fresh sea water

[jayrob]

hi, just wondering what peoples experience or opinion is of using fresh sea water. obviously my main concerns would be disease, polution and contamination, but i like the advantages such as its free, ready made, andhas all components for healthy fish.

[Ace25]

Sure, go out 10 miles and collect the water from as deep as possible and chances are you will be ok.. getting it within a mile of the shore your just asking for trouble IMO.

[Dale W.]

It also depends on where you are getting it from. I have a 400 gallon semi reef that runs solely on raw sea water that is taken 20ft off shore. Granted, we are fairly free of polution here but it still does exist.

BTW, I have had absolutely no external filtration on this tank for about 8 months. I have a large circulation pump that is turning the tank over about 10 times per hour.

[Ace25]

LOL, ok, I agree with that, if you live on Hawaii then chances are you will be ok. ;) (Lucky #$@ that Dale W. is)

[fishcatch22]

LOL, ok, I agree with that, if you live on Hawaii then chances are you will be ok. ;) (Lucky #$@ that Dale W. is)...unless you live by Honolulu, or near any other large city anywhere else in the world. I'd try it only if you live far away from any large cities.

[davocean]

We get filtered SW from a tap off the pier that also goes to Birch aquarium, but even that needs slight adjustment for alk and salinity.
Anything else close to shore risks too many contaminants.

[Ace25]

I have been to and snorkeled the reefs around Oahu and Honolulu wasn't even what I would call a big city, although it did have some tall buildings. It has a large Marina though so that would be the only place I would avoid getting NSW from on that island, but just a few miles away, just east of Waikiki there are thriving reefs. I would bet that water is safe for a tank if the reefs and amazing fish I saw where doing so well. With the amount of rainfall the island gets any pollution is extremely watered down by the time it hits the ocean, plus there really isn't much farming anyway. One large Pineapple plantation towards North shore was the majority of the farming I saw.

I have access to a local source of NSW from UCSB here in Cali, but myself and everyone else that has tried it has always ran into problems using it. There are way to many variables you can't test or account for when using NSW in places like I live. Coastal california, gulf of mexico, or most of the eastern seaboard would probably not be the best water to use IMO.

[jayrob]

i might check out for a tapped source at the beaches, not sure what the quality is like near us but might be worth having a look at, if the beach itself looks poor then i wouldn't consider it, but Aussie beaches are some what comparable to Hawaii ( but i am biased), lots of bays too. What about collecting live food?

[Ace25]

Didn't know you were from Aussie.. sheash.. 2 people live in places I would only dream of living at. Lucky guys. I have no idea of water conditions where you live but I know you have the biggest and best reef in the world over there. ;)

Live food.. knowing how strict they are about collecting things there, only thing I would say is check with your proper local authorities first. Certainly not the time you want to "do first and ask permission later" because the penalties are quite strict. Oh, and watch out for those Box jellyfish. ;)

[jayrob]

should check out nelsons bay& hawks nest on the net then you will be green with envy.