Natural Seawater

[x_burt]

I'm sure this has already been covered many times, but I didn't find it, so please point me in the direction of it does.

I have always mixed my own saltwater but with my new build being large, salt being expensive and hard to get hold of over here (LFS is 3 hour drive 1 way) and the fact I have the ocean relatively near by I am going to use natural seawater.

Just wondering who else users it, pros, cons, tips, recommendations etc?

 

[Speedy]

I use it all the time here in australia. Just make sure the water you collect is in a clean area away from major boatways and sewer outlets. Collect an hour before high tide ( and on a full moon.lol just kiddin...). And at least test it once for phosphates. Otherwise its been great for me . Full of good elements and trace elements .

 

[x_burt]

I will be collecting from the southern most tip of Norway. There are no rivers running into the area and no industry.

A friend of mine has been running an SPS dominated reef using the water from there ( pics below) so I shouldn't worry but you know how it is with horror stories!

 

[CastAway]

WOW! Your friends d has an impressive collection!

 

[x_burt]

Yeah it was a beautiful tank. Unfortunately he just broke it down last week. Real shame

 

[Salty.Reefer]

Wow that truly is a shame. He had a beautiful tank. I have been collecting NSW for my tank in Southern California. The dkh is a little low but every other parameter is right on point. I do have a slight concern over parasites and toxic Algeas (red tides are semi common) so after I collect the water I keep it in a brute trash can with a circulation pump to cut off all light for like 3-7 days depending on how much I need the water. Everything in my tank seems to love it. If you can try to collect from a pier or not directly from shore. But if you have to I also collect from shore occasionally. I say this because the foam that forms at the shore line is kind of like the oceans protein skimmer so try to avoid that. I hope this helps.

 

[x_burt]

Parasites are a concern. All fish will go through qt. would suck to get something in through the water after all that effort

 

[Speedy]

Good exercise though lugging 20kg jerricans to and fro

 

[x_burt]

I'm fed up of jerry cans. This will be a 2 x 1000 liter tanks on a trailer!

 

[Speedy]

The main advice my lfg told me was to use the seawater straightaway and not keep it too long unless you treat it...

 

[SeaDweller]

Parasites are a concern. All fish will go through qt. would suck to get something in through the water after all that effort

Parasites seldom survive and stay in the water column. I wouldn't worry. Maybe leave the collected water for a few days so any potential free swimming parasites will die.

That's the least of my concern. Pollution, red tide, low alk and calcium would be more of concerns to me.

In San Diego I had access to filter sea water at Scripps Institute. It was ok. But driving to lug it home, having to wait for certain days, after rain... It got real old real fast. Not to mention calcium was low and Alk was ok.

The main advice my lfg told me was to use the seawater straightaway and not keep it too long unless you treat it...

I've kept NSW in containers for months with no issues. No need to treat it with anything. And what do they suggest treating it with?

 

[Maki~R~G~A]

I will be collecting from the southern most tip of Norway. There are no rivers running into the area and no industry.

A friend of mine has been running an SPS dominated reef using the water from there ( pics below) so I shouldn't worry but you know how it is with horror stories!

WoW WoW WoW!!.............................

 

[Slim_Okrug]

Using adriatic sea for my reef tank. So far so good.

 

[x_burt]

Is there a NSW thread showing people tanks on here?

 

[Aussie paul]

+1with speedy I use it with no problems at all

 

[kyleflahardy]

I would advise against the use of water from the ocean. Although it may be a pain to go and buy salt it's worth it. When you get water out of the ocean you don't know what's in it. There could be chemicals from human polution and bad bacterias. Both of which could potentially wipe out your tank. When you make your own you know exactly what goes into the water and where it all came from.

 

[Speedy]

I love it myself . Even the local fish shops and coral distributors use it over here . Its also kinda cool to have real life water in your tank.

 

[steve&mari]

Shame he took that tank down it was absolutely stunning.

 

[Neil Fox]

I used it in my nano. It works well, I would just buffer it a little and keep the calcium up with 2 part. It is a lot more consistent than synthetic SW. I have a pretty good idea what the levels are, so have a couple of jars of NSW that I can use to see if my test kits and equipment are up to par. The only reason I'm not using it anymore is because I got an RO/DI unit and it's easier than lugging it. My water came from the Olympic Peninsula on the coast. Much more consistent than any synthetic. When I lived in Vietnam the seafood guys used to deliver it, not sure where it came from but the guy told me it was filtered and ran through a UV sterilizer. I used that stuff too but my tank was a lot less SPS heavy than now.

 

[x_burt]

I would advise against the use of water from the ocean. Although it may be a pain to go and buy salt it's worth it. When you get water out of the ocean you don't know what's in it. There could be chemicals from human polution and bad bacterias. Both of which could potentially wipe out your tank. When you make your own you know exactly what goes into the water and where it all came from.

This is the down sides that are often pointed out. I just haven't heard it from anyone actually using NSW. Is this from personal experience?