View Full Version : Pouring Salt Water (water change) Down The Drain?
Black Mammoth
08/18/2006, 11:59 AM
Hey Guys,
Currently I'm renting a place and I've been pouring my water changes out the back. I was doing this because I was afraid to pour it down the drain in a rental unit. Anyway, it has killed some of the grass. My new house is being built right now and it uses PVC to connect to the sewer system. Since I will be on sewer and I'm using PVC, is it OK to pour my water changes down the drain? I would think it would be OK, but I wanted to see if anyone else is doing it.
Thanks
Puffdragon
08/18/2006, 12:02 PM
Should be no problem, however the putting it into a septic tank has been a hot topic for debate.
eckrynock
08/18/2006, 12:10 PM
That should be fine. I pour mine down the toilet.
theatrus
08/18/2006, 12:11 PM
The small amount of salt you will be dumping relative to all of the waste water you otherwise generate is no problem anywhere really.
Except possibly for septic systems. Those can be rather fragile.
boxfishpooalot
08/18/2006, 12:17 PM
dont forget that its going to be diluted by toilet water too. So theres less of a risk of corroding pipes(rust)
skyfireblaze
08/18/2006, 12:34 PM
Mine goes down the toilet, promptly followed by at least one flush just to rinse it down (dilution).
theatrus
08/18/2006, 12:36 PM
Even if you had iron pipes it should never really be a problem :) But dilution is probably a good idea.
Hopefully you don't have iron or lead water pipes too ;)
vanmo92
08/18/2006, 01:10 PM
WE are on a septic system so I dump it out side but if you're on a city sewer system then it will be no problem
Ne0eN
08/18/2006, 01:15 PM
Same goes for the skimmmer output. I usually have to flush twice! ;)
Arch01
08/18/2006, 01:31 PM
There are MUCH worse things going into the sewer system than the salt water or even skimmer juice from our tanks.
Dubbin1
08/18/2006, 01:36 PM
I dump it down the drain and follow that up with running the water to rinse out the pipes.
jgoodrich71
08/18/2006, 01:37 PM
The amount of salt that goes down the drain is pretty insignificant, wether it be a sewer of a septic system. It would be fine either way.
Andrew
08/18/2006, 01:37 PM
Sometimes I flush mine and sometimes I just dump it outside.
RichConley
08/18/2006, 03:35 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7966015#post7966015 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jgoodrich71
The amount of salt that goes down the drain is pretty insignificant, wether it be a sewer of a septic system. It would be fine either way.
I second this, Even on say a 200 gallon tank, doing weekly 20% changes, its still only a small percentage of whats going down the drain. Say 40 gallons a week there.
Your average low flow showerhead moves like 2.5 gpm(and is totally unsatisfying). Thats 25 gallons in a 10 minute shower. Figure 4 people showering, thats 100 gallons a day just in the shower. Another gallon and a half every time the toilet flushes. 5-10 gallons while you brush your teeth.
The estimated average is 200 gallons per day used per person, so we're looking at a LOT of water. 200 gallons a month of saltwater is going to change your septic tanks salinity from like 1.000000 to 1.000001.
xtrstangx
08/18/2006, 03:55 PM
Mine goes down the drain and into the sewer, no problems.
You won't have a problem unless you have a septic tank and even then theres a lot of debate.
reefkoi
08/19/2006, 07:59 AM
If you have a septic and do a large water change you can kill some trees, I have a friend that has pine trees that died as a result. Note: tree roots are bad for sewer and septics, if you have an older house pre 1975 then you may have roots in your sewer line, (due to clay or concrete pipes that have joint failure) you might as well kill them, its a cheap way! and as far as a septic if you have a tree growing over the leach field it should die otherwise it may clog the septic causing you to lose around $4,000 for a new field so I say flush away and not worry about it.
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