Salt water and septics?

aj2001 · 03/22/2006, 04:22 PM

Got the commitment to day from the lender for my first house, already know which wall the new tank is going into, question is, Ive always been directly on sewer, and the new house is on a septic system, wondering how bad salt water is for a septic.....there's gonna be a big new tank in there as my baby sailfin and hippo aren't babies any more and need at least a 6 footer ... so there will be a lot of water going down the drain....anyone know?

piranhaking · 03/22/2006, 04:56 PM

i dont know if it would cause an issue or not. If you find out that it would just pour it out and dont put it down the drain. I would think it should work good to kill weeds.

gvibes · 03/22/2006, 04:56 PM

I remember that one of the intro-to-reef aquarium books I bought (sorry, forgot the name) saying that it won't be a problem - you just don't generate enough salt to do any damage.

I'm sure someone will have a better answer soon.

okreef98 · 03/22/2006, 04:57 PM

The saltwater could potentially wipe out bacteria in your septic.I wouldn't recommend it, But it depends on how big your septic is and how much "other" water is going through it. If you have a large septic and you flush, do laundry, diswasher, etc.. alot, then there shoud be no problem. You just dont want more saltwater than wastewater in your septic at any one time. Hope this helps

SaraB · 03/22/2006, 06:26 PM

I have a septic too and I avoid putting any saltwater in it. I am fortunate enough to have a ditch that my sump pump drains to, so I use that instead.

ohioreef · 03/22/2006, 06:29 PM

I have been dumping ~10g a week of saltwater down my drain every week for 2 years and haven't had any issues. I usually try to follow it with a good amount of fresh right behind it.

I've read several posts on this topic and the consensus usually is that it shouldn't be a problem.

aj2001 · 03/22/2006, 06:31 PM

According to the inspector, the septic tank is "oversized" for the home whatever that means, unfortunately no ditches around and the yard is level....it does back up to a cornfield,but I think the farmer would get suspicious if corn started dieing right behind my house.. Im looking at a 200gal + tank so theres gonna be some water needing to be disposed of at water changes.....

03/22/2006, 04:22 PM	#1
aj2001 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Rochester NY Posts: 240	Salt water and septics? Got the commitment to day from the lender for my first house, already know which wall the new tank is going into, question is, Ive always been directly on sewer, and the new house is on a septic system, wondering how bad salt water is for a septic.....there's gonna be a big new tank in there as my baby sailfin and hippo aren't babies any more and need at least a 6 footer ... so there will be a lot of water going down the drain....anyone know?

03/22/2006, 06:26 PM	#5
SaraB Coral Killer Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lemont, IL Posts: 4,461	I have a septic too and I avoid putting any saltwater in it. I am fortunate enough to have a ditch that my sump pump drains to, so I use that instead. __________________ Sara

03/22/2006, 06:29 PM	#6
ohioreef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Western Ohio Posts: 3,106	I have been dumping ~10g a week of saltwater down my drain every week for 2 years and haven't had any issues. I usually try to follow it with a good amount of fresh right behind it. I've read several posts on this topic and the consensus usually is that it shouldn't be a problem. __________________ Gary

03/22/2006, 04:56 PM	#2
piranhaking Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 321	i dont know if it would cause an issue or not. If you find out that it would just pour it out and dont put it down the drain. I would think it should work good to kill weeds.

03/22/2006, 04:56 PM	#3
gvibes Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 239	I remember that one of the intro-to-reef aquarium books I bought (sorry, forgot the name) saying that it won't be a problem - you just don't generate enough salt to do any damage. I'm sure someone will have a better answer soon.

03/22/2006, 04:57 PM	#4
okreef98 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: OKC, Oklahoma GO SOONERS Posts: 78	The saltwater could potentially wipe out bacteria in your septic.I wouldn't recommend it, But it depends on how big your septic is and how much "other" water is going through it. If you have a large septic and you flush, do laundry, diswasher, etc.. alot, then there shoud be no problem. You just dont want more saltwater than wastewater in your septic at any one time. Hope this helps

03/22/2006, 06:31 PM	#7
aj2001 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Rochester NY Posts: 240	According to the inspector, the septic tank is "oversized" for the home whatever that means, unfortunately no ditches around and the yard is level....it does back up to a cornfield,but I think the farmer would get suspicious if corn started dieing right behind my house.. Im looking at a 200gal + tank so theres gonna be some water needing to be disposed of at water changes.....