Natural Water

TitusvileSurfer

TitusvileSurfer

New member
Living so close to the ocean, I don't want to drain my wallet buying salt to mix with RO/DI water. I would use RO for my top offs, but since you have to let the mix sit in a tub anyway, if I put natural sea water in a tub for 6 weeks, wouldn't it be void of parasites without a host?
 
If you do put it in a tub you need to heat it and areate it or it will go bad and be useless. If the water is gathered from a known clean area with no man made pollution I would use it right away. I don't think I would store it. It has a good chance of going bad.

Unless the area is clean of man made pollution you may have problems.
That is really the big issue.

Regards,

Pat
 
Natural sea water is fine, if you can get a clean source, as suggested. You could put a pump in a tub and let the water sit to starve out any plankton, although lots of people in your area use it untreated and like effects of the food that the tank gets that way.
 
I have an extra benefit working for NASA. They have a stretch of beach 40 miles long that nobody can access without a badge. I go fishing there often and generally have the beach to myself as far as the eye can see in both directions. Any boats that dare get anywhere close are chased off by the air force. I would be collecting the water right from shore, but with no boats, buildings, or even people for many, many miles would it matter? I'm not sure if the sand there is argonite based or not, but could natural beach sand from this area serve as good live sand in a tank? For those of you who might say "You can't take sand from a beach like that regardless" I could get clearance to.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9528927#post9528927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PatMayo
If you do put it in a tub you need to heat it and areate it or it will go bad and be useless. If the water is gathered from a known clean area with no man made pollution I would use it right away. I don't think I would store it. It has a good chance of going bad.

Unless the area is clean of man made pollution you may have problems.
That is really the big issue.

Regards,

Pat
Click to expand...



cute cat photo. i think its safer to just mix your own.
 
Who says you have to mix salt and let it sit? Unless you have a HUGE tank and its more efficient to do it that way I do maybe 1-3 5 gal buckets worth of changes in an average week depending on which tank(s) and how badly they need it and how much RODI water i have handy

To me the money in this hobby comes from setting up initially and buying livestock down the road. If you buy a big thing of salt you wont run out of it unelss you're setting up a tank right off or are doing ginormous water changes

As long as the SG and PH are right and the salt is well homogenized with the water so there aren't small particles that could burn the critters in the tank, no need to make it sit?
 
Actually NASA employs a pretty wide range of people... there's a lot of recent graduates who I am guessing don't make that much $$.. they really aren't on my list of employers for when I graduate but the commute is a little far from Orlando anyhow :(

If you really are interested in natural sea water you should try contacting Harbor Branch institute- they bring it in from a mile offshore but have special ways of filtering it but maybe they could give you some tips?
 
Harbor Beach Institute? Thanks, the money isn't really the issue. I just can't see living a stones throw away from the ocean, going to the ocean multiple times every week regardless, and using artificial water designed to replicate the ocean.
 
I get my water Free from the end of Scripps pier of oceanography they use the water for the stephen Birch Aquarium up on the hill and it goes through a filtering system down to 4 micron, after that it's Pumped up to them. My corals look awesome after a water change . My saying is what's good for there tanks, is good for my own.
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9538981#post9538981 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 0 Agios
You work fo NASA and dont want to spend for salt?
Click to expand...


I was thinking the same thing when I read the post about NASA! :D
 
The money isn't that big of a deal. I just can't see paying to try and replicate something the best I can (and never get it quite right anyway), when it occurs naturally in abundance in my own backyard. Is there an established method of filtering natural sea water after collection?
 
If one is worried about parasites then a canister filter with micron cartridge will eliminate them in short order. Better than using a six week quarantine IMO. Interestingly, ich is seldom or ever found in fish living in the natural environment. The same seems to be true for velvet.
 
I know this area well. The sand is technically aragonite based, yes. You could certainly use it - clear it of the small coquina clams first or you'll have one heck of an ammonia problem. (Can you tell I've had the experience of rotting clams in my tank?)

I have not had trouble using substrate from the less-traveled areas of Playalinda, just dont get close to the dunes and stay well clear of the turtle nests that will start appearing about a month from now. ;)

The water is a slightly different story, but I think its useable. I would not make a trip down to HBOI myself (a good two hour trip) just for saltwater, personally. You can collect from the shoreline, seive it to remove large plankton to prevent problems later on. If you want the plankton, thats a gamble. Its up to the person how far they want to take using a natural source.

I'm sure you know, but ocean water off a natural refuge and closed area doesnt guarantee it will be super clean. Its downstream of something afterall. :) With the strong easterly winds we've been having, and the high surf, any coastal related pollution may be minimized. It might be a great time to collect.

I would not advise using water from the lagoon system.

>Sarah
 
Someone from Melbourne who knows the same stretch of sand I'm referring to, what luck! I surf Playlainda lot 5 regularly. It's a great beach, though the NASA side is even more pristine. I have access onto the NAVY base in Port Canaveral just inside the inlet as well. If I collected with an incoming tide, perhaps I could find a more offshore sample? The nuclear subs, battleships, and cruise ships might counter that theory however.
 
I use exclusively natural sea-water.

I get mine from a public aquarium and it has been tested and filtered so I know that it is clean.

I usually use about half right away and the rest I store in drum for a few weeks till needed, I have had no problems with the water going bad.
 
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