Adding a few gallons of ocean water to my tank?

[MnFish1]

It’s obviously a gamble as you can’t possibly know everything that’s in the water, but I’ve generally enjoyed the results so far with my very young NSW reef. I just filter macro stuff through a sock, drop a heater and pump in to bring it to temp, then add it. I collect from a jetty about an hour before high tide, and never during/right after rain. That’s my risk mitigation. Parameters are super stable, and it’s hard to prove but I think the microorganisms are doing wonders for my coral.

My one potential knock is that I’ve had a decent amount of algae. Nothing unmanageable, and I can’t tie directly to NSW (started the tank with cured live rock that had GHA, bubble algae, etc.), but it’s definitely noticeable. Time will tell, but so far, so good.

the question in my mind - is - is it any better than water from a dissolved bucket. People have success (however you define that) - with both

 

[jfoahs04]

the question in my mind - is - is it any better than water from a dissolved bucket. People have success (however you define that) - with both

I don’t know to be honest. For me, this something of an experiment. It’s my 3rd reef and I’ve always been super careful with my water quality. But living close to the ocean (and occasionally collecting Caribbean fish which drift up here in the Gulf Stream), I’ve been curious about local NSW in a reef tank. So I figured this nano was a good system to try it out. It’s WAY too early to talk about “success” (tank’s a little shy of 4 months old), but I like the early returns. It’ll be a long time before I can call it a “success.”

I think the thing is that it’s going to take a certain type of reefer to want to try actual, untreated NSW. It takes so much out of the hands of the hobbyist that many won’t consider it. And I don’t blame them. If I were the type that wanted total control over everything in my system, I’d never consider it.
And I certainly can’t make the case that it’s the best/only way to get that level of biodiversity in the tank.

 

[Cory]

Ive heard but haven't proven it, that synthetic salt mixes dont contain all the trace element's needed by our tanks despite some of their claims. Thats another possible benefit-your getting everything in natural ocean water.

However when you look at tanks like @glennf tank which uses his own sythetic salt mix, you wonder if seawater is even necessary.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ive discovered dosing sodium silicate significantly improves pod poulation. Did you notice an increase when you dosed it?

I didn't track it, but it may have happened.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I personally did not add enough to have much impact on the chemistry, nor did I expect or hope it would.

Biological addition was my goal.