Water Change Waste Drains vs Buckets

[NeonRabbit221B]

My fish room is on the bottom floor of my town home and the tanks are on carpeted floors (spill mats extend about 1 foot around tank). Also on the bottom floor is the HVAC room and laundry room as well as access to the garage. I have only been here 3 weeks and have found lugging buckets either upstairs to the nearest bathroom or out to the street to be exhausting. Two options that I see are the HVAC condensate drain and the washing machine drain. Can I use the HVAC condensate line to dispose of saltwater and/or freshwater? The washing machine's drain is a little further and about 3' off the ground but that is another option. This is a brand new home so I would rather not destroy the carpets with every spill/splash but also don't want to cause any major issues.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Obligatory I'm not a plumber, however I don't see why you wouldn't be able to dump down either drain. A drain is a drain is a drain. The only considerations I may think of is the volume of water, may take a bit to get it all down, and salt/mineral buildup. Maybe chase the salt water with some fresh to be on the safe side.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I appreciate the advice. I will likely use it primarily for the freshwater tank as its a 75G heavily overstocked so I do about 30% every other week. I will at the very least flush it and avoid dumping sandbed gunk.

 

[cedric von puffington]

One other thing to think about on the ac drain is if it is plumbed into the sewer or not. Mine is just stubbed out the slab on the back side of the house and I sometimes have a puddle where the condensation comes out. If you use it you could end up with a good size puddle in the yard and if you drain saltwater through it you could end up with a dead patch in your grass. Again all this is dependent on if it just comes out the slab and drains out or if it is routed back into the main sewer line.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I guess on the next day without rain I will pour some tap water down the drain and walk around the house. I am no fan of dead grass and a mad landlord

 

[mrpizzaface]

Depending on the construction of the condensate pump saltwater may cause damage due to corrosion. I would probably drain into a Rubbermaid bin and use a transfer pump to empty into the washing machine drain.

Ultra Zero Utility Pump

The Sicce Ultra Zero is a multi-purpose utility pump, perfect for when you just need a sturdy pump to move water from one place to another, such as for pumping freshly mixed saltwater to your tank after a water change, or refilling reservoirs. The Ultra Zero has plenty of power to pump water...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[sp1187]

don't use buckets, use 5 gallon Abso-Pure Water containers.
syphon into them, cap them off. carry to the sink. no spills.

edit: disregard. missed the "exhausted lugging". I need more caffeine.

 

[WVNed]

I used Brut cans on wheels that I rolled between the kitchen and tank at the old house.

 

[John08007]

Doesn't the condensation drain go outside? Here they drain to the outside of the home and not into the sewer

 

[StlSalt]

I drain RODI and Saltwater water down my condensate drain, accidentally, all the time. Why can't I set a timer? The grate on top of the drain is a rusty mess, hope yours is PVC.

PS. mine does go into the sewer system.

 

[John08007]

It makes no sense to me why a building code would allow this to down the drain. Its for the most part clean water that then needs to be treated at the sewer plant when it could just drain into the grass next to the house

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Carpet floors will likely make brutes a no go I think. I havn't wheeled around a brute filled with water on carpet but I would think it would be hard to push.

I drain RODI and Saltwater water down my condensate drain, accidentally, all the time. Why can't I set a timer? The grate on top of the drain is a rusty mess, hope yours is PVC.

PS. mine does go into the sewer system.

My grate appears to be metal from what I remember seeing last night. Might borrow one of the pipe travel cameras from work to investigate.

It makes no sense to me why a building code would allow this to down the drain. Its for the most part clean water that then needs to be treated at the sewer plant when it could just drain into the grass next to the house

Probably because weirdos like us pour crap down them all the time haha

 

[Timfish]

But think of the excercize you're getting carrying 50 lb buckets up stairs! Think of it as multitasking, you're getting a workout and cleaning your tank at the same time.

 

[John08007]

My mixing station is in my garage, I have it hard plumbed with an iwaki pump. I then have one of those expanding hoses that I stretch into the house to add sait water for a water change, or to top off the auto container in my tank. To drain water I use a siphon and brute can, it slides but not easily. They do make vacuums with long hoses to drain the tank.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

But think of the excercize you're getting carrying 50 lb buckets up stairs! Think of it as multitasking, you're getting a workout and cleaning your tank at the same time.

3 weeks ago I move a 75G FW, 13.5G reef, 40G reef, 10G reef QT and 8G FW all within a week. About 10 buckets in circulation and had to move a heavy tilt trashcan to dump waste ro water on top of tanks killed me. Sunday night I slept through 3 alarms and got 14 hours of sleep. I am absolutely done with manually carrying buckets!

 

[Timfish]

3 weeks ago I move a 75G FW, 13.5G reef, 40G reef, 10G reef QT and 8G FW all within a week. About 10 buckets in circulation and had to move a heavy tilt trashcan to dump waste ro water on top of tanks killed me. Sunday night I slept through 3 alarms and got 14 hours of sleep. I am absolutely done with manually carrying buckets!

But think of the long term benefits!

All joking aside I can appreciate the labor involved in moving water. This may have already occured to you but as a short term stop gap solution you could dump buckets in the washing then turn the selector switch to the position that correlates with the end of a the last rinse cycle and let the washing machine dump it down the drain. At least it saves a few steps carrying buckets of water. Washing machines have to deal with moderately caustic soap or bleach solutions so short term saltwater shouldn't be an issue. Long term the above suggestion using a pump to pump to the washing machine drain seems the best solution to me since it avoids any possible corrosion issues with the HVAC.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Did a WC on my FW and using the condensate drain was so easy and quick. I think I will definitely be using the washer drain for SW which is a little closer to the reef tank anyways and I can pump it out if the sump with my build in ball valve on the manifold. Thanks y’all! Made my life a lot easier

 

[MnFish1]

My fish room is on the bottom floor of my town home and the tanks are on carpeted floors (spill mats extend about 1 foot around tank). Also on the bottom floor is the HVAC room and laundry room as well as access to the garage. I have only been here 3 weeks and have found lugging buckets either upstairs to the nearest bathroom or out to the street to be exhausting. Two options that I see are the HVAC condensate drain and the washing machine drain. Can I use the HVAC condensate line to dispose of saltwater and/or freshwater? The washing machine's drain is a little further and about 3' off the ground but that is another option. This is a brand new home so I would rather not destroy the carpets with every spill/splash but also don't want to cause any major issues.

I would get a python. You can use it to take water out - and you can use it to pump water back in. It shoudl have an adapter that would fit on your laundry sink.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I would get a python. You can use it to take water out - and you can use it to pump water back in. It shoudl have an adapter that would fit on your laundry sink.

Its essentially what I have made but an extra half step. For FW tank I bring my empty rolling trashcan inside, mix my water, use a long hose to drain into the condensate line and a pump to refill (smart plugs make this very easy). Not sure how I could do that with my laundry setup, I only have lines for hot and cold.

For SW right now I have gone back to the buckets. I had a big mixing container outside with about twice as much water as I need and the drain around the corner. Everything was going well until my pump didn't stop on the refill. I only do 5 gallons every every other week so its not too bad.

 

[[Cameron]]

Older thread but if you plumb it to the AC drain you risk growing some strange stuff in your ac line. Most people don't flush their ac lines frequently enough and end up having to call out hvac guys to pour vinegar down the line. Also as someone else noted it is likely your ac line is pushing water into a yard somewhere.