Disposing of saltwater

[steelhealr]

Hi..so, all those saltwater changes add up over time. I think it is clear that if you have a sink disposal system, saltwater can affect the parts over time. But...any plumbers out there to comment on saltwater and septic tank/cesspools? Obviously if you have a direct connection to a sewer system, this not a problem. Comments? SH

 

[Navarre]

Hmm.. good question, never thought of that. I guess tahs mainly a US problem? Here in the UK we are usually connected stright ot hte sewers and thus the problem is solved.

 

[Opcn]

[in cheasy comercial voice] "Folks I'm not a plumber, and I don't play one on TV"
I'm relatively certain that you can't mess up a cesspool, isn't it just a giant storage tank?

I'll bet that if you did alot of major water changes you could hurt a setic system (but it would have to be alot or over a very long time) and I can't see how it would hurt your garbage disposal so long as you ran fresh water down after it. however, if you are really concerned you can lay out baking pans possibly with rocks in them to increse surface area and pour the salt water on them so that the water evaporates off leaving just the salt (wich you can deal with however you want)

 

[ecto1]

My sinks drain into our septic system, which drains somewhere on the far edge of our property. I've never really thought about it, but I guess I wouldn't worry too much. Just think of how much salt goes on the roads in the winter - saltwater tanks come nowhere near the environmental effects of de-icing roads.

As for pipes, most drain pipes are usually made of the same stuff we plumb our aquariums with, so I should hope it would be okay!

We have bigger things to worry about... like how to get rid of those pesky mantis shrimp.