Natural sea water

[cyrusmekon]

Hi guys.
Quick question if you run your tank on Natural seawater do you need to check the salinity?
Iv had no problems thus far, 10% water changes every week and the water is from a trusted LFS (They supply Melbourne aquarium as well).
I am glad i dont have to fuss over the salt mix.
Thanks , Kev

 

[lion_crazz]

As long as you are topping off your aquarium properly and your LFS is not messing with the water, you are fine.

 

[moby]

Are they preparing the water prior to you putting it your tank?
Sea water is a "live" organism so to speak. Lots of stuff in it that will not live in an aquarium and will foul the water.
Moby

 

[granny]

Personally, I would check the salinity of the water you are adding each time and the constancy of it in your tank. What do you do for top off water when yours evaporates?
If you dont have a basis, you wont be able to keep your water parameters stable.
In the old days=when I was young-we had no mixes and had to use sea water-but we also collected our fish from the same local waters. We used well water to top off or distilled water(which was around then)
I dont remember ever measuring the salinity, but as long as the water changes were done regularly (and we usually did about 1/2 of the water, not just 10%) and we never let the water evaporate below a certain pont, all went pretty well.
I still do large water changes to this day-and my fish thrive, as well as all the other inhabitants.

 

[cyrusmekon]

Hi thanks for the responses.
I think im lucky enough to have a LFS that knows what there doing. In fact its quite difficult to buy things because they ask you about your set up and only sell accordingly. So many fish i wanted but not allowed to have, but hey thats good.
They store the water in a HUGE container and i have 25litre drums that sit in the dark before water change anyway so any nasties will die. The water is not prepared, its straight of the coast (very clean).
As for top up i use RO water which i can get for free. (Im a chemist and we use that water all the time)
My fish and corals are thriving, but wast sure if i needed to check salinity. If its not broke dont fix it i guess.
Thanks all.

 

[lazarus]

i get my water from Scripps here in San Diego, also free, and from the activity there i think alot of people and LFS use it. i have never bothered to check salinity of it.

 

[elitephoto]

I would still check it. Water desolves..salt doesnt. I have to top off with fresh RO water about once a week and do 10% water changes every 10-12 days with fresh salt water from my LFS. I still see my salt levels go up between water changes.

 

[chipmaker]

Originally Posted by ElitePhoto
Water desolves..salt doesnt. .
Now thats an interesting statement. What does water turn into in the disolved state? What state is salt in in the salt shaker, or the display tank?

 

[isistius]

my lsf has natural seawater as well which i use. however the salinity is 1.022. so when i was setting up the tank, i would top off with sea water until i readche 1.025-26. now i topo off with ro.
they run the water through 2 different sets of u/v sterilizers (4 each) for a total of 8 u/v sterilizers b4 they sell it. which is just a reassurance that there is nothing living in the water when their customers get it.
so far i've had no problems with it.

 

[crustymonk]

Originally Posted by LAZARUS
i get my water from Scripps here in San Diego, also free, and from the activity there i think alot of people and LFS use it. i have never bothered to check salinity of it.

I get my water from the same place.