I have a crazy idea, but please hear me out. And please understand that my past actions and current proposal are not a judgment call on anyone here.
I ran a 33 long mini-reef for a number of years about 10 years ago, and took it down after learning a few things. I live in the Mississippi River watershed in a major city, and learned that all of the water that leaves my house ends back up in the river. I also learned that the world's freshwater supply is getting saltier every year, which has a lot of negative implications. It's such a problem that our city asks us to limit salt use on sidewalks during the winter, and asks us to sweep up unused salt when the ice thaws.
I checked with my city, and it does not desalinate waste water before it is returned to the Mississippi River. The reality is that few places desalinate water, because it's a highly expensive and complicated process. That meant my tank was dumping salt into the river, so I stopped reefing, even though it was a small tank and my individual contribution was just a drop in the bucket.
But I'm getting the itch to keep a low-maintenance reef tank again.
I've researched how to desalinate saltwater at home (boiling or baking until all water evaporates and only the salt and minerals remain). Some people do this to make their own sea salt for cooking.
I'm thinking that if I kept a smaller tank (15-20 gallons, or maybe even 10), a 10% weekly water change would be manageable and I could desalinate water at home to avoid contaminating the Mississippi River. If I did this, could I re-use the salt to mix water for my tank? Or would the salt and minerals somehow retain nitrates and ammonia?
Thank you for reading.
I ran a 33 long mini-reef for a number of years about 10 years ago, and took it down after learning a few things. I live in the Mississippi River watershed in a major city, and learned that all of the water that leaves my house ends back up in the river. I also learned that the world's freshwater supply is getting saltier every year, which has a lot of negative implications. It's such a problem that our city asks us to limit salt use on sidewalks during the winter, and asks us to sweep up unused salt when the ice thaws.
I checked with my city, and it does not desalinate waste water before it is returned to the Mississippi River. The reality is that few places desalinate water, because it's a highly expensive and complicated process. That meant my tank was dumping salt into the river, so I stopped reefing, even though it was a small tank and my individual contribution was just a drop in the bucket.
But I'm getting the itch to keep a low-maintenance reef tank again.
I've researched how to desalinate saltwater at home (boiling or baking until all water evaporates and only the salt and minerals remain). Some people do this to make their own sea salt for cooking.
I'm thinking that if I kept a smaller tank (15-20 gallons, or maybe even 10), a 10% weekly water change would be manageable and I could desalinate water at home to avoid contaminating the Mississippi River. If I did this, could I re-use the salt to mix water for my tank? Or would the salt and minerals somehow retain nitrates and ammonia?
Thank you for reading.
