Dosing Sand and Seawater from an Actual Ocean?

[Big Mistake]

If one was to happen to visit a beach, would it make any sense to bring back say a tablespoon of sand and water to dose into your tank.

The opportunity might present itself in the near future.

Would it matter which ocean? And where in that ocean? Would Maine be different than Florida or San Diego or Seattle?

Sort like a do-it yourself CaribSea Ocean Direct way of introducing lots of ... bacteria and ... who knows what?

Or would that be a ...

-Big Mistake

 

[Ghost25]

I don't think it would be a mistake. When I setup my first tank I initially filled it with seawater from the CA coast. Obviously a different environment than tropical reefs. I'm sure some of the plankton and bacteria died, and others survived. Best would be seawater and sand from a tropical environment, but I don't see harm in using material from a cold-water environment, unless you introduce too much material that dies off and spikes nutrients.

 

[FurrierTransform]

It's probably okay if you put it into a quarantine tank first. I went to an aquarium keeping lecture at the local aquarium and the guy said it would be beneficial to use stuff from the ocean, "to add vitality." Well I did a water change with water I collected from the beach (I did store it for a few days before using it), and my fish began ailing. Having said that, I don't know if the die-off was due to something in the water or perhaps I didn't balance the salinity just so. And maybe the beach wasn't the best place to collect; open ocean might be cleaner.

 

[Seamore2001]

I used to do water changes with NSW when I lived in New England. Great polyp extension on the acros after a water change. Just make sure of where you are collecting from - not in a harbor, not right after a storm, not in a turbid area, etc.. Probably a good idea to do some basic testing of the water to make sure not too many nutrients.

 

[moorjames]

I've heard that some areas that are close to beaches may be contaminated with sunscreen oils and things of that nature. just something to keep in mind

 

[jfoahs04]

Natural Sea Water is more than fine. In fact, it's all I use in my nano. There are several other reefers here who have done it too, and even more who would if it were practical (it's not really doable in a larger tank). Paul B has been adding NSW to his tank for 51 years. My coral loves it. The NSW triggers a feeding response (full polyp extension) in the coral during water changes. There's all sorts of beneficial bacteria and micro flora and fauna in sea water.

I think the pollution concerns are generally overblown. If you google NSW in reef tanks, almost everyone who has done it has had success. Even our local aquarium pulls their water directly from Boston Harbor. That said, not every place is the same and it's worth taking some basic precautions:

• Collect as the tide comes in between mid and high tide
• Avoid collecting during or right after a heavy rainfall
• Avoid collecting in a high traffic boat area or from a crowded each
• Steer clear of runoff pipes, drain pipes, river/stream outlets, etc.
• And try to collect further from shore if possible (I collect from a rock jetty)

All that said, I'd personally pass on the sand. While I'm not terribly concerned about the water quality where I collect, sand and mud are more likely to absorb and hold concentrations of pollutants, metals, etc.

 

[AquaBen]

I tried it with water and sand from the Texas coast and then transported it 150 miles to my home. The fish and corals loved it -- everyone brightened up right away. It was very pretty. It only lasted a couple of weeks, after that all the secret sauce in the ocean water was used up. There were a couple of hitch hikers -- suddenly I had a sargassum fish that just appeared. He became very voracious and soon became the property of my LFS. The other hitchhikers were bristle worms. I soon had a huge outbreak of them. They got in every hole in the rocks and buried themselves deep in the sand. Some became 4 in long. I set traps and dug them out by hand but could not eliminate them. Then one day a red coris wrasse caught my attention so I added him to the tank. Within a month there were no more bristle worms. Could not have asked for a more natural solution -- completely unplanned.