Is it OK to drain salt water into septic system?

[byron]

We are starting to build a reef system in our new home which is on well water and septic system - first time on well.

So I'm wondering if its OK to just pump salt water in the drain when doing water changes or it the salt water will destroy the bacteria in the septic system and sand mound?? It will be 465g DT with 250g sump/refug so water changes will periodically be dumping a lot salt in to the drain if I do that way.

I never gave it any thought until my FIL asked me if I had checked that out. He's thinking it might be a bad idea??? I havent a clue.
I'm hoping some of have experince with that?

 

[Reef Breeders]

I have a septic system, no ill effect

 

[swannyson7]

If it's a huge amount of saltwater, it'll kill off the bacteria and make your septic fill up faster. You can try to counter that to an extent by using a bacterial additive like Rid-X after allowing a day or two for the saltwater to be flushed into the leeching field.

 

[byron]

thanks for the replies...

swannyson7, so a 20% water change is ~100g, would you call that huge? or if I did 10% every other week, we be dumping 50g??

anemonekeeper, how much ar you dumping at a time with no effect?

 

[Reef Breeders]

I dump about 15 galllons max, and most of the time I just dump it in a gravel area near the garden. Honestly, it all just goes into the ground anyways, and 100 gallons with 3.5% of salt in it, so 3.5 gallons of salt, will do nothing. An average shower uses 2.1 gallons a minute, multiply that by 45 minutes, and for 4 people, you get 378 gallons of fresh water, not to mention that each toilet flush uses about 1.5 gallons. So the amount of salt is too minute to do harm, I would be more concerned with using well water, as it will degrade rodi filters very fast, so get a good one!

 

[swannyson7]

I agree that 100g per month is minimal given the average household water usage. If it tickles your fancy, you may want to use a bacterial additive a couple times per year just to be on the safe side, but completely uneccesary IMHO.

However, I disagree about the caution for using well water seeing as water quality varies so much between locations based on depth of your well, geological makeup of the earth it's dug in, etc. My well water is only 60ppm TDS going into my RO/DI which is lower than the majority of (if not all) municipal water systems, so it isn't as cut and dry as "well water = BAD for filters & DI resin."

 

[typicaltony]

I dump about 5g each time with no ill effect but I heard from a friend awhile back that dirty sw is beneficial to the septic system, never really researched much into it.

If you are really worried, why not dump it in the shower tub or sink?

 

[WesF]

I do big water changes do I just pump mine out into the natural area in my yard.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I would not put saltwater into a septic system. One, for the impact it could have on the bacteria and; Two, for the poisoning of the drainage field. Salt doesn't evaporate and will continue to build up in the drainage field to the point of killing the vegetation. Dump it at the curb and have the volumes of rainwater wash it away. It's a fraction of the salt the road department throws down on the roads in the northeast

 

[Engloid]

I dump about 5g each time with no ill effect but I heard from a friend awhile back that dirty sw is beneficial to the septic system, never really researched much into it.

If you are really worried, why not dump it in the shower tub or sink?

Typically, ALL the water from the house goes into the septic system, not just toilet water. If somebody has city or county sewage, they'd not want to pay the expense to separate their toilet plumbing from it and have a septic system and put the rest into the city/county system.

I would not put saltwater into a septic system. One, for the impact it could have on the bacteria and; Two, for the poisoning of the drainage field. Salt doesn't evaporate and will continue to build up in the drainage field to the point of killing the vegetation.

Usually, a drain "field" is underground, so killing vegetation isn't going to be a problem.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Usually, a drain "field" is underground.......

Surprisingly so are the roots of plants! :bigsmile:

 

[byron]

thanks all... lots of varying opinions

and there is no curb to dump by, house is out in a field in the middle of 24 acres, 1000 ft drive way back to the road.

I never even gave ant thought until this morning with my FIL asked how I was going to handle. It's one piece I just never thought through.

btw, RO/DI is BRS 150gpd 6 stage with a booster pump to bring up pressure from well. I have a well water test done and I think I'm OK.

 

[AZDesertRat]

There have been many studies over the years on the effects of saltwater brine from water softeners in septic systems and surprisingly it often has positive effects. The saltwater helps break down clay soils and make leach fields work better.
The salt content in a reef tank is much much lower than that of a water softeners backwash and usually in much lower quantities so flush away with no problems.

 

[Engloid]

Surprisingly so are the roots of plants! :bigsmile:

Do you have grass that grows roots 4 to 6 feet deep, or do you actually plant trees on top of your drain field? Either way, any plant that grows that deep will have roots in many directions and not be harmed by your drain field.


What do you think all your household cleaners are dooing to your plants?

 

[byron]

There have been many studies over the years on the effects of saltwater brine from water softeners in septic systems and surprisingly it often has positive effects. The saltwater helps break down clay soils and make leach fields work better.
The salt content in a reef tank is much much lower than that of a water softeners backwash and usually in much lower quantities so flush away with no problems.

I'm going with the answer I wanted to hear

 

[swannyson7]

AZ is the man to listen to, seeing as he has a background in water treatment. I always read that it could be problematic in large volumes, but it's great to hear from an expert!

 

[byron]

AZ is the man to listen to, seeing as he has a background in water treatment. I always read that it could be problematic in large volumes, but it's great to hear from an expert!

thanks all... I'm feeling much better now.

btw AZ, UofAz grad, but back around the time they invented dirt I go back to Tucson off and on -- still have relatives out that way.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I was around when dirt was invented also. I have worked in the water and wastewater utility and well driling industry in AZ since 1974 so been around a few days myself.

 

[Reef Man]

There have been many studies over the years on the effects of saltwater brine from water softeners in septic systems and surprisingly it often has positive effects. The saltwater helps break down clay soils and make leach fields work better.
The salt content in a reef tank is much much lower than that of a water softeners backwash and usually in much lower quantities so flush away with no problems.

Interesting. Can you share the studies? I am interested on them.
Thanks!

Enviado por medio de tapatalk!

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

FWIW - My water softener uses 14 lbs of salt with each regeneration (about every 10 days totaling about 42lbs per month.) For the past 20 years, that has been drained to my septic tank and field with no problems. That is in addition to ~40 gallons of saltwater from water changes each month.

The Effect of Sodium Salt on Septic Systems
Common knowledge supports that higher levels of sodium salt can have a direct impact on bacterial life forms. For instance, most bacteria usually found in fresh water ecosystems would be unable to live in a high salinity environment like an ocean. For this reason, concern was generated that septic systems that rely so heavily on bacterial action may be effected by high concentrations of sodium.

These concerns seem to be unwarranted. First, a typical residential sized water softener discharges between 40 and 70 gallons of water per regeneration. Through much of the regeneration process, fresh water is discharged, containing no salt at all, so the total concentration of salt is very dilute. However, during some stages of regeneration, the sodium concentration can reach as high a 5,000 to 10,000 ppm for brief periods of time.

To see if this level of sodium effected microorganisms typically found in anaerobic on-site septic systems, a study was performed that exposed these microbes to a worst case scenario of 10,000 ppm brine solution. The study concluded that “there were no statistically significant differences in the metabolic activity of the microbial communityâ€, and that it was “unlikely that failures in domestic water treatment system are the result of exposure to the brine from home water softeners.†(1)

Other studies indicate that the effect of putting softened water into septic system can actually be beneficial. There is a very low amount of sodium contained in softened water. For every grain of hardness removed, approximately 8 ppm (parts per million) of sodium is added. Although some naturally occurring water sources have very high sodium levels, softened water normally has a slightly elevated sodium level vs. untreated hard water. While this concentration is normally insignificant at typical hardness levels, these higher sodium levels are more in the optimal range for septic system bacterial growth, and can promote bacterial development.(2,7)

An article detailing the impact (or lack thereof) saltwater has on a drain field is available at The Effect Of Water Softener Discharge On Septic Systems