Taking a different direction.

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siptang

Guest
So I have made alot of new reef friends around s.florida and as I got to be-friend one of the guy, he tells me of natural saw water changes and it made sense to me.
Water is gathered at incoming tide at his boat every week as he goes fishing with pump that goes down min. 25ft. He then uses 1 micron filter socks to remove all the debris out of the water then stores it in a dark storage for couple of weeks to kill off anything that maybe harmful. I was skeptical at first but I was thinking... synthetic salt... no matter how advanced it comes, it can't 100% mimic the mother nature and the parameters are perfect. 0 across the board and everything is where it's supposed to be.
He has agreed bi-weekly water changes and filter media changes, rock, sand cleaning and glass cleaning for $30. (for his gas and for some beer as he puts it)
My first "maintenance" is due today and I'm excited to see where this will lead me.
What do you guys think of this? Anyone here that uses nsw?
This will save me time and money down the road for sure so I can just sit and enjoy my tank.
 
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siptang

Guest
I forgot to mention he takes it out to couple of miles (not sure how far though but more then 2) down on his boat then uses pump and long hose (25ft or more) and then pump up water from there. .
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Keeps us posted of your results. In California (I think San Diego), there is a place called Scripps which is a research facility that pumps seawater. They allow people come in and take water. Now, there are sometimes issues with the water pumped during different times due to ocean's conditions.
 
S

siptang

Guest
Hey ya Seth and Krista.
I decided to try this method on 3 facts.
1.) No synthetic can out do nature. (my buddy's heavily populated 220g sps tank took off like crazy after switching to nsw) After all, we are trying to mimic the big blue.
2.) cost effective-ness. Usually salt water sells by 69 cents per gallon around me and that times 25g will equal to $17.25 all the buffering will only make it cost more and also inclusion of filter medias (BRS's ROX carbon and Seachem's phosguard for my reactor) replacement just made it cheaper to have him do it for me.
3.) Less time spending maintaining means more time for me to just stare at it and enjoy my slice.
It was really a no brainer for me. I will keep you guys posted on the results of switching.
Hopefully I didn't make a mistake on this. :/
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
If I were to do that, I would want it as fresh as possible. The wild organisms floating in the water would help feed the corals. Filter them out and it's like getting natural salt from the store.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Keep us posted. Curios to see how your livestock reacts. You are trying this on an existing reef tank?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
OK...So let me see if I got this right
You are going to pay this guy $30....2x a month.....to collect, store, deliver AND CHANGE your water?????
 
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siptang

Guest
Corey - yes, I'm doing this on my 72g bowfront.
Lois - Yes. $30 for all of that plus cleaning (sand bed, rock, filter socks, filter heads, glass, skimmer) plus filter media replacing. (replacing is done once a month instead of bi weekly)
Not too shabby right?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
OK...I almost want to say YES.....just because I know how time consuming our tanks are, and w/o having to do that WILL save a lot of time...also you won't hacve to keep 30G trash cans all over the house....LOL
Good luck.....and definitely let us know how it works out
 
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siptang

Guest
You got that right. My wife is happy that I'm actually going to use the trash can for well... trash lol. I got my 15g totes so I will just use that for now if I have any emergencies.
Will do so and will take pictures day before the change and keep a journal here in SWF. (you know... the recovery thread. It looks like I'm always recovering from something lmbo)
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siptang http:///t/391435/taking-a-different-direction#post_3471332
He has agreed bi-weekly water changes and filter media changes, rock, sand cleaning and glass cleaning for $30. (for his gas and for some beer as he puts it)
My first "maintenance" is due today and I'm excited to see where this will lead me.
Lets see here. Fuel cost for driving offshore to collect saltwater (hope he can hold a lot of water), then the fuel for traveling back and forth to your place twice a month, plus media expense and time to clean everything and all of this for $30...he either must really love what he does or he's a very cheap date.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Too good to be true. I'd ask to see pics of his other tanks that he maintains or his own aquarium pic. He's not making any profit at all...
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/391435/taking-a-different-direction#post_3471508
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siptang http:///t/391435/taking-a-different-direction#post_3471332
He has agreed bi-weekly water changes and filter media changes, rock, sand cleaning and glass cleaning for $30. (for his gas and for some beer as he puts it)
My first "maintenance" is due today and I'm excited to see where this will lead me.
Lets see here. Fuel cost for driving offshore to collect saltwater (hope he can hold a lot of water), then the fuel for traveling back and forth to your place twice a month, plus media expense and time to clean everything and all of this for $30...he either must really love what he does or he's a very cheap date.
Agree!!!!! He's not making any money......Filter costs and fuel cost alone for the boat and gas travel money......I know there are people that use NSW, and I'm game to see if any improvements.....
 
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siptang

Guest
In his back yard, on top of 200g container. He has 4 there. Inside of his garage. First one is for the saltwater, second one is for the RO. Other side of the garage, he has 2 more.

His 110g frag tank. (canopy is usually closed and fans are not showing) 220g DT that he takes care of.

He has about min of 500g of saltwater in his house and way more then that in his store. He lives like 10 min away from me and has a whole sale license so the prices work with him.
BRS gives him a special pricing for all of his order and I couldn't believe the price when it was compared to mine. He told me that this pricing is only for me though and I understand because he's really not making anything when he comes to service my tank. He truly loves what he does for living and will sit down to talk to you and educate you if you have any issues or have any questions. He tells me he gets about 500-600 txts a day from his clients and customers.
He has 3 tanks in his house and he's finishing up setting up 750g in wall tank right now for his house. Very cool guy and I buy him beer and we hang out for a while talking about fish, miami dolphins and other florida sport teams.
rickross - because it's time consuming and costs more as i stated in my original post. ;)
 
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siptang

Guest
Hey Shawn,
Purpose of this thread was that I wanted to hear people's opinions about using natural salt water and it's pros and cons because it's not something everyone in this hobby does and wanted to see if anyone else in this forum has approached this method before and had a advice for me or tell me something that I can or should expect.
Now the thing that irks me is why are you are questioning if I should stay in this hobby because I simply wanted more time to just enjoy my tank instead always doing this for it and doing that for it. I don't feel that I have to explain everything to anyone but here there you go, I have been working 60+ hours a week for majority of last year and this year and I needed a little break from here and there to spend time doing more things around my wife, my house, family and friends. My wife has been complaining that I don't have time for anything and yes, it would be easiest for me to just take down my tank to save myself time and money but due to certain circumstances, I will never take down my tank EVER. My tank gives me peace, joy and memories which are priceless to me. So I found a deal that both myself and my reef can benefit from and decided to take it. Does that make a bad reefer? Does that make me any less responsible for hiring someone else to take care of my livestock?
sorry for going off like this but I'm just bit offended at your comment.
I have always appreciated your comments/advices before and I just wanted to throw that in there.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Not trying to offend you....Just stating mere facts....Dude I know all about 70 hours a week for the past 2yrs.....You think UPS cuts me any slack between work, and home life along with doing a huge build.....I don't see anything wrong with the source of water, but I do question someone who wants a tank, but it's devoted enough to take the time to maintain it......Yes I do question the commitment to the hobby and enjoyment in it.....How can you even sit back and friends over as they marvel at your tank knowing you aren't doing the labor, but reaping the fruits possibly......That's part of the hobby.....The enjoyment in the hobby, and you as well as everyone else knows there's a cost for everything.......
 
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