Using the ocean to start a tank

fisharefishy99

fisharefishy99

Member
Hello, I live on the west coast right next to the beach. The ocean here is usually around 60 degrees or so and I was wondering would it be possible to use actual ocean water for a saltwater tank? And maybe even sand and rock from the ocean? I used to have a saltwater tank but I sold almost everything except the tank and some filters and I was trying to avoid those initial start up fees. I want the tank to be a standard saltwater tank of about 82 degrees. Will there be issues from using sea water, sand, and rock from the cold water ocean? Thank you for your time.
 
cameraman954

cameraman954

Member
I wouldnt recomened it, unless you have a very good filtration system. Which would be a algae refugium with a protien skimmer and a UV Turbo Twist or a wet/dry with protien skimmer and a UV Turbo Twist, because if you use sea water and sand it will contian a lot of bacteria and could carry fish diease.
 
joerdie

joerdie

Member
just out of curiosity, what if someone lived along the great barrier reef? That water is obviously doing fairly well. I could understand the coast of Floria being a problem, but what about non industrialized coasts?
 
drtito

drtito

Member
Find a reef tank club and ask for the bad water from water changes, most will give you some for free. Also all your live rock and sand can be gotten with a club too. Your cycle should be super short and its all ready for you to begin.
Good luck.
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
I live in California as well. I get water from the ocean ALL the time! I've been doing that for 3.5 years. I have several reef tanks and never had a problem. I say go for it!
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Hey I am working up in your guy's neck of the woods....Coral keeper wish I had time to come over and check on your various experiments
 
V

vince-1961

Guest
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
http:///forum/post/3115046
I live in California as well. I get water from the ocean ALL the time! I've been doing that for 3.5 years. I have several reef tanks and never had a problem. I say go for it!
How do you transport it from ocean to tank?
 
V

vince-1961

Guest
I also live on the ocean - coastal Georgia where I have to go at least 12 miles out to get to water that is not muck-brown from all the saltmarshes. The first fill of my tank was with ocean water, but carrying 200 gallons of water in a boat was no fun.
I can see no reason that taking sand off the bottom would be harmful. Yes there is a risk of getting unwanted pests or even a disease, but those risks are minimal. If you are near the coast where there's a lot of boating activity, you'll probably get some small amount of pollution.
As for the rock, it is punishable by a civil fine (hence not a crime) to possess live rock in the Exclusive Economic Zone (E.E.Z.), which is the part of the ocean from 3 to 200 miles out. So, if you harvest live rock and are caught posessing it in the E.E.Z., the rock will be confiscated and will cost you a pretty penny. The law is buried in some arcane and byzantine federal regulation.
 
fisharefishy99

fisharefishy99

Member
Originally Posted by vince-1961
http:///forum/post/3115414
I also live on the ocean - coastal Georgia where I have to go at least 12 miles out to get to water that is not muck-brown from all the saltmarshes. The first fill of my tank was with ocean water, but carrying 200 gallons of water in a boat was no fun.
I can see no reason that taking sand off the bottom would be harmful. Yes there is a risk of getting unwanted pests or even a disease, but those risks are minimal. If you are near the coast where there's a lot of boating activity, you'll probably get some small amount of pollution.
As for the rock, it is punishable by a civil fine (hence not a crime) to possess live rock in the Exclusive Economic Zone (E.E.Z.), which is the part of the ocean from 3 to 200 miles out. So, if you harvest live rock and are caught posessing it in the E.E.Z., the rock will be confiscated and will cost you a pretty penny. The law is buried in some arcane and byzantine federal regulation.
Well for the rock you said 3 to 200 miles out. What if it is just sitting on the beach? I was going to take rock that was dried up on the beach to do this because I don't really have a boat or anything to do this on lol. And all boating activity is about 5-10 miles away and it's very minimal. Thanks for all the help!
 
docstomper

docstomper

New Member
Or just play the ignorant card and say it's not rock, it's a larger form of sand, amirite?! But really, can you use it? I have wanted to know this for awhile now. Also, are barnacles bad for your tank?
 
dinosaur

dinosaur

New Member
When I use to live in Boca Raton, Fl, I would get water on incoming tide for my 20g at a local inlet. Lucky for me the gulf stream comes closest to the east coast right where I got my water. Even one of the LFS sold ocean water.
 
nina&noah

nina&noah

Member
I use natural sea water in my tank, BUT I buy it at the LFS. Many people in Miami do this. What I've heard is that you have to get it from a deeper water area where the tide flows steadily. This lessens the chance of pollution. If you get it from the beach, all of the gunck (scientific term) from the ocean washes on shore and you could pollute your aquarium. Don't know if that is true, but it makes sense to me. If I were you I probably wouldn't use the sand or the rock. Instead I would go with the idea stated earlier about looking for a local reef club. Also, try craig's list or the local classifieds. They often have people who are tearing down their tank and sell live rock for very cheap.
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by fisharefishy99
http:///forum/post/3115403
Okay cool
But would the sand and rock be okay too?
Sand yes, rock no. I have over 550 lb of sand that I got from the beach in my reef tanks and everything is doing perfectly fine. You won't get any diseases or pests as they will die in your tropical tank. California's ocean waters are in the 55F range, our reef tanks are in the 80F range, that's a 25F+ difference.
 
sfaloha

sfaloha

New Member
Coral Keeper, where exactly do you get your water from? Do you get it along the beaches or out to sea? What beach do you get your sand from?
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by sfaloha
http:///forum/post/3117538
Coral Keeper, where exactly do you get your water from? Do you get it along the beaches or out to sea? What beach do you get your sand from?
I get it about 200-300 feet from the beach. Forgot the name of the beach, I'll check and let you know when I remember.
 
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