Hi I'm new here! Recently all my clownfish died because of ich. I didn't know what it was. But now I have read up about it and want to start again. I need to be ready for multiple water changes etc. I have been buying marine salt powder from the pet shop to make up seawater for my tank. But I live by the sea and if I boil up the seawater will that be OK? I would test it for salinity before use. But does boiling alter the water chemistry in some bad way?
Is it OK to boil seawater?
- Thread starter sardinops
- Start date
flamingdragon
New member
As he said, you might introduce oils and what not to your tanks
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
You need to sterilize everything that was in the tank with the clownfish... Heaters,filters,rock,sand ect... You could raise the temp in the tank to 140 degrees for a day or two which will kill the ich. If getting water from the open ocean you won't be bringing ich back into the tank that way since ich falls off the fish as a tomont where it then produces theronts by the thousands which lay and wait for a host. In open water the chances of getting the theront stage of ich is minimal at best. Also a totally sterile environment isn't good for a fishes immune system anyway
H2OCulture
New member
No need for 140 degrees to kill ich. Just bump the water to 90 or so for a couple of days. Allow the tank to rest for 3 weeks for the organism to run its course. Don't get water from the shore unless you live in a pristine place. You could boil it, but UV is a better long term solution.
gone fishin
New member
I would also surmise depending on how aggressive the boiling, water will be steamed off leaving a highly saline solution needing fresh water added back to it.
Many thanks for all these replies. Yes I understand about oils, toxins and pollutants. Just curious why a brief boil would cause the calcium to precipitate out?
(in Japan here they charge about $10 for enough marine salt to make 50l which is SO expensive, hence my original question)
(in Japan here they charge about $10 for enough marine salt to make 50l which is SO expensive, hence my original question)
H2OCulture
New member
OH! You're in Sendai! Now I see.
こんにちは! I lived (and reefed) in Tokyo the past three years before moving back to America. Yeah, I totally understand your plight. Look up a Japanese mail order pet place called CHARM. They should be able to ship to you. Also, this is an incredible store in Tokyo. http://www.b-boxaquarium.com/ They should be able to ship to you as well. I was able to buy the boxes of Reef Crystals for about $70. Not super cheap, but not terribly expensive either.
PM me with specific questions about keeping an aquarium out there, I can probably help.
がんばろう!!
こんにちは! I lived (and reefed) in Tokyo the past three years before moving back to America. Yeah, I totally understand your plight. Look up a Japanese mail order pet place called CHARM. They should be able to ship to you. Also, this is an incredible store in Tokyo. http://www.b-boxaquarium.com/ They should be able to ship to you as well. I was able to buy the boxes of Reef Crystals for about $70. Not super cheap, but not terribly expensive either.
PM me with specific questions about keeping an aquarium out there, I can probably help.
がんばろう!!
haha! こんにちは！ Yes been here for years. Actually the price is more like $20 for 50l. I bought my clownfish in a pet store. I'm pretty sure they were infected with ich, because they were all dead within a month even though I was careful with filtration, temp, salinity etc. This time I will be more vigilant. 頑張ってみます
disc1
-RT * ln(k)
Because that is the nature of calcium carbonate. It has to do with the constant struggle between enthalpy and entropy. In a nutshell, calcium carbonate exhibits retrograde solubility. That is to say it is more soluble at low temperatures and high pressures. Exactly the opposite of most salts. It's already supersaturated under normal conditions. When you heat it to boiling you drive the solubility down to almost nothing. Therefore, it precipitates out.
oh207
Member
As previous posts mentions, boiling saltwater will only kill off organic/living matter. Heavy metals, oils, etc will remain. Also boiling will change the Cal/Alk of the water and also the salinity, provided that the boiling is long enough to allow water to evaporate.
If you would still like to give it a try, boiling wouldn't be my first recommendation. I would recommend running carbon and GFO for some time. Some public places does use seawater, but they source it far from land (to avoid impurities from runoff land water) and they filter it and run it through UV to kill off bacteria, etc.
If you would still like to give it a try, boiling wouldn't be my first recommendation. I would recommend running carbon and GFO for some time. Some public places does use seawater, but they source it far from land (to avoid impurities from runoff land water) and they filter it and run it through UV to kill off bacteria, etc.
Granular Ferric Oxide
