Jeff & Norlaine Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hi, We're moving to Calgary from Winnipeg this month. We are excited about the move but concerned about our marine aquariums. We have two salt tanks, 1 180g reef tank and a 135 FOWLR. Our house west of Calgary has community water but a septic field so we have a lot to think about in terms of how we are going to make this work. We would like to set up a single tank roughly 120"x30"x28". Any suggestions on tank/cabinet builders and having a tank with a septic field is much appreciated. Wish us luck!! Jeff & Norlaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSerpant Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 I'm sorry but i don't know anything about the septic kind of thing, maybe somebody else knows? I wish you luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Just curious, why would a septic system matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybrid Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 maybe invest in a R/O unit!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobies et al Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Having lived in the country, I understand what you are getting at. Probably companies that sell water conditioners could give you a more accurate answer. We ran a water conditioner with huge amounts of NaCl that surface drained, not a field, without a problem. When I switched a fresh water tank to a brackish, I was advised that the existing bacteria would probably not tolerate the salinity, so go slow, and other bacteria would establish with the increase of salinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Just curious, why would a septic system matter? Because liquid waste is channeled from the tank into a series of underground pipes where it is released into the soil (usually underneath the lawn) and broken down by bacteria. I'm guessing salt water would kill the lawn, hence the original poster's dilemma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Just curious, why would a septic system matter? Because liquid waste is channeled from the tank into a series of underground pipes where it is released into the soil (usually underneath the lawn) and broken down by bacteria. I'm guessing salt water would kill the lawn, hence the original poster's dilemma. gotcha. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 (edited) :welcome: to not only AA but to ALBERTA! We live on a farm right now, we don't have salt water tanks, but I can suggest that when you empty your tank, put it into a tub or several tub's, then locate NewAlta company (disposal company) they dispose of all kinds of chemicals, so they would take your water no problem. Keeping in mind we have a softener on our well water and it is disposed of over ground. It is not as salty as your tanks, but so far we have not had any problems. we go through 5bags of salt per month, and the quack grass loves it! So do the other grasses. Good luck with your move and again Welcome! Lana Edited August 6, 2008 by Lana Bollers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 :welcome: to AA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomdweller_fan Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 :welcome: Welcome to Alberta Aquatica! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff & Norlaine Posted August 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Thanks for all the welcomes! We have had lots of responses from different forums on the septic topic and have done some further research (way too much technical reading!). Some of the first posts we read on this subject said it would ruin our septic field - that could be a $10k - $20k or more problem. Upon further research it seems this likely won't be a problem if we keep control of the water changes so we are going to go ahead and set up the tank and investigate practices that limit the amount of water changes. Thanks again for the welcomes. Jef & Norlaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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