Pro's and con's
- Thread starter Chadly
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RichardinMA
Non-member
I've never done it myself so cannot speak from experience, however, my biggest concern would be regarding chemical contaminants. Without knowing what kind of effluent is being released nearby, or how currents are running, you just don't know what is coming in, when. Cleaning pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, etc... from the water would not be possible just using the skimmer and UV sterilizer. Unfortunately, the reality of our environment today would make me hesitant to use natural seawater, especially if it is collected close to shore.
CrypticLifeStyle
Non-member
I used it for a few months, and i was getting it at the shore line, but it's gotten too cold to walk in to my knees and fill up buckets right now lol. I had no issue's at the time, but location of the source is obviously important. There's so many agency's that monitor water you can probably track down quality reports, and find suitable area's. I really wish now i was testing it more then i was, or for more parameters to graph any inconsistency's.
I would never use the water around here. I thought about it because I am near Duxbury, but even around here the water is not good.
There is a lot of run off during winter.
When you think about it, it is more work to collect it and try to clean it than to just use reef crystals.
A UV and a Skimmer are fine, buf the problem is all the other crap, oils for example, that are mixed with the water.
There is a lot of run off during winter.
When you think about it, it is more work to collect it and try to clean it than to just use reef crystals.
A UV and a Skimmer are fine, buf the problem is all the other crap, oils for example, that are mixed with the water.
jdeb101
Non-member
Unless you house is on the shore line is it really worth it? Not only the risks, but the labor to get the water from the ocean to your house. You might as well just haul buckets back and forth from the LFS for a few bucks and rest easy knowing you don't have any pollutants. Just my 2 cents...
I did this three or four years ago. I'd only do about a 10% change using ocean water. I'd wait a couple of months before I'd use it again. In the mean time I'd do several water changes to dilute any contaminants I might be bringing in. I didn't skim or sterilize, just ran it through a filter sock. I never had any problems.
The pros were.
Great polyp extension for several hours after adding the ocean water.
The cons were
It took time and effort to collect the water and bring it home.
I was always nervous about what I might be adding to the tank.
What are you trying to accomplish? If it's just to save money,I'm not sure it's worth it.
The pros were.
Great polyp extension for several hours after adding the ocean water.
The cons were
It took time and effort to collect the water and bring it home.
I was always nervous about what I might be adding to the tank.
What are you trying to accomplish? If it's just to save money,I'm not sure it's worth it.
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Yes getting sea water requires a little work and time. I use six 6 gallon instant ocean pails and either go out with a friend a few miles on his boat while fishing or if I need it right away I go to a jetty local to my house and collect it. As for costs and storing, I run all the water through carbon and put it into my 60 gallon vat that I use for mixing water, aerate it for a few hours and use it. Now for cost, Salt runs 50.00 a box, Chemicals to adjust PH and such, RO/Di I just did a filter change cost me 55 bucks and I get roughly 500 to 600 gallons out of the filters due to chloramines. The best part of collecting my own sea water is Great looking corals and I get to spend time at the beach or on a boat with either friends or family.
Moe_K
Stabbed by Foulke
Here's a thread from almost 10 years ago discussing the subject of NSW:
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?4766-NSW-question&highlight=natural
Another one:
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?2766-Off-to-collect-NSW&highlight=natural
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?4766-NSW-question&highlight=natural
Another one:
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?2766-Off-to-collect-NSW&highlight=natural
panayiote73
Non-member
Do some research on how to collect and how to treat and do it. There will always be the naysayers. You think New England aquarium mixes reef crystals?? Look up Scripps Aquarium in San Diego they give away treated sea water to residents who bring their own containers. They only use sand filters. Wish neaq did that!
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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NE aquarium has thousands of square feet and the necesary equipment to clean the water, just like the Perco real ocean water. Most people have a small basement, limited time and limited resources.
No one is being negative. People are just saying that the risks and amount of effort involved outweight the benefits and cost savings.
Also, I believe there are aquariums that use synthetic salt. I believe that Chicago uses salt. (I might be wrong).
http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/79150-ramblings-old-reefer.html
Read this article and see how he use Ocean Water.
Read this article and see how he use Ocean Water.
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From the article I posted written by Paul B.:
......Another activity is the collection and use of Natural Sea Water. There is so much negative talk about this that is, in my opinion unwarranted. Yes, I know about pollution, parasites, bacteria, etc.; but all of the animals we buy came from NSW. Okay, so there is one or two clownfish that someone bought that were spawned in artificial sea water but the vast majority come from the sea. If you travel to some of the places where these animals are collected, you will see that many come from areas where there is no sewage treatment and the runoff from the land is far more than some of the coasts that most of us live.
Anyway, the good news is that natural sea water is “usually” safe to use almost no matter where you collect it providing you use some safeguards.**
I have been collecting sea water from the Long Island Sound right after it passes through New York City for almost forty years and have never had a parasite or bacterial disease associated from it. If the water doesn’t smell, I just adjust the temperature and salinity, filter it preferably through a diatom filter and dump it in. If I sense a problem like red tide, I add unscented regular bleach. Yes, bleach! I didn’t invent this. It was Robert Straughn, who is considered “The Father of Salt Water Fish Keeping”. Anyway, the dose is one tablespoon of “Regular” Chlorine bleach to five gallons of water.
“Unscented” bleach must be used. After a few days, I add twice the amount of chlorine remover and aerate for a day. There should be no chlorine smell, if there is I filter it through carbon and pour it in. If you don’t use unscented bleach, you will likely kill most if not all of your animals.**
If it scares you, try it on a damsel for a few days. No, I don’t want you to kill the little damsel. He will be fine. I have been doing it since Nixon was President (he was after Lincoln). If it really scares you, keep using the fake stuff, and if you use the wrong type of bleach and kill your fish, don’t call me. Someone once wrote me to complain that he killed all of his fish because I told him to add bleach to his reef. Don’t do that. (As a matter of fact, many of the things I do are considered by many to be not quite normal.)
So collecting sea water can be added as another phase in the hobby. Now, don’t go to a toxic waste dump and suck up water. A little common sense as to where to collect is wise. I am sure I don’t have to say, “Don’t collect near river mouths, sewage treatment plants or if there are signs that say “No Swimming” due to whatever.” While you are at it, and if there are no signs, take a swim and enjoy the beach and walk around in your speedo. Well, maybe all of us shouldn’t wear speedos, look in the mirror first or ask someone who is not related to you first.
......Another activity is the collection and use of Natural Sea Water. There is so much negative talk about this that is, in my opinion unwarranted. Yes, I know about pollution, parasites, bacteria, etc.; but all of the animals we buy came from NSW. Okay, so there is one or two clownfish that someone bought that were spawned in artificial sea water but the vast majority come from the sea. If you travel to some of the places where these animals are collected, you will see that many come from areas where there is no sewage treatment and the runoff from the land is far more than some of the coasts that most of us live.
Anyway, the good news is that natural sea water is “usually” safe to use almost no matter where you collect it providing you use some safeguards.**
I have been collecting sea water from the Long Island Sound right after it passes through New York City for almost forty years and have never had a parasite or bacterial disease associated from it. If the water doesn’t smell, I just adjust the temperature and salinity, filter it preferably through a diatom filter and dump it in. If I sense a problem like red tide, I add unscented regular bleach. Yes, bleach! I didn’t invent this. It was Robert Straughn, who is considered “The Father of Salt Water Fish Keeping”. Anyway, the dose is one tablespoon of “Regular” Chlorine bleach to five gallons of water.
“Unscented” bleach must be used. After a few days, I add twice the amount of chlorine remover and aerate for a day. There should be no chlorine smell, if there is I filter it through carbon and pour it in. If you don’t use unscented bleach, you will likely kill most if not all of your animals.**
If it scares you, try it on a damsel for a few days. No, I don’t want you to kill the little damsel. He will be fine. I have been doing it since Nixon was President (he was after Lincoln). If it really scares you, keep using the fake stuff, and if you use the wrong type of bleach and kill your fish, don’t call me. Someone once wrote me to complain that he killed all of his fish because I told him to add bleach to his reef. Don’t do that. (As a matter of fact, many of the things I do are considered by many to be not quite normal.)
So collecting sea water can be added as another phase in the hobby. Now, don’t go to a toxic waste dump and suck up water. A little common sense as to where to collect is wise. I am sure I don’t have to say, “Don’t collect near river mouths, sewage treatment plants or if there are signs that say “No Swimming” due to whatever.” While you are at it, and if there are no signs, take a swim and enjoy the beach and walk around in your speedo. Well, maybe all of us shouldn’t wear speedos, look in the mirror first or ask someone who is not related to you first.
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Jim Tansey
Well-Known Member
Their were several of us back in the day using NSW you can follow our experience with the links posted by Moe if your intrested. For the most part peoples reasons for not using it is nothing more than paranoia, just use some simple good practices collecting it and NO you don't need a boat and go fifty miles offshore. Years ago I would collect in Boston harbor and later from Falmouth harbor when I moved to the Cape. I did nothing to my water but kick up the Ca, Mg, Alk, & Temp I would collect one day and use it the next. Don't let anyone tell you you need a boat or these terrible bugs are going to destroy your tank, if you could see all the sea life swarming around my collection site you might be convinced it wont hurt your fish or marine life.
Jim
Jim
RichardinMA
Non-member
Since the OP asked for both the Pro's and Con's, I think he should be able to hear both. Like I said, I have not collected NSW myself but I am fairly educated on the ecological side of things, including contaminants, that were not a concern "back in the day", or decades ago. The simple fact of the matter is that the state of our oceans is very different than it was 20-30 years ago. Regarding the article cited above, I am not sure when that was written but the reference to the " one or two clownfish that someone bought that were spawned in artificial sea water " makes me wonder just how old it is. I also don't agree with the idea that if the fish are healthy swimming in the water in the ocean then they should be fine in it at home. A fish swimming on the open reef is a very different situation than when they are stuck in our little glass boxes and placed under more stressors than they would have in the wild. They are not even swimming in the "same water", day after day after day as currents are constantly flushing new water though the area.
If you are doing it and it is working, great. I am not saying that it can't. However, I don't think it is valid to just discount away concerns about fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, human pharmaceuticals and other potential contaminants that wastewater plants are not effective at removing as "paranoia". These things are having very real effects on algae growth in both fresh and marine systems, deformities and reproductive aberrations in amphibian species as well as other ecological impacts that are not even fully understood. These things were not happening even ten years ago in some cases. How many petroleum or other chemical spills have happened in rivers just during this past winter here in the US? True, these things are not present in all water all the time, however it is a possibility and the OP needs to decide if they feel it is worth the risk. As far as commercial aquariums sourcing ocean water goes, I work with a couple of them and will have to verify this, but as far as I know their intakes are further offshore, not miles, but still not on the immediate coastline. They are also fairly deep and not skimming surface water as we would do with our buckets. Again, it is up to the OP to decide what to do.
If you are doing it and it is working, great. I am not saying that it can't. However, I don't think it is valid to just discount away concerns about fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, human pharmaceuticals and other potential contaminants that wastewater plants are not effective at removing as "paranoia". These things are having very real effects on algae growth in both fresh and marine systems, deformities and reproductive aberrations in amphibian species as well as other ecological impacts that are not even fully understood. These things were not happening even ten years ago in some cases. How many petroleum or other chemical spills have happened in rivers just during this past winter here in the US? True, these things are not present in all water all the time, however it is a possibility and the OP needs to decide if they feel it is worth the risk. As far as commercial aquariums sourcing ocean water goes, I work with a couple of them and will have to verify this, but as far as I know their intakes are further offshore, not miles, but still not on the immediate coastline. They are also fairly deep and not skimming surface water as we would do with our buckets. Again, it is up to the OP to decide what to do.
Jim Tansey
Well-Known Member
Wow "decades ago" I'm an old guy but I'm really not talking 50-80 years ago, actually a lot of our harbors and inshore waters are a lot cleaner than even twenty years ago. As with any post this is just my opinion and as you stated he should be able to hear both views, my experience tells me their is a lot of "paranoia" surrounding this issue having collected a lot of NSW I know it works and works well.
Jim
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