Sea water

[Jwise]

Hey everyone so I was wondering if anyone took water straight from the ocean and used it unfiltered in their aquarium and if so what effects did it have on the aquarium I have seen results from a guy that I know that does that on his reef tank with everything looking great and was wondering if anyone else did this? And yes I have been to his house to see his tank in person and it looks amazing. That shocked me when he told me he did this and I would have never guessed that an aquarium can look that amazing of natural salt water dumped straight into an aquarium like that. He also have acros and other sps corals that look amazing and their growth is crazy they all have a lot of white around the edges in which the skeleton is calcifying he said that they have been growing like weeds since he started doing this. So I wanted to see if anyone else did that and how successful it was. All of his softies and lps look great as well and fish are looking like they came from the reef as well their colors are so bright and vibrant so it has me curious. And he does have tangs as well that look totally heathy and not a single tang flashing in all the time I was there.

 

[betareef]

Hey everyone so I was wondering if anyone took water straight from the ocean and used it unfiltered in their aquarium and if so what effects did it have on the aquarium

I have never done anything different. I always use natural seawater. I collect it at high tide on a week day from a local boatramp. At high tide it is at it's cleanest and mid-week means no boats around when I park on the ramp.

That shocked me when he told me he did this and I would have never guessed that an aquarium can look that amazing of natural salt water dumped straight into an aquarium like that.

Why is it shocking? As well as being always at the right chemistry, it also contains plankton and stuff which corals and fish will love.

 

[MrGisonni]

I get natural seawater delivered and store it in a jug for months on end. My tank always looks fantastic after a water change.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I use NSW, but not as much as I used too. It has been raining here a lot so I do not want shore run off to contaminate my water. I also did a ICP test where I collect. It was a bit low on a few things which surprised me. But that is just here, your area may be different. I still am going to use it because I feel that there are other benefits. I am just going to mix in some trace and use more of my TM mix.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Why is it shocking? As well as being always at the right chemistry, it also contains plankton and stuff which corals and fish will love.

Yeah, funny ay. Imagine natural seawater supporting a healthy marine system .

Seriously though, if you have access to clean natural seawater why wouldn’t you use it. Particularly if you’re running an average run of the mill mixed reef or LPS / softie set up.

I’ve had no problems in multiple systems over 25+ yrs.

 

[betareef]

I get natural seawater delivered and store it in a jug for months on end. My tank always looks fantastic after a water change.

Local fish stores sell natural seawater. I think they have a contractor that takes a boat out and gets a big container full periodically. Only downside is that they are storing it in a closed dark container, so all life will die off. I suppose the chemistry won't change much.

 

[Rjramos]

Funny but the first thing I did is see where everyone’s from, lol! Some aussies a Cali and mostly south Floridians like myself. I have been using NSW since 1995. In the past, I didn’t filter it, straight up collected on high tide at the inlet or while out on my boat. The boat being the preferred method. Now, I use a 120 micron sieved intake manifold to avoid the plankton and other micros. Plankton is probably good, but not being able to differentiate what exactly is in each batch, and if good or bad for your reef tank, is unknown. The larvae of what we don’t want is small too.

 

[Jwise]

Thanks for all the feedback I live in sw fl so I did have the guy I know get me some water that he collected and I did add some today for the first time in my 125 I did a 10 gallon water change and added 10 gallons and I can say so far in the couple hours it’s been in my system it is clearer than normal and im going to test the water tomorrow to see what changes it brought

 

[Jwise]

I have never done anything different. I always use natural seawater. I collect it at high tide on a week day from a local boatramp. At high tide it is at it's cleanest and mid-week means no boats around when I park on the ramp.




Why is it shocking? As well as being always at the right chemistry, it also contains plankton and stuff which corals and fish will love.

It’s shocking mostly because I never thought of doing it that way and I thought that it would bring in diseases and problems for my fish mostly because I have a tang tank and I didn’t want them to get anything from it but I saw the guy I know tangs and they look great

 

[crazyfishmom]

It’s shocking mostly because I never thought of doing it that way and I thought that it would bring in diseases and problems for my fish mostly because I have a tang tank and I didn’t want them to get anything from it but I saw the guy I know tangs and they look great

Most pests that could come in are unlikely to be in he water column. The only real concern would be chemical pollutants and other contaminants but you can figure that out by sending in an ICP to see whether everything in your area is in range and then it should be smooth sailing from there.

 

[Spare time]

I am not entirely sure that all seawater is equal. Some areas may be higher or lower in certain elements. However, the plankton is probably a nice edition.

 

[KC2020]

I've been using NSW for 25+ years without issue. It is filtered through large sand beds and then stored in a dark, underground tank. This does drop the pH and alkalinity a little but that's easily corrected before using.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Most pests that could come in are unlikely to be in he water column. The only real concern would be chemical pollutants and other contaminants but you can figure that out by sending in an ICP to see whether everything in your area is in range and then it should be smooth sailing from there.

Yes, the ICP is important. As stated previously, I thought, in my area at least, it was better than what I could create. That is a yes and no. When I do a NSF water change there is a reaction that I do not get from a water change with a mix. So I felt it was always better. According to my ICP, not necessarily. But again I feel that there are elements in the NSW that I can not create with a mix, which is why I still strongly advocate at least a mix of NSW and a mix.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Also important to understand how tide, wind and seasonal currents affect the quality of NSW at collection sites in your area. This can take years of observation but once you get it dialled you will be able to collect with confidence.

 

[KC2020]

Yes, the ICP is important. As stated previously, I thought, in my area at least, it was better than what I could create. That is a yes and no. When I do a NSF water change there is a reaction that I do not get from a water change with a mix. So I felt it was always better. According to my ICP, not necessarily. But again I feel that there are elements in the NSW that I can not create with a mix, which is why I still strongly advocate at least a mix of NSW and a mix.

We're not using 'Reef' water when we collect it here in Southern California so the water parameters need some adjustment. I find pH is low, 7.6 - 7.9 and alkalinity is 7.4 - 7.8. All easily adjusted when heating up in a Brute before a water change.

Trace elements, Nitrites, Nitrates and Phosphates vary all over the world and from one end of a reef to the other.

And then there's the question of hobbyist test kits compared to ICP results.

 

[betareef]

I am not entirely sure that all seawater is equal. Some areas may be higher or lower in certain elements. However, the plankton is probably a nice edition.

My leather expands to it's fullest for some hours after I do a water change. I do about 15-20% water change weekly, and I don't have a heavy coral or fish load, so my guess is it likes the plankton.

 

[betareef]

lso important to understand how tide, wind and seasonal currents affect the quality of NSW at collection sites in your area. This can take years of observation but once you get it dialled you will be able to collect with confidence.

Yes, there a times when I take a look at the weather, the disturbed sea, the water clarity, and whether it has rained much in the past week - then decide to wait a few days or a week until the water quality is at it's best.

 

[betareef]

We're not using 'Reef' water when we collect it here in Southern California so the water parameters need some adjustment. I find pH is low, 7.6 - 7.9 and alkalinity is 7.4 - 7.8. All easily adjusted when heating up in a Brute before a water change.

Yeah, there are soft corals nearby where I get water, and hard coral reef less than 20km away, so that makes me more confident. pH has always been 8 or above when I measure it.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

We're not using 'Reef' water when we collect it here in Southern California so the water parameters need some adjustment. I find pH is low, 7.6 - 7.9 and alkalinity is 7.4 - 7.8. All easily adjusted when heating up in a Brute before a water change.

Trace elements, Nitrites, Nitrates and Phosphates vary all over the world and from one end of a reef

In SoCal, I expect the Alk and salinity a bit low, and correcting that is not a problem. I guess it is the other trace elements that are low is the surprising factor. And when I look at the ICP I feel it is probably not completely accurate, but it will give you a sense of what is going on.

 

[Paul B]

You should be surprised that people use fake water for their reef tank. All our fish come from NSW and none, unless they were captive bred came from ASW,

I have been taking it from the surf for 53 years. No problems yet. I just back up to the ocean and dump it in my Jeep. I don't do anything to it except filter out the floating gunk.

I am on Long Island NY so if it is green or muddy, I diatom filter it.