reef tanks and septic tanks

[El Camaron]

Just bought a new home and its an older style rancher which has a septic tank as sewage, is there any precautions i need to take, i know i will not be dumping my water change water in there or any other chemicals, but i do wash filters and buckets and pumps which are sometimes caked on with marine crap. Any advise is helpful, thanks in advance.

[epleeds]

congrats on the new home. Now time for the big tank.

[Dholmblad]

I have heard mixed things from posts on reefcentral. Some say they have done it for years, others say dont. I dont know if it is worse for me to dump down my septic or pour into the woods potentially harming large trees

[davelin315]

It's waste... isn't that what septic systems were designed to accommodate? I can't imagine that it would do any more harm than flushing your toilet, after all, urine has a specific gravity in the same range as the fish tanks we keep.

[zygote2k]

dump away.

[smallreef]

yeah not a big problem,, you may have to have your filters cleaned out more... and make sure to know where the overflow is... but other than that... have at it

Never had a problem with my septic,, it was only my husband and I and we had it pumped about every 3 years...

[Marc Weaver]

I have not had mine pumped in 7 years - and I have dumped thousands of gallons of saltwater down it. Some say the salt kills the beneficial bacteria in it, and some people say the salt corrodes the concrete inside of it. Who knows for sure, though? I'm not going to dive in it to check for damage LOL.

[smallreef]

I cant imagine salt corroding concrete, i mean maybe after a hundred years or so.. but the pilings in the ocean last for atleast 75yrs and thats ALL saltwater, lol

I could see it killing of some of the bacteria but i dont think anyone adds enough saltwater to their system in 1 blow to kill it all off...

EVEN if you havent had to have it pumped in 7 years,, you should still have someone come out and inspect it every 3 ish years

[wvreef]

septic tanks are made of a very high strength cement.... to be able to withstand the pressure and sewage that goes into them....salt will eat concrete but with all the water in the septic the amount of salt going into is no more than your urine....now if you were dumping salt mix down the drain then you will have a problem so you will be fine I dump mine down the drain all the time

[El Camaron]

Awesome, thanks for all the responses, its my first home with a septic tank and i may be all paranoid about what i can can not do, (is poop safe) LOL.

 

Epleeds, thanks man but no big tank plans for now at least, although there is plenty of room.

 

Marc Weaver, LOL dive in just once man, i tripple double dare you.

[tightline]

i just add a little extra yeast just dump a pack every so often in your kitchen drain

[Coral Hind]

This topic always seems to pop up every couple of years. First, salt will not damage the concrete and the EPA did research and found that small saltwater doses did not affect the bacteria's ability to process waste.

 

Reasons why I would be careful doing it are:

 

1) When the saltwater enters the septic tank it settles to the bottom because it is heavier. Over time this would raise the septic tank's SG to a point where the sludge that would normally sink to the bottom to be digested would now stay up in suspension and then enter the drainfield. These solids would then clog the drainfield sooner then is normal.

 

2) The sodium ions would create sodic soil or chemical clogging of the drainfield if clay is present in the soil. There are products that can break the chemical bond so if you do water changes then I would add that to your system routinely.

[SkiCurtis]

This topic always seems to pop up every couple of years. First, salt will not damage the concrete and the EPA did research and found that small saltwater doses did not affect the bacteria's ability to process waste.

I Also have a septic put have always dummed in my yard that drains in the woods and have wondered about dumping in my drain inside for a automatic water change system.

There are products that can break the chemical bond so if you do water changes then I would add that to your system routinely.

THANKS FOR THE INFO WHAT PRODUCTS? LIKE THE SEPTIC PRODUCTS LIKE RID-X

[overklok]

I would think if you flush the system with fresh water after a water change to dilute the salt water, it would help.

[Coral Hind]

THANKS FOR THE INFO WHAT PRODUCTS? LIKE THE SEPTIC PRODUCTS LIKE RID-X

 

Septic Seep or Septic Drainer are two. Basically anything that is a strong calcium or magensium based product will break the sodium bond.

[Coral Hind]

I would think if you flush the system with fresh water after a water change to dilute the salt water, it would help.

Even if diluted the drain field would still have to deal with the salt where it could bind up the soil. From what I have read the salt would first settle in the tank where it would displace solids and they would flow into the drain field increasing pathogens like E.coli. Some septic system's warranties are voided if substance like brine are added into the system.

[Coral Hind]

Water softners give off a brine waste from the units similar to us dumping out large volumes of tank water. Here is something from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management which talks about the displacement of solids and binding of soils.

 

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/permits/privwell/pdfs/backwash.pdf

[El Camaron]

i will be getting my tank pumped after one year so i know how bad it is, the next time will be in two years and if that is still good then i will wait 3-4 and so on up to a max of 5 years. I was not reccomended Rid X as is not high in bacteria, there are other products that are better thank Rid X, they just have good advertising.