Salt and freshwater together

drjdp

AC Members
Apr 10, 2006
23
0
1
Los Angeles
Does anyone remember WONDER WATER? Back in 1970 it was used for keeping Marine and freshwater fish in the same tank. I remember it was weird seeing percula clownfish swimming with freshwater fish. It was not very stable and fish didn't thrive like today. I was wondering if anyone else knows how it worked or what it was composed of.
 
Sugar water

I googled "Wonder Water" and found some references to it. One article claimed it was made of sugar, baking soda, other assorted chemicals. I think I may have some old Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazines that had advertisements for the mixture. I remember the LFS telling me saltwater fish liked it more than freshwater fish because it had more dissolved O2 than saltwater but less than freshwater. It relied heavily on water changes and carbon filtration because I don't think the bacteria filtration was effective. In 1970 our fish selection was also limited to percula clowns, damsels, and a few triggerfish.
 
Google results

I found a reference to Wonder Water at this link:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seaH2OFAQ5.htm[/URL]

Scroll down to 8/8/2005 with the topic Wonder Water

Although it was strange to combine both fresh and marine fish, it was done when there were very few options available for keeping marine fish.

If I can find those 1970 TFH ads I'll post them.
 
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