Would this item be okay to use for salt water changes in sink?

[Beefy_Reefy]

Not sure if dumping salt water in sink is an option or not. Here is link to item I saw on bulk reef site. Can I use this for draining salt water to sink or will salt damage pipes somehow?http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/review/product/list/id/1402/category/49/
thx

[blazemore]

I've always just dumped mine in the toilet. I never assumed it would cause any kind of issue.

I'm sure there's a better way to do it, but...

I always do my siphoning the old fashioned way. I use a long vinyl tube that's about 1" in diameter. One end goes in the tank, then I quickly suck on the other end (oooh) and then point it at the bucket. When the bucket is almost full, just pull the other end out of the tank. Pour the water in the toilet, it flushes itself.

[Beefy_Reefy]

I'd like to do the sink way as long as I'm not causing future pipe damage!

[lambchops]

Those work well for big tanks in my opinion. They suck pretty quickly and its nice not having to haul bucket and pour them into the sink.

I don't really understand pouring the water in the toilet.... I guess you could do that if you have a very small amount of water to pour out.

[Beefy_Reefy]

Searching web some people saying salt water can damage pipes? No evidence though. Guess I'll ask a plumber :)
And yeah I have fairly large tank. This item would be nice.

[Fishnthecorner]

If your plumbing pipes are PVC, then there is no way saltwater will harm them in any way!
Now, if they're cast iron, I would not dump it. Just dump it outside in your neighbors flower garden... lol :)

[fishgate]

I don't think SW will hurt any pipes unless you let it sit there for awhile. This is really only an issue in your trap so as long as you run the water for a minute or two to flush it, I can't see any damage happening at all. I dump mine down the drain every time and I have septic. I've never seen an issue. I've put as much as 100 gallons of SW at one time down the drain.

[bamf25]

I run a siphon from my tank right into a bathroom sink. With 120g dt doing it by bucket would just be tedious. Salt water is corosive, but if you put it down a frequently used sink and the water is not sitting in the pipes, I do not see an issue.

[Beefy_Reefy]

I like what I'm hearing!

[drparker]

These work by the syphon effect of the Venturi. Bottom line your also pushing a lot tap water down the drain with the salt water so it's diluted. I've been using one for years.

[aleonn]

There are water change hoses (Foster & Smith sells one brand if I remember correctly) with faucet adapters that are designed to attach to faucets of sinks. I'm sure a lot of people use those without problems, at least I haven't read about any on RC.

[captrad]

your drain should only be restricted at the p trap ( the s looking thing right under the sink) as long as you flush that out and salt is not sitting in there your fine. and if you have pvc no issue at all.

[sleepydoc]

I saw a video of the inside of cast iron plumbing once. It was so lined with ...umm... Crud that it's hard to believe any salt would actually reach the pipe to damage it!

[redfishblewfish]

The issue isn’t your pipes….it’s where the water ends up going.

If you’re on city sewer, dump away.

If you have a septic system, dump your water in the street and let the rainwater dilute and wash it away.

Putting saltwater into a septic system is going to kill the bacteria and “poison,” the drainage field.

And FYI, I’ve been using a similar Python Siphon system for years.

[philosophile]

how do you know when you've taken out enough water with one of those things? e.g. you've taken 5 or 10 gallons?

[bamf25]

I measured how much a took out via buckets the first water change I did. Then I took a small piece of tape and marked my water change level on the back of my tank (meaning how low to take the water level). Now I siphon till it hits that tape. If I want a bigger change I go past it, small stay above the tape. I have a 120g dt and I have the tape at about 15g, so I estimate from there.

[billdogg]

+1 on the python siphon. Mine is 25+ years old and still works like a champ. Would not do it any other way.