New and Unique

[Ole Salt]

I had a sw setup back in the '90's so it has been a while. I had it about a year and then a power outage forced me to give it up (long story). Now I live on the coast of North Carolina and am thinking about getting back into the hobby. But I want to do something that I consider unique. I basically want to mimic the ocean that I live near.

I want to run my plan by you, the experts and get your ideas on it.
My plan is to get a 55 gal tank with light (hopefully acrylic) and use local seawater. When I say local seawater I mean from the ocean, not from the ICW or near a inlet where fresh and salt water mix.
Next, I do not want to use any substrate nor do I wish to use a biological filter. I want to use a filter system that utilizes charcoal or some other type of filter medium (if such exists).
Therefore I will not have to "cycle" the tank, right?
I will have a lighted hood on the tank and a heater.

My inhabitants (for now) will be local small fish and hermit crabs etc. and I may throw in a clown fish or tang later if the local guys work out.
I realize that I have to take into account the compatibility of local fish vs pet shop fish.

If this experiment works I may branch out and add more or even move to a reef tank, who knows.
But for starters, do any of you see any red flags?

Thank you in advance

 

[lmforbis]

You really wont be able to succeed using no biofiltration. Most of us just use rock. That is all I use in my 120. I have a lot of live rock in the tank and more in the sump. Very low maintenance.
There are issues using natural seawater. It can carry parasites into your tank. You have to get it off shore far enough that the pollution isn’t an issue. You won’t have the volume to keep the parameters good. Calcium magnesium and alkalinity along with trace elements are lower in the ocean. Because of the volume they stay very stable in a tank they will tend to drop low.
In general I’d say no issue with using local fish and inverts, assuming it is legal to harvest them, but I would not use natural sea water.

 

[geridoc]

If you want to mimic the ocean, just look around and see if you can find any charcoal there. What you will find are lots of bacteria processing the nitrogenous wastes produced by all of the life forms in the ocean. Even if you try a totally artificial system, the bacteria will proliferate anyway on all of the solid surfaces in the tank. You can't beat mother nature. Your plan to use seawater you gather yourself is fraught with well documented problems. Seawater near shorelines is notoriously polluted and not suitable for a confined system where there is little dilution as you would get in the ocean.

 

[Jesterrace]

As mentioned above, part of the problem is that there are many organisms out there that won't cause issues in the ocean due to the sheer size, but give them a tiny enclosed environment and they will explode in such a closed system. Furthermore I can't think of any fish off the North Carolina Coast that would do well in a 55 gallon tank.

 

[jay0705]

As mentioned above, part of the problem is that there are many organisms out there that won't cause issues in the ocean due to the sheer size, but give them a tiny enclosed environment and they will explode in such a closed system. Furthermore I can't think of any fish off the North Carolina Coast that would do well in a 55 gallon tank.

Blue fin tuna!

 

[Jesterrace]

Blue fin tuna!

Yeah, I'm sure it would love a 4 foot skinny box.

 

[jay0705]

Lol