Ocean Water experiment - time to trash it?

sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
For whatever reason, I brought home 10 gallons of ocean water from the beach about a month ago. I put it in a 10 gallon tank, threw in a few rocks, plants, and snails from the beach, set up a sponge filter, and let it run. I'm not sure what I wanted to see - I just was curious as to what organisms or life I might see grow and show up over a few weeks. Also, if one of my seahorses had given birth while I had the experiment set up I was going to throw some of the fry in there to see if they did better/worse/same, etc.
I've got TONS of copepods and tons of baby snails but other than that it's pretty boring and none of my horses have had any fry (or at least that I was able to get to before they got eaten or sucked up in the filter). I'm going to tear the tank apart today but it seems a shame to just throw away all those copepods and snails! However, I'm guessing it's kind of risky to mix any of this water or the snails or the rock in with my other tanks, right? I guess I have to bite the bullet and just trash it all?
How about the sponge filter? It's spent the past four weeks growing all kinds of good stuff on it but I'm guessing it may have grown some bad stuff, too? Do I have to totally clean and disinfect that, too?
Sue
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
How cold is your coastal waters? If its 65F and under, everything is going to die unless you get a chiller and keep it at the same temp as the ocean.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3083684
LOL...why don't you keep it and throw a couple of little fish in it...
Trust me - I thought about doing that, but I REALLY don't need another tank running full time. Besides, this is the set up I use for QT'ing new fish and sometimes for seahorse fry. I really can't justify having 5 tanks set up.... at least not in the summer when most of my time is spent outdoors on the ponds or out on the motorcycle.
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
http:///forum/post/3083742
How cold is your coastal waters? If its 65F and under, everything is going to die unless you get a chiller and keep it at the same temp as the ocean.
The snails, plants and crabs I brought home with the ocean water are still alive after a month - no chiller, but I'm not really hoping to keep anything alive in there - I'll bring the snails and crabs back to the beach but I hate wasting the copepods and the good bacteria on the sponge filter. I probably have a lot more to lose than gain, though, by trying to salvage copepods and bacteria, right?
Sue
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
I would'nt be so hasty! I believe there are people out there who use ocean water!!
I'd give it a day or 2 and see if they chime in. Maybe you found a way to get and unlimited supply of free pods?
Although, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and all that blah, blah, blah.
 
forsfed50

forsfed50

Member
i live by the beach in biloxi ms and i have a ten gallon with local stuff in it
i have an atlantic spade fish and a flounder not completely identified.
i have caught these myself and they are doing well. i also have larger
reef tanks of the more usual fashion. i didnt use the ocean water as i am
unaware of what the pros and cons may be. off to work will look in later on this thread.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3083977
I would'nt be so hasty! I believe there are people out there who use ocean water!!
I'd give it a day or 2 and see if they chime in. Maybe you found a way to get and unlimited supply of free pods?
Although, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and all that blah, blah, blah.

Well that's pretty much what I was thinking when I brought home the 10 gallons of water and a few rocks and plants. I figure there has GOT to be some advantage to living within 45 minutes of an ocean and it would be silly not to try and see how I can utilize that factor. But then you read so many threads where people tell you never ever to do that, unknown pathogens, parasites, etc. etc. so I get too nervous to use it in my 3 functioning tanks. I really thought this could be an answer to raising seahorse fry, though, since they need small, live food.
I'll keep it up and running and hope some others chime in. I look in that tank every few days with light and magnifying glass looking for flatworms or other "nasties" that I might be able to see but it seems safe enough, for now. It's the stuff I CAN'T see, however, that scares me.
Thanks for talking me out of dumping it - I'll keep it up a while.
Sue
 
forsfed50

forsfed50

Member
i use my tank to quarantine baby flounder for my lfs. after they are
3 to 4 weeks without problems i trade them for credit in store.
i catch these with a throw net and simply take them home. it may
seem crazy to some but i have been fishing all of my life and lately
when i catch a fish on a hook and it is not on my food chain i
take it home and heal it before release. hope this isnt offensive
to others in the hobby. in my own defense before anyone gets
upset i also have a vietnamese potbelly pig so if you eat bacon or any
other part of a pig i have the right to reply. everybody has to eat
right?
 
mkroher

mkroher

Member
I've been a boater all my life in CT.
If you're getting water near the shore, all i can think about it.. "sewage".
YUCK
 
outsdr2

outsdr2

Member
Originally Posted by mkroher
http:///forum/post/3084297
I've been a boater all my life in CT.
If you're getting water near the shore, all i can think about it.. "sewage".
YUCK
I agree about close to shore contamination. I have used ocean water with no ill results. I take my boat out to 30 or 40 feet while the tide is coming in. the purity is amazing. it is like a vitamin shot for a tank.IMO
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
OK, I dumped it all -- the risks of using it in my tanks far outweigh any benefits. Last time I was at the beach house it was low tide and the waterwas really murky and smelly and yucky. As I was about to leave the tide was coming back in and the water was getting clearer but still not something I'd feel safe using. Unless I'm out deep, I won't bother with shore water anymore.
Thanks for the feedback.
Sue
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Just my two cents. I cannot speak for your state but the beaches in my area are monitored for pollution every three days. You may want to check with your local beach patrol and to if, when and what they test for
 
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