View Full Version : Natural Sea water in aquarium?
Timpon
06-29-2006, 3:43 PM
Hi all. I was thinking about starting my first saltwater tank.
Wanted to know if I can use natural sea water (I live next to the beach) in my tank instead of mixing my own saltwater? If I was to set up a tropical tank, would there have to be anything done to the water before it can be used, for example letting the water sit for a period of time etc ?
What if I was to start a native tank, putting fish I catch myself? Can they be kept in this collected water?
Also, I heard that in salt aquariums, you don't need to change the water as much or often as in fresh. Is this true, and what is the correct regime for water changes?
rottbo
06-29-2006, 3:51 PM
i actually know of a guy that lives down on the gulf coast of florida and he has plumbed his tank to the sea so it just constantly pumps fresh seawater in he only has to clean the glass and vaccum thats it a perfect reef setup......
jrwagner
06-29-2006, 7:35 PM
i know lots of people that use natural sea water.. just putting in my two sence...definately use a uv so that you can kill anything that you dont want in a fish tank...ex. baby jelly fish? etc
justjonx2
06-29-2006, 7:41 PM
YEah i knew a friend who did that. He would go to the beach and collect a few jugs every week or so. As long as theirs no pollution i dont see the problem.
i think a lot of coastal shark keepers do that, it would cost a lot in water amd salt if they didnt
water changes from a river system (for example) to keep fish you caught from that river will be fine too.
Timpon
06-29-2006, 10:32 PM
Thanks everybody for the replies. Think I will give it a go.
What about water changes, how much and how often? Less than freshwater tanks?
grmanrocks
06-30-2006, 2:14 PM
i myself im currently doing a native tank and ya i used some natural sea water...... but when i redo it in a month (there were some complications) im using a mix. the thing is the bacteria and other unwanted organisms u put into your tank with the collected water thrive out of controll in a cantained enviroment, or so i think, i think ists safer to use a mix to avoid umwanted pollution of bacteria. just my $0.02
DeLgAdO
06-30-2006, 2:52 PM
i think using natural sea water would only be good if you keep native fishes from the same water.
if you where to set-up a tropical reef tank and use local sea water.
well.... you get the idea.
most local water are too heavily polluted for this use anyways.
native is the way to go :thumbsup:
i think ists safer to use a mix to avoid umwanted pollution of bacteria. just my $0.02
yes
Yup I know many people who use natural seawater and also one who mix it with FW into brackish.
andywg
07-02-2006, 6:43 AM
Thanks everybody for the replies. Think I will give it a go.
What about water changes, how much and how often? Less than freshwater tanks?
It depends on the stocking.
Most reefers aim for a balanced ecosystem with a skimmer and some macroalgae to remove nutrients to make water changes almost optional.
Your nitrates, phosphates and other levels will determine just how often you have to do a water change. I know of some setups where there hasn't been a water change in 6 years, and plenty of people do one oevery 6-12 months.
On the other hand, keeping SW preds in a FOWLR will probably want at least 10% per week.