Water Change Waste Water

[jef4y]

Just a bit of food for thought for those with septic tanks and a fear that drained water is going to harm something. Reef water is almost identical in salinity and pH to human urine, so unless you're afraid of peeing in your septic too much, don't worry about dumping a few gallons of saltwater down it.

 

[sharkbait]

I just dump mine right outside. I have considered using it for bath water or to wash my clothes. Anyone have any bad results with using the waste water for washing clothes?

 

[grouper therapy]

Sharkbait;613645 wrote: I just dump mine right outside. I have considered using it for bath water or to wash my clothes. Anyone have any bad results with using the waste water for washing clothes?

Yes I tried it, the salt and detritus left a horrible odor in my wife's cloths(mine already had it) and corroded the washing machine.:lol2::lol2:Sorry could not resist. the OP was talking about the waste saltwater from a water change not ro waste water.

 

[eagle9252]

maybe you should rinse your water more before using it. :up:

grouper therapy;617058 wrote: Yes I tried it, the salt and detritus left a horrible odor in my wife's cloths(mine already had it) and corroded the washing machine.:lol2::lol2:Sorry could not resist. the OP was talking about the waste saltwater from a water change not ro waste water.

 

[acroholic]

JeF4y;613575 wrote: Just a bit of food for thought for those with septic tanks and a fear that drained water is going to harm something. Reef water is almost identical in salinity and pH to human urine, so unless you're afraid of peeing in your septic too much, don't worry about dumping a few gallons of saltwater down it.

Jeff,
What if you are doing a 25 gallon water change? How about 25 gallons of urine down the septic, hehehe!:tongue:

 

[enderg60]

mojo;203546 wrote: Boiling point for ammonia is -28F. I couldn't find the evap point for nitrates. I don't understand how the ammonia will recondense, since it's boiling point is so low, and it's doubtful that you'll supersaturate some kind of distilliation unit with so much ammonia that it'd condense.

Do you have any links or other supporting material?

Also- even if there were trace amounts of ammonia, and even salts (though I'm doubtful that salt can evaporate, since we're WELL below the boiling points at STP), I'm still at a loss as to why this would be more work for an RO unit than tap water....

Of course, all this is acedemic at this point, since it's unlikely I'll be creating a distillation unit in my attic anytime soon...

Boiling point of Ammonia is 100°F, freezes at 0°F its what the Fahrenheit scale is based off of(stupidly)


and on point my waste water goes out the back of my house and down the driveway to the storm system.

 

[slowjazz]

jgilley84;203365 wrote: I syphon into a bucket, the bucket goes straight down the toilet. and it has plenty of flow capacity to take it as fast as you can dump it

Wouldn't that increase your water bill? (sewer bill)

 

[dakota9]

^ You're only billed as much sewer as you spend in water.....

Edit: It would be odd to have a "sewage Meter".... hehe

 

[bulkrate]

So... just to hammer the septic vs. sewer disposal methodologies into the ground a bit more:

I'm on a septic system, have a small nano tank (9 gallon). Currently I have a 5 gallon bucket in which I keep the spent tank water post water change, about 2 gallons per week. I empty it at a nearby relative's house (on sewer) at the 3-4 gallon mark every couple of weeks.

Its a bit of a nuissance, but I've got a creek running on the edge of my property, so just about anything I dump in the gutter may as well be poured straight into it. I had to get a new drainage field dug in the last year (before I set up the tank), so I'm kinda gun-shy about what goes down the drain due to having some serious $$$ sunk there.

Am I being paranoid? Possibly. With that small quantity of water I've had a LOT of conflicting advice as to what can safely be done. One thing I do know...salt doesn't just "go away" in a septic system...I'm betting eventually it build up and have an impact (probably a negative one) either in the settling tank itself or in the soil surrounding the pipes in the drain field.

One of the few times I'd glad I went small on the reef tank. ;-)

 

[tony_caliente]

I discard the sea water in a bathtub drain, but I just bought a 85 gal rain barrel to collect the RODI waste water which I will use for my shrubs.

 

[spiderman097]

Straight down the toilet

 

[tuckdaway]

I have a tee in my main pump return that is tied into my drain in basement. I open the tee valve until i reach a preset level in my sump, close the tee, then press water change on Apex and my fresh mixture is added up to my level sensor in sump. Complete 10% water change takes about 5 min.

 

[eagle9252]

to the people that put it down the drain.

do you have septic or sewer?

Edit: how long have you done this?

when was the last time that your septic tank was pumped