where do you dump your saltwater?

[pad]

Tub in my slightly used bathroom. WHich however had all the fixtures starting to corrode after being there 3 years despite rinsing and that bath has never been used!

I would be curious as to what is happening in the pipes.
I live very near the beach and i would wear i have seen plastic corrode!

[reefdood]

I dump it down the drain and sometimes on my neighbor's bushes that are destroying my fence.

[Black71gp]

as far as the pipes go.... all septic pipes and sewer lines are either clay crock or pvc plasic, so rusting there. Inside the house is copper, pvc, or galvanized. again not much rusting. would not really worry about it. if anyone has rust in the shower or tub, it is rust in the water not the pipes. and the small amount of salt water compaired to a bath or long shower is pretty low..............I just dump mine whereever, outside, down drains, dont really think about it.

[Kabuto]

I just dump it down the drive way. My water softner does to when it purges.

[Kogo]

20 foot hose straight to the toilet.

the water flows right through your pipes especialy if you flush after. even a 100 gallon water change would be insignificant once it is added to the enormous volume in a community sewer system.

i also dought if it any more corrosive than toilet cleaners.

[Kschell]

I just looked out the window and saw a dump truck full of salt drive by, spreading salt all over the road. If the City can dump that much salt to melt ice, our bit of salt water should not make much of a difference. I never thought of using the tank water to melt ice. It would probably freeze anyway when it gets down to 0 tonight.

Would salt water corrode lead pipes?

[nethawk73]

toilet....make sure you flush and lift the seat.

[datman422]

these are interesting stories guys. Anyone here get busted for dumping saltwater outside. Different cities have different ordinates. I live in the suburbs of california. some of these smaller cities tend to be somewhat anal about it. Just curious.

[LOTUS50GOD]

mine goes straight to the toliet.. My pipes are PVC... no chance or rust.

[ReeferMac]

Originally posted by kmk2307
I'm afriad I'm gonna release some sort of invasive species into the ecosystem when I dump my SW out. I know lots of algae are FW and SW tolerant.

That's exactly one of the arguments behind the caulerpa ban out there in your state (and one of the theories as to how it got into the Mediterranean, too....) I'll grant you it may seem ludicrous at some levels, but the potential for harm is not un-founded.

I used to just use the laundry tub, but w/ my new tank, I plumbed a drain line right to the crock for the home's sump-pump. Out to the storm sewer it goes, 60-gallons at a time! I've often wondered where the other end of that pipe in my basement goes?

- Mac

[dogfacepuffer]

My husband dumps his in our kitchen sink. Then I usually get to rinse it out because he "forgets". But, he also cleans equipment with vinegar in the sink, usually as I start to cook, so our kitchen stinks..

[Steven Pro]

You really should not dump any aquarium water (be that fresh or salt) into a storm sewer. These run straight into local waterways and the risk of introducing an invasive species or non-native pathogen is high. On the other hand, a sanitary sewer (toilet, sink, etc.) is safe because of the processing that it goes through.

[jeffhaag]

I normally siphon my water through a hose and dump in under the deck because I don't want anything growing there. Since the water never leaves my property all the fun regulations never apply.

In regards to dumping, you might have an issue dumping it into a storm sewer because these are untreated and release to public waterways. In theory, you can actually get fined for washing your car and allowing the soap to run off your driveway and into the storm drain. I would also expect our discharged water to always have biolgical activity and the EPA does not like life released to waterways.

On the other hand, you will be fine dumping it down a household drain. Federal EPA guidlines for wastewater treatment prohibit anything that will cause interfere or passthough at a waste water treatment plant. There are no specific regulations regarding salinity. Long story short, unless you are dumping tens of thousands of gallons a single time, it will have no effect. If anything, the high alkalinity and pH are actually preferable because they help the treatment process and outweigh the negatives.

On the otherhand, if you have a septic system, I would defiantely NOT dump it down your drain since you only have a few thousand gallons total capacity and the salt could cause issues with the bacteria.

Wow, it's nice to see that once again the 6 months I spent getting certified as a waste water treatment operator are paying off for something.

On a side note, the salt used for highways in the winter is normally Calcium based (CaCl) and is very rarely sodium based (NaCL) like we use in our fish tanks. Even then, you often see all the grass burned along the highway edge as spring comes. At least until the other grass regrows over it again.

[datman422]

jeffhaag "Wow, it's nice to see that once again the 6 months I spent getting certified as a waste water treatment operator are paying off for something."

Coming from a person that has been a certified waste water treatment orperator. I will take your words in consideration when or where dumping my water. I normally dump it down my drains, but I sure there are others that maybe doing it illegally, and should discrete about it. thx fellow reefers

[charlesgage]

I dump it down the utility sink in my fishroom, where else? Don't tell me you have a 150 Gal with no utility sink.

[Saltz Creep]

I dump it in my neighbor's yard. He wonders why his lawn is dying.


Just kidding.

[Ancient Storm]

I dump it down a irrigation drain in my back yard. Can't be any worse than all the road salt / snow runoff up here in CT this time of year. I dont dump it dowwn the sink because we have septic.

[V4m8ION]

On my driveway. Most if not all of the water dries in the gutter.

[college429]

If you live near the ocean, don't dump in at curb. Some curb drains lead to the ocean if you live on the coast. Better then to dump in toilet, which goes to a treatment plant. You don't want to put non-native life in the ocean.

[ohioreef]

Originally posted by jeffhaag
On the otherhand, if you have a septic system, I would defiantely NOT dump it down your drain since you only have a few thousand gallons total capacity and the salt could cause issues with the bacteria.

I live out in the country and have a septic system. I don't really have anywhere else to dump it. If I flush it with freshwater as I dump it would that help any? I usually only dump 10 gallons or so at a time. I'd really hate to screw up my septic system.

[NewSchool04]

can our salt water be as bad as lets say draino? or the cholrine tablets that you put in the back of the toilet?

[Boat]

phipps,

I was at an on-site waste treatment seminar the other day. ie. septic systems and a little bit fancier septic systems. Water softeners came up in one of the discussions and one of the Professors said that even he didn't think there was any good data indicating a harmful effect from the salt concentrations on the functioning of the septic system. But he said that he witnessed, in his investigations, more suspended solids going out to the field due to the hydraulic loading (amount of water) on the field due to the backflushing of the softener. In other words - it stirs up your septic tank. That's not a good thing. I wouldn't be worried about a little salt from your water changes though. Storm drains usually lead to rivers/oceans so I think invasive species is a serious concern there.

[Ree4]

In the street. And it helps melt the ice at the end of my drive way in the winter.

[ohioreef]

Boat,

Thanks for the info. My softener does empty into the septic system as well.

[Radicaljbr]

Mine goes into the utility sink 20 feet away.

Sometimes I fill the bath up and put my kids in there. I then tell them it is the Ocean. "No really" I tell them "Taste the salt?" "See...Ocean water"

They still do not buy it.