I currently live near an ocean and was wondering if using real ocean water to do water changes is a good idea? Near the beach there is a spout coming from a fence where people say that you can turn on the valve and get real ocean water. A lot of people use it here for there tanks, they say its filtered and its like a five minute drive from my house. If this is a good idea, what should I do before adding it to my tank?
Using real Ocean water in tank?
- Thread starter mrebolton
- Start date
before using this water for ur tank i would definetly take a sample to the town and get it tested to see if there are any chemicals in there that could harm ur tank. however, if other ppl say they use it and everything is doing good then i suppose u can as well, but i would definetly still get it tested.
and you should let it sit around for a good while to eliminate the plankton. for more info, refer to the article on this website.
I wouldn't risk it. Being a marine biologist, I know that there are all kinds of funky stuff in the ocean that you do NOT want in a closed system. Like harmful bacteria, disease pathogens, parasites, pesticides, hormones, sewage. Remember red tides? Not to mention just a lot of nutrients that could throw your tank all out of whack. Those things are bad enough in the ocean (increased frequency and number of beach closures in recent years) but in a contained system, it would just be asking for trouble...
Even if it is filtered, who do you trust? Someone else's word, or your own hands and eyes? It's just safer if you mix the water yourself. Hoepfully you've also tested your tap water so you know what's in it, too (in terms of nutrients, metals).
Even if it is filtered, who do you trust? Someone else's word, or your own hands and eyes? It's just safer if you mix the water yourself. Hoepfully you've also tested your tap water so you know what's in it, too (in terms of nutrients, metals).
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