dputt88
Active Member
ok so i have read several other threads on this topic but there are usually flaws within the discussion. so in an attempt to give me some clear direction on how to handle my waste saltwater im going to list what i have found and potential problems to be considered when discharging salt water.
im about to setup a 300+ gal system while on a septic system. i have two option on how to plumb the drains for water changes. option one is into a typical drain that leads to the septic tank. option 2 is to the sump pump located in the crawl space which discharges on the lawn off the side of the house.
first off, we do use a softener. at a high salt concentration, water softener discharge is about 10,000 ppm or 1% salt. softeners will discharge about 50-100 gals when recharging. i will have to look into the specifics for our tank.
does the softener discharge drain into the septic tank? a friend of mine who has installed several septic fields said that it would not discharge into the septic. reason being is the salt would damage the cement tank. he said our softener discharge would be pumped out through the sump. my response was that we only added a sump to the crawl space a few years ago yet we had a softener for 30 years. Prior to the sump the salt drained into a pipe under the house but we had no idea where that pipe went.
saltwater from our tanks is around 35,000 ppm, or 3.5%. this is over 3 times the concentration of the softener discharge. however the volume may only be around 30 gal maybe 60 if i needed a big waterchange. also it wont be done as frequently as the softener recharges. a water change is essentially like adding a single additional recharge event, however the effluent is more concentrated and will require extra water to be diluted.
I'm thinking that the issues arising from the dilution of tank water can be minimized by planning water changes to coincide with regular household activities that produce gray water or water that isn't heavily concentrated with solutes. basically, do a water change before laundry day. while our washer is high efficiency i have read that a typical load of laundry discharges about 40 gal of water, let be on the safe side of this high efficiency washer and say that a load is 20 gal of water. a few loads of laundry on the weekend is typical. so if i do water changes on a Saturday morning while laundry is done afterwards we can quickly dilute the tank water into what a discharge even from the softener would be.
that only makes sense if the recharge water actually discharges into the septic. which i will have to check on
also, to wrap this up, many are worried about the bacteria in the tank. I'm not convinced that the salt water from water changes is enough to do much since our tank is regularly maintained.
anyways looking for some input on where to plumb these drains
im about to setup a 300+ gal system while on a septic system. i have two option on how to plumb the drains for water changes. option one is into a typical drain that leads to the septic tank. option 2 is to the sump pump located in the crawl space which discharges on the lawn off the side of the house.
first off, we do use a softener. at a high salt concentration, water softener discharge is about 10,000 ppm or 1% salt. softeners will discharge about 50-100 gals when recharging. i will have to look into the specifics for our tank.
does the softener discharge drain into the septic tank? a friend of mine who has installed several septic fields said that it would not discharge into the septic. reason being is the salt would damage the cement tank. he said our softener discharge would be pumped out through the sump. my response was that we only added a sump to the crawl space a few years ago yet we had a softener for 30 years. Prior to the sump the salt drained into a pipe under the house but we had no idea where that pipe went.
saltwater from our tanks is around 35,000 ppm, or 3.5%. this is over 3 times the concentration of the softener discharge. however the volume may only be around 30 gal maybe 60 if i needed a big waterchange. also it wont be done as frequently as the softener recharges. a water change is essentially like adding a single additional recharge event, however the effluent is more concentrated and will require extra water to be diluted.
I'm thinking that the issues arising from the dilution of tank water can be minimized by planning water changes to coincide with regular household activities that produce gray water or water that isn't heavily concentrated with solutes. basically, do a water change before laundry day. while our washer is high efficiency i have read that a typical load of laundry discharges about 40 gal of water, let be on the safe side of this high efficiency washer and say that a load is 20 gal of water. a few loads of laundry on the weekend is typical. so if i do water changes on a Saturday morning while laundry is done afterwards we can quickly dilute the tank water into what a discharge even from the softener would be.
that only makes sense if the recharge water actually discharges into the septic. which i will have to check on
also, to wrap this up, many are worried about the bacteria in the tank. I'm not convinced that the salt water from water changes is enough to do much since our tank is regularly maintained.
anyways looking for some input on where to plumb these drains
