and you're dumping a 10 gallon tank - I would say no problem. It's all about dilution. If it's feasable, I'd be safe and dump it outside somewhere, and not into the septic tank. ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œ

General Septic Info
Septic Care Guide
General Septic Topics

 

[RockyHeap]

NO NO NO

you guys have it all wrong...........

Using proven methods I found off the internet reef chat rooms;

I run a 18" deep sand bed in my septic tank. Its the ultimate refugium. I light it with Light of America home depot lighting, and you should see the worms that come out at night.

I won't even mention the polyp extension.

Sorry, its been a long day.

<grins>

 

[Flatlander]

I would still like to know how the heck your suppose to run your soft waste water elsewhere.

Thats all the water, except what we drink and use for cooking. If you build a new house and do your own plumbing, then perhaps only part is soft, but in most applications, it filters and softens the whole house.

My ro unit is after the softener, on a separate line, to feed the cooking water and fridge. I could never begin to find a separate lines to different parts of the house.

All the experts around here, say its no problem and most in the country have whole house softeners. Thats why I assume a little from the tank wont hurt.

I have heard of the possible soil problems you mention. Depending on drainage of course. Then what the hey do I know anyways. :lol: This is my first septic and softener systems, since leaving the city.

 

[Don Z]

This isn't quite "reef" related, just following the thread theme.

Save yourself a little money and forget about the commercial monthly bacteria additives (Rid-X, etc) for your septic tank.

I've had several septic workers tell me to take a small hand full of raw hamburger, ball it up and flush it down your toilet once a month. Does the same thing as Rid-X in providing additional beneficial bacteria and regenerating the existing. And considerably less expensive.

So...for those of you who like raw hamburger!!!

I've been on a septic field for 13 years, only pumped it out once just to see how things were "perculating", and have not had a problem. JMHE

 

[Salt-Reefer]

Wow great info CJ31....

Here's a update for what I'm doing, my floor drain in the fish room will be seperated from the septic and will just dump out to the street or else where on the property. My contractor had been looking at alternitives and these seems the easiest to do and the main reason for that decision is I have a HIGH clay content in my soil so it will have a tough enough time as it is.

My sink in the fish room will still be connected to the septic but very little salt water will be going down that, so I should be ok there.

Steve

 

[marm64]

Do not put hambuger in your septic tank. What your septic tank is suppose to do is break all the solids down into the gunk in the bottom of the tank and let the water pass through. In a propper working septic tank you will have some scum on the top and some crun on the bottom and you should have clear watter in the middle.

What you can add if you think that you need to add something is yeast, if you want to get lots go to a co-op and get brewers yeast and add that. When you add meat or food scraps you are adding what they call BOD, bioligical oxygen demand, what this is how much oxygen is needed by the bacteria to break down what you have in your septic tank, the more that is needed the more the bacteria has to work. If you work at a large manufacturing plant that has a lot of water to the sewer this is how they get billed.

Salt water is bad to add to your septic. In Minnesota you are not allowed to put your softner drain to your septic. What happens is all the salt that you put in ends up in your leaching field, which is just a sand bed. All that salt that you pump down the drain will eventually plug the sand bed and you will need to put in a new drain field. I would dump it somewhere else rather than putting more strain on the field.

 

[Flatlander]

So, your saying, if one puts a softener into a house, the plumbing must be redone, which could mean tearing out a finished basement ceiling?

I would think, even though its more diluted, the softener system would put much more salt in my system than I do from my tank, so I am wondering about this.

I talked to many septic "experts" out here. None have ever heard of a problem with fields from softener salt. Perhaps we have different soil of something?? I do have my tank cleaned twice/year.

How about a possible problem with the tank itself? Mine is a 1000g concrete tank. I was told, nobody has seen the walls bothered by the salt, but sometimes the center divider needs a refit.

 

[CJ31]

From what I understand...again just going by the responses and websites I found (and posted), the salt from either a softener or a tank is not good for the field, but to varying degrees. If you are putting a large amount of salt into a field with a high clay content, you most likely will have a problem over time. If it is less salt into low clay content soil, you probably will be alright. No one mentioned any potential problems with the tank itself, just the field.

Before I originally posted the question here, I asked the soil scientist that does all our work here in VA for his opinion. He said he was a witness in a couple lawsuits against builders in which the field failed. The conclusion was that it was due at least in part to the softeners that people had added were diverted into the field. However he said this was in very high clay content soil, and that in most cases it would not be a problem otherwise. However he was ambivalent, so I decided to dig deeper.

IMHO, the answer is that it is a very gray area and every situation is different. Everyone needs to assess their own circumstances. What works for one, will not work for another. But the one concensus I saw from everything I read, was that the additives do not work, and some can actually hurt.

Don Z - No matter what, as a builder I know it is a good idea to have the sludge at the bottom of a tank pumped periodically. If the system is used to a lower capacity than designed, you can get away with it for longer, but it will shorten the life eventually. Remember there is no "meter" on the field, and you generally don't know you have a problem until it fails.

Just my further .02....or maybe I'm up to about .10 now

 

[kevin gu3]

I've been dumping 5 gallons per week down the drain for years with no problem. I forget how many 1000's of gallons our septic tank is but its so big it holds way more than a week's worth. The effect of 5 gallons a week diluted into a typical 200 gpd household useage is minimal.

Our softener goes down a drywell, where it can safely poison our watertable without interference from the septic system. It gets a lot more salt than our septic does.