Saltwater

[trancedshr]

I have a question, can I get saltwater from the ocean and not cycle it? And will it test fine for all of the nitrites and nitrates that are needed? Also the ocean that I will be getting the water from doesnt harbor and exotic fish that are sold here, will that affect it?

 

[gsd]

Originally Posted by TrancedShr
I have a question, can I get saltwater from the ocean and not cycle it? And will it test fine for all of the nitrites and nitrates that are needed? Also the ocean that I will be getting the water from doesnt harbor and exotic fish that are sold here, will that affect it?
???????????????????
Water from the ocean works as well as any water you buy at a LFS or make up out of synthethic salt.It all depends opn where you collect the water at......There is no telling how it will test for micro elements, unless youo test it, and where did you ever get the concept your in need of nitrate and nitrites........they certainly are not needed.
I collect and store water directly form the ocean and its on rare occassion that I use any synthetic saltwater......Folks will say its not a good idea, however I have never had a problem with it, nor the sand. I say go for it. You never nnow until you try it......thats the only way your going to find out, as no one in this forum or any other forum can tell you a definitive yes or no, as much as they would really like you to believe.
Are you "trying" to say the wayter in the ocean does not have the fish in it that the LFS sells.......odds are 99% of LFS around do not sell local fish either nor do all tanks have fish, corals and invert, sand and rock, in them from the same regions either.........

 

[nick76]

Originally Posted by TrancedShr
I have a question, can I get saltwater from the ocean and not cycle it? And will it test fine for all of the nitrites and nitrates that are needed? Also the ocean that I will be getting the water from doesnt harbor and exotic fish that are sold here, will that affect it?
I believe the water will still need to cycle.

 

[kidwicked]

not too mention the water has pollution no doubt... just make the salt water yourself..

 

[jdragunas]

you need to cycle your tank. The water is not what is cycled, your rock, sand and filter are what cycle. The point of the cycle is to establish nitrifying bacteria on your rock sand and filter so your tank can process the ammonia from the fish you plan on puting in it. The reason most people say not to use ocean water is because the water you find close to the beach can be contaminated with chemicals. If you were to go out far into the ocean and get some water, you'd be fine, but i suggest against it because there is a chance you could pic up some dirty water that can cause a crash. IMO, it's not worth the money you save.

 

[trancedshr]

Ok, the reason I asked this is because I have already cycled my 10gal tank and I bought a 55gal and would hate to wait an extra 6 weeks for it to cycle again. Is there anyway I could jumpstart the cycling process by adding the cycled 10gal water to the 55gal with the other amount needed to fill it up?
Also, curing live rock....how exactly do you do this?

 

[petieaztec]

I don't think you should take ocean water...... i belive it is illegal. just don't want you to get in trouble.

 

[ruaround]

Originally Posted by TrancedShr
Ok, the reason I asked this is because I have already cycled my 10gal tank and I bought a 55gal and would hate to wait an extra 6 weeks for it to cycle again. Is there anyway I could jumpstart the cycling process by adding the cycled 10gal water to the 55gal with the other amount needed to fill it up?
No... dont try to rush nature... i dont understand why hurrying a process is such a focus... any how... NO just be patient...
Originally Posted by TrancedShr
Also, curing live rock....how exactly do you do this?
are you going to cure it in your tank without livestock??? if so get a bucket of salt water and a brush... basically give your LR a light bath and remove the die off... then you can just put the rock in your tank...

 

[jdragunas]

hon, adding water to your tank will not do anything for the cycle. Like i stated before, your water is not what cycles. Now, adding sand or LR from an established tank will help it along, because that will "seed" your sand an LR - meaning it will introduce that bacteria that has to grow for the cycle to complete.

 

[djm]

I remember reading an article YEARS ago about this very topic. I believe it was in FAMA. They listed zero benefits (other than maybe the short walk to the shore with your collection bucket) and a huge list of reasons to not use natural seawater for your aquarium.
Among the downfalls that I remember-
Contamination from any of the following-
Pollutants
Disease
Unwanted microorganisms
etc.
The main point is that you want the parameters in your aquarium to be as consistent as possible and using natural seawater won't allow it. Just the salinity of coastal seawater has pretty huge swings due to rain and land-water runoff.
I'm sure it CAN be done successfully, I just wouldn't want to risk the overwhelming odds of catastrophe.

 

[jdragunas]

what he said ^^^

 

[reefrank]

All of your animals come from semi polluted natural sea water, none of them come from fake seawater. The Atlantic ocean water just off the coast of florida I use has been working for me for over 10 years.
A friend of mine started an entire LFS with 100% NSW with no problems or diseases. You can just filter the water through a coffee filter to remove jellyfish or filter it through carbon if it will make you feel better. You need to use it right away or store it in the dark for a couple of weeks or you may get a bacterial bloom due to the sides of the container giving the bacteria a place to multiply. These bacteria are beneficial and not disease bacteria.
Plus, it is not illegal.

 

[gsd]

Agree 110% Reefrank......why buy it if its available locally and its free and it works. I have yet to ever have a problem........and I routinley bring home 2 or 3 55 gal drums of it. I really like those that answer a big negative NO when they them selves have never used it to begin with and have Zero experieince with it, yet are quick to say NO.......Do you folks really think for one minute that there is any beaches and oceans around that does not have some contamination in them, and what is in them is so diluted, and if the fish etc are healthy thats in the ocean where you get the stuff from and the beaches are not closed there certianly is not gonna be a thing wrong with using it. Sure magazines are gonna have articles ocntrary tothe fact, as if they promoted using NSW they would loose on companies like IO and Red Sea advertising.......there is more that you can get around than meets the eye but they (manufacturers and LFS ) do not want it known....as its money out of their pockets.
As another stated, your cyling the rock and sand not the water.........and no removing water from the ocean in FLorida and the other Gulf states is not illegal by any means.....

 

[ophiura]

If I had the option I would ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY use natural sea water.
This means you can get it from a clean source, typically a few miles offshore to avoid pollutants. Not a bay, causeway, bridge, boat dock, etc.
But otherwise, these fish were collected from natural seawater, and natural seawater is FAR better for many animals. To argue that it is better to use synthetic over any source of natural sea water (eg even if you got a bucket from the same reef the fish came from) means that someone is trying to sell something (eg a salt mix). In fact, for things like seastars, it is thought that their inability to adapt to the WAAAAAAYYYYYY skewed concentrations of compounds in synthetic salt mixes is a primary reason that the mortality rate is so high. Natural sea water is the control for any studies comparing types of saltmixes because, well, that is the "blank" that we are trying to approach. Mother nature does this "reef keeping" very well indeed

and I would use her efforts any chance I could get.

When possible, use Mother Nature brand salt mix

 

[djm]

Remember that I was posting about an article that was written probably well over a decade ago.
"We've come a long way, Baby"