I used ocean water! Whatcha think?

[Arkayology]

I just started my tank up 4 or 5 days ago with NSW and pre-cured LR from a local and everything seems to be fine. I just am wondering about where I am in the cycle.. or rather, If I will have one. I have seen no change in my Nitrates, Nitrites, pH or Ammonia at all and have been testing twice a day. pH is at 8.0 or so and all others are 0ppm. Anybody have any info on when they started their tank? I am new, but I was told to expect some die off and ammonia by now and I got nothing.

 

[Paul B]

Wouldn't use ocean water because of parasites

Using it for 40 years, maybe paracites show up after 41 years

 

[billsreef]

Wouldn't use ocean water because of parasites.

Fish parasites are typically found attached to the fish, not free floating in the water column. Besides, if that's really a worry, simply running the water through a 1 micron filter cartidge will more than suffice to remove any wee beasties

 

[Reefer Steve]

Paul B is the man I cant stress that enough

 

[Paul B]

Well, thank God I am not the Woman
I am a Man alright, I don't know the man of what though :dance:

 

[offroadodge]

If the ocean were availible to me i might try it. But yes i would probly go offshore a little to get my water.

 

[Paul B]

I like to take my water from here, the paracites get their little heads smashed against the rocks. I only collect the water when I can see the paracites holding their heads.

 

[ebman74]

I wish I lived closer to the coast! I fish in the Chesapeake Bay all the time, but I am pretty far up from the Ocean. Maybe I will fill my Bait Well and test the water.

 

[ocello]

+1 for fish coming from NSW not ASW. It's like a house plant. House many plants are "native" to houses! I did not read this thread line for line, but did anybody bring up estrogen? Aren't you afraid all you fish will turn female? Even in ASW, what is your source for your "starter" water or fresh water? Does RO eliminate estrogen?

 

[Beaun]

+1 for fish coming from NSW not ASW. It's like a house plant. House many plants are "native" to houses! I did not read this thread line for line, but did anybody bring up estrogen? Aren't you afraid all you fish will turn female? Even in ASW, what is your source for your "starter" water or fresh water? Does RO eliminate estrogen?

I believe the estrogen would have to be in their food for it to accumulate enough to be dangerous. Simply being in water with trace amounts wouldnt ahve much of an effect, IMO.

 

[floridazooguy]

I did some work and studies at te Bermuda aqurium and we pumped it from the ocean, but that is in the middle of the ocean, worked well.

 

[mainereef]

I have been using NSW for 6 years and have not noticed any ill effects. I live in Maine and the water is cold even in the summer. I bring a bucket or 2 in the house and put a heater and a power head in and as soon as it is up to temp I do the change. After the change the corals really perk up and the chromis go wild munching little critters. In the summer I collect it a few miles offshore and in the winter I get it from a deep water cove that has no rivers near by.
This is a pic of my tank yesterday, not the greatest but I enjoy it and don't put a lot of effort into it either.

 

[Mike O'Brien]

Nice tank !

What salinity is the water you collect ? I've collected off the coast of MA and it's a bit low. I'm thinking of starting to do it again. I have a nice spot that i can collect it from.

 

[mainereef]

Thanks, the salinity of the collected water is a little low at 1.021. I add some NSW to my make up water reservoir to maintain the salinity in the tank between 1.023 and 1.024.

 

[Mike O'Brien]

Ah, thanks. I'll have to use some artificial salt to bring it up. My ATO is tied up with my alkalinity dose already.

 

[wgood33]

I am switching to natural seawater

I am switching to natural seawater

I read all 5 pages of this thread. I'm into this hobby 2 years now and have always mixed my water from an RO system. Never again, I live 1 mile from the beach... No more $48 buckets of salt. Yay! :spin3: Bill

 

[swifty]

You should wait till it has not rained for a while, as a added measure of safety.
The runoff from the rain could wash stuff like fertilizer or motor oil down to the coast.

+1 for no rain for a few days i do water changes w/ocean water sometimes and i allways wait for the top of high tide for the cleanest water

 

[robs.mark]

Ah, thanks. I'll have to use some artificial salt to bring it up. My ATO is tied up with my alkalinity dose already.

If you collected it a week prior to your water change id bet that evaporation would bring the salinity up that little bit, you just have to collect a little more that you actually need.

 

[Paul B]

I live 1 mile from the beach... No more $48 buckets of salt. Yay! Bill

Exactly, why wouldn't you?
Natural sea water is what 99% of our fish were in a couple of weeks before we bought them. Artificial sea water is just what it is called, artificial. No matter how much you pay for it it will never have all the chemicals in it that real ocean water has.
Yes of course ASW is safe to use, I also use mostly ASW but only because I don't live right on the ocean, if I did I would never buy the stuff. In the 40+ years I have been adding NSW I have never seen a problem, my tank has never crashed, most of my fish are spawning, what kind of problems are people looking for?
I have not seen a paracite in decades and I am collecting in New York.
How many years do I have to use NY NSW before I consider it safe?
Do they test cancer drugs for 40 years?
All you need is a little common sense. The places where our fish come from are not exactly pristine, I have been to many of those places, many of them don't even have sewage treatment facilities.
Use ASW if you have to but there is nothing wrong with NSW.
Most of the problems people associate with NSW is bacteria. Bacteria may be bad for us but it is easily removed for fish tanks.

 

[thebanker]

I like to take my water from here, the paracites get their little heads smashed against the rocks. I only collect the water when I can see the paracites holding their heads.

bahahaahaha, all you need to do is photoshop the guy holding a 5G blue life water container. :lolspin: