Atlantic Ocean Water OK??

aquacat

aquacat

Member
I live very close to the ocean near Atlantic City NJ. Today I went down to the beach and got a cup of sea water. I came back and tested it and all the levels were perfect. The Nitrate was slightly elevated but not bad. My question is can I use Ocean Water to top off my tank and for water changes? If so can I stock some up in 1 gallon jugs and keep in storage till I need it?
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by 27mtaylor
If you get it from the surf it may have a lot of conaminents/pollution in it.

I was thinking that as well.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Tests don't measure for a lot of things...
Oil, metals, lotion, sewage, fertilizers, etc. all could enter your tank through beach water.
 
shu-perman

shu-perman

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Tests don't measure for a lot of things...
Oil, metals, lotion, sewage, fertilizers, etc. all could enter your tank through beach water.
Not to mention fuel, copper, dead bodies & parts(you did say Atlantic City) hypodermic needles whatever else gets dumped into ocean illegally from near by plants and factories.....
If you are looking to save money that might not be the way to go...
I live in Ca. and my LFS sells fitlered sea water from Scripps Institute in La Jolla and costs around $.50 per gal... you might want to see if there is a LFS to you that sells something like that....and use RO for your top offs b/c the salt doesn't evaporate....tap water may cause you problems....
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
One way to check for healthy natural seawater is to take a glass of some surface water and observe it in bright lighting for planktonic organisms darting around. You have to look hard, but you can see them with the

[hr]
eye. Microscopic examination is even better. Most local colleges and universities will be more than happy to do it for you free of charge.
The presence of these organisms usually indicates unpolluted water. However, bright green water may indicate an overabundance of these organisms as the result of excess nutrients. You really do not want to add this to a tank.
Fill your containers with the seawater and store them in a cool dark place for for a couple of weeks. This will allow cause the planktonic organisms to die and settle to the bottom, along with sand, mud and detritus particles. You can then sipon out this gunk and dispose of it, or siphon out the water as you need it, leaving the gunk at the bottom.
If you are collecting natural seawater with the intention of introducting plankton into your tank, you will need to aerate the water or stir it manually on the trip from ocean to tank. It must be added immediately when you return home. I haven't heard of any accounts of parasites or harmful organisms being introduced this way. Most come from their host organisms.
 
sufunk

sufunk

Member
Id be shocked if there was natural, healthy seawater in Atlantic city, NJ. Thats not an insult, i certainly wouldnt use ocean water from here in fort lauderdale either. The waters gotten so gross here you barely want to go in the water and cant see 3 feet in front of you. I can only imagine its as bad or worse up there.
 
schneidts

schneidts

Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
One way to check for healthy natural seawater is to take a glass of some surface water and observe it in bright lighting for planktonic organisms darting around. You have to look hard, but you can see them with the

[hr]
eye. Microscopic examination is even better. Most local colleges and universities will be more than happy to do it for you free of charge.
Even if the water was examined under a scope, other tests would still need to be preformed for pollutants such as petroleum, heavy metals, etc...
I also don't think the presence of simple celled organisms is a good indicator of weather or not the water is safe for reef animals. Many of these creatures have much higher tolerances to contaminants than other invertebrates or reef fish.
You're definitely better off just making your own SW from a source you can trust, but it's your tank and your choice...
 
chipmaker

chipmaker

Active Member
Originally Posted by lionfish1
I'll just say this. How many fish and reefs do you see near the shore where you are.


Thats no indication as to weather or not water is good.....You would be very hard pressed to find a reef within say 30 to 40 miles from the majority of the shoreline in the panhandle of Florida and Alabama in the GUlf of Mexico, and the same for the fish.......they are there but they move according to season or hang where there is structure, which for the most part is manmade be it an old tire or a battle tank or sunken boat.
I used saltwater I collected locally when I lived on the gulf coast for use in a local species tank, and did so for many years without a problem.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Originally Posted by schneidts
Even if the water was examined under a scope, other tests would still need to be preformed for pollutants such as petroleum, heavy metals, etc...
I also don't think the presence of simple celled organisms is a good indicator of weather or not the water is safe for reef animals. Many of these creatures have much higher tolerances to contaminants than other invertebrates or reef fish.
You're definitely better off just making your own SW from a source you can trust, but it's your tank and your choice...
I politely disagree. If you have access to natural seawater, by all means use it. The majority of breeders and public aquariums do.
 
krazekajin

krazekajin

Active Member
I read an article about a reefer in Norway. He used sea water from the ocean up there. He said that he collected it from under the surface. He would pump it from 20 or 40 feet down. Check it out in the issue of "Coral" magize. It is the one about "reticulate Evolution".
 
noob101

noob101

Member
so what would u guys say to water i got in a seperate tank from the ocean around pensacola with live sand from bottom i had a freind get for me who scuba dives had it set up for a week now and put a few peices of live rock in it and the growth on the live rock is nuts.
i took a water sample to local lfs and they tested it water was better than what i got in my dt and the growth has surpassed even my dt on the live rock....
i know i am new to this...so what u guys think about this.
 
ditritus06

ditritus06

New Member
A shipping co. just got busted for dumping waste oil off the coast of Jersey.(Has been doing it for years.) It's in today's Star Ledger newspaper.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
I politely disagree. If you have access to natural seawater, by all means use it. The majority of breeders and public aquariums do.
I agree with ya like 99% of the time Mud, but not on this one.
I doubt ANY public aquariums or breeder's use water directly from the beach. Off shore or taken from the end of a long pier maybe, but not from the tidal zone.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by noob101
i took a water sample to local lfs and they tested it water was better than what i got in my dt ....
I'd say you have a heck of a local fish store if they ran the quality tests needed to check for the myriad of pollutants, contaminants, etc. that they would need to check for...
 
noob101

noob101

Member
well like a dummy i used tapwater to originally fill my tank. i got all kinds of junk in it tryin to get it hcanged over..
no my wifes uncle has a big boat and we wnt fishing two weeks ago and i filled up a few coolers full of water about 3 miles out so water pretty clean out there as far as other pollutants in the water takin to water plant and gonna have them test for me if they will and c what all in it.. but i no one thing i got more growth from the ocean water than i have from my tank that i set up and been tryin to cycle out the tap water with ro di water since my cycle still has'nt started in it yet (i hope)
 
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