Poll: What do you do with your old saltwater?

[dbl]

Curious what folks do with their old saltwater after a water change? I'm sure most just dump it and get rid of it. Are there other uses for it? At one point a long time ago, I offered it to local reefers who might be wanting to cure some rocks, start up a tank, whatever. Only once did someone take some to cure some rocks. I rarely do water changes anymore, but now it's just dumped out.

Anyone have any suggestions to reuse old saltwater? Let's here them.

 

[Billdogg]

I voted dump it, but if my QT is in use, I use water from the frag tank for it and then refill the FT with newly made saltwater, so I guess I do repurpose some of it.

When I kept freshwater tanks, I'd use that water on the houseplants.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I've seen signs saying that you're not supposed to drink it, but I like to make tea with it. Now I'm sick and don't know who to talk to.

 

[Cherub]

strange poll. I mean sure if you are starting a new tank or cycling rocks you might do it once to"kick start" maybe twice over the course of a few years? 99% of the time its going to get dumped. Not much use for it outside of that

 

[CindyKz]

I will be using mine to cure new rock soon

 

[Scotty Buttons]

Ive been pouring mine on this ugly Bush in my backyard hoping it'll kill it. But so far it looks stronger then ever.

 

[pelphrey]

Used to pour it in the yard, found it that's a good way to kill nice green grass. Into the sink it goes now!

 

[cracker]

I'll use to scrub off a rock when necessary or use some in a pinch if needed. But usually I pump down the utility sink.

 

[Oarrom]

I do a 20 gallon change on my 180 every 2 weeks and dump it over my brick driveway. It keeps it clean of grass and weeds. I do worry about corrosion on the cars but have been doing this for over 3 years and vehicles are fine.

 

[andrewkw]

I recycle mine a lot but in the end it ends up outside or down the drain.

I change about 12 gallons a week on my main display the first 2-3 gallons is detritus removal so that water goes outside so I'm not pouring shells and starfish down the drain. The remaining water is then used as a larger weekly water change in my frag tank (50 gallons), I then use the frag tank water for my sexy shrimp softy nano reef - this is a higher nutrient 10g so doing 40-50% water changes weekly when I feel like it works out fine. If I really want to get crazy I then reuse that water for my owlr (it's a fishless fowlr just sitting for now but eventually I'll get some fish in there).

So 12 gallons of water can cycle through up to 4 different systems. I should point out there is nothing "wrong" with the display tank water. I just like doing a weekly water change to remove some detritus and replace trace elements and just so I have a day once a week where I am examining the tank with no flow from above and other views I don't normally have. The frag tank doesn't get regular dosing just adjustments so the larger water change works to maintain ca/alk and the nano reef is just a softy only tank that is fed frequently. This sounds like a lot of work but really it doesn't take very long. The fact that I reuse the water is why I still haul a couple of 5g buckets. I could easily automate my main display water changes but prefer a more hands on approach.

 

[Mrx7899]

Down the drain

 

[Cherub]

Ive been pouring mine on this ugly Bush in my backyard hoping it'll kill it. But so far it looks stronger then ever.

that damages the soil for years. Nothing will grow there. Seems crazy. An old neighbor of mine used to pour gasoline on plants he didn't like. That sounded terrible too lol

 

[Crabs McJones]

I dump mine down the drain. Only running one tank, when I was running two (mine and my daughters) I would use water from my tank to change her tank. But have since taken her tank down. Maybe again one day.

 

[pelphrey]

that damages the soil for years. Nothing will grow there. Seems crazy. An old neighbor of mine used to pour gasoline on plants he didn't like. That sounded terrible too lol

That is what I ran into, I had to dig up some grass from the back of the yard and transplant is where I was pouring the salt water. I tried grass seed three times and finally gave up!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I pump it through my RO/DI unit and recycle it! It's the circle of life, but with water!

Just kidding, don't do that. Saltwater is really tough on reverse osmosis systems. I dump mine down the drain.

 

[Burrito]

down the drain but i just cured rocks for the last 2 months, so every 2 weeks i would take replace the water in the brute with display tank water. i think the rest will be used going forward for my QT.

do people keep their QTs running constantly, even when empty and no plans for stocking

 

[Retro Reefer]

A friend of mine that’s a plumber told me it’s beneficial to dump a large amounts of water down the toilet periodically to help flush the drain lines and dislodge build up.. so all my water from RO waist and water changes get dumped via 5 gallon buckets all at once down the thunder box

 

[408Dartfish]

I’ve been using mine to pour on my back patio. It’s scoots the stack of dog hair back there from my 3 dogs 2 husky 1 Dalmatian. Other than that I just dump it outside mostly. Dustin

 

[Waters]

I voted dump it.....I used to use some of it to kill weeds in various areas around my yard but all it did was promote crab grass lol.

 

[Zeal]

Dump it, Right now I have 5g setting outside with some live rock im trying to kill off.

Its sitting in over 100+ degree direct sunlight weather.. lol Good ol south florida

Edit: Would it be smart to use my old saltwater to start a new 65g setup?