Fresh Ocean

[cprdnick]

Ok, my buddy is about to start working on one of those off shore oil rigs down in the Gulf. Would it be a good thing or a bad thing to start sending him money to ship me a gallon of "REAL" ocean water every week? Would there be a chance of contamination around there? Where would be the best place for him to fill the jugs?

 

[007]

Natural Sea Water (NSW) while it may seem like a good thing to use, is actually not the best for an enclosed environment. Often times the nutrients that are consumed by an organism in the ocean are used up faster than an individual could keep up with by doing water changes. This is why many of the commercial salt mixes are heavily saturated in the trace elements, especially the major ones such as calcium, so that the elements are not used up as quickly.
I would think that water collected anywhere near an oil rig would have traces of contaminants in it that are undesirable in a reef tank. I would not be willing to risk.
Furthermore, a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, minus the container. Shipping and packing a gallon of water on a weekly basis would be astronomical. Spend the money on an RO/DI unit and a bucket of salt instead.

 

[nacl-man]

Originally posted by 007
I would think that water collected anywhere near an oil rig would have traces of contaminants in it that are undesirable in a reef tank. I would not be willing to risk.

If anything deters you from doing that is should be this
I wouldn't trust it, this topic has been brought up before, I don't know if anyone has actually tried it to my knowledge.
Cheers!

 

[aarone]

I agree. The water around the oil rig will have all sorts of chemical waste in it. Im sure they use gasoline to run equipment. If you have ever seen the back of a boat near the motor, you have noticed the oil slick near the exhaust for the water. And the oil that they are drilling for is probably going to leak out in small amounts.
aaron

 

[cprdnick]

I don't really expect him to collect it from under the rig itself, but they have weekend leave to shore, but even there the problem would be contaminants from diesel engines on boats.
I have heard of people that live near the ocean, using that and only that in their tank, but it's easily accessible for them to get the water.
If I lived next to the ocean, I would plumb directly into the ocean and circulate brand new water through my tank constantly, lol. I wish.

 

[malibupam]

My tank was started with NSW from the Catalina Water Company. A huge tanker truck pulled up, a hose went in the house, and they filled it up. I can't say if this is good or bad because I'm a newby and it was the fish guy's decision. But FYI the Catalina Water Company says on its website that it serves clients as far east as Arizona/Nevada, and their water is available thru ***** (if anyone will shop there) nationwide. They collect off Catalina Island and filter/sterilize it. My fish guy uses the company for water changes for his clients with huge tanks and budgets to match. I think he told me it was $1/GAL, but I may be wrong, and I don't know if that includes delivery.

 

[nacl-man]

Originally posted by MalibuPam
My tank was started with NSW from the Catalina Water Company. A huge tanker truck pulled up, a hose went in the house, and they filled it up. I can't say if this is good or bad because I'm a newby and it was the fish guy's decision. But FYI the Catalina Water Company says on its website that it serves clients as far east as Arizona/Nevada, and their water is available thru ***** (if anyone will shop there) nationwide. They collect off Catalina Island and filter/sterilize it. My fish guy uses the company for water changes for his clients with huge tanks and budgets to match. I think he told me it was $1/GAL, but I may be wrong, and I don't know if that includes delivery.
you learn something new everyday. I had no idea something like that existed.