New England Ocean Water

[Nixperience]

I live about 10 minutes from the ocean in Massachusetts. I was wondering if I could harvest ocean water and if I did, what kind of precautions I should do. The water temp is probably 45-50F right now. Not sure what kind of pests would be in the water that could survive 80F reef temperatures.

 

Has anyone done this from this area? Let me know what you've done and he results if you've done it please.

[Nixperience]

I should also add that there is very very little boat traffic this time of year since it is so cold, so shallow water pollution should be very low.

[ReefWeeds]

I would be less nervous about boat traffic and more nervous about marsh & river run off, sewage treatment plant discharge, etc. in the waters. Without proper filtration and sterilization, I think it would be very very risky. Living near the shore in CT and being a boater, we've been out all times of the year and there are definitely nasties in the water all the time. Both inshore and out in the unprotected Atlantic. This is just my opinion though - not based on research, just observation.

[Nixperience]

Thanks for your input. I was wondering if I just heavily dosed the water with paraguard if it would kill off some nasties. It dissipates from the water within 48 hours.

[Andreww]

I was thinking to do the same and haul water from the puget sound here in Seattle; but gave up that idea; way too risky ...

[Spiderguardnano]

I use scripts water here in San Diego not sure the difference but I warm the water and everything doing good

[ReefWeeds]

I use scripts water here in San Diego not sure the difference but I warm the water and everything doing good

But they heavily filter it for impurities don't they? Definitely real ocean water has advantages, as long as it is filtered for pollutants, etc. I would be very nervous to collect and use my own. Again, just my opinion.

[Nixperience]

But they heavily filter it for impurities don't they? Definitely real ocean water has advantages, as long as it is filtered for pollutants, etc. I would be very nervous to collect and use my own. Again, just my opinion.

Thanks. I won't do it. If I ever set up a local cold water tank, I think I'd try it then.

[gus6464]

But they heavily filter it for impurities don't they? Definitely real ocean water has advantages, as long as it is filtered for pollutants, etc. I would be very nervous to collect and use my own. Again, just my opinion.

 

Yes, Scripps water goes through massive sand filters and the systems are flushed constantly so water is never more than a couple days old. The system feeds the entire Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Birch Aquarium so it is top notch. They also close the system down when they find something wrong with the collection water.

[Beer]

The New England Aquarium pulls water from the Boston Harbor.

 

Granted they are pulling slightly deeper water than you would be (assuming you are not taking a boat out and dropping a suction line 80-100 feet down). I think they just run it through a fluidized sand filter, possibly UV sterilization, and heat it up (initial heating is from outgoing waste water). Tens of thousands of gallons an hour.

 

 

Actually, now that I think about it, they may only filter and sterilize the outgoing water to prevent contaminating the harbor with potential non-native parasites. I'm bringing my nephew on Wednesday, if I remember, I'll ask an post here.

 

 

All kind of moot though. I doubt you'd be pulling water from similar depths. Way too many issues with runoff from sewage/wastewater as well as from people's lawns and the streets after storms.

[Nixperience]

Thanks for the feedback. Good to know. I'd like to go to New England aquarium soon.

[Beer]

They have a really cool coral tank with a few really big, really fat mandarins. It's really the only tropical coral tank on display.

Last time I was there, there was a bunch of broken coral frags sitting on the bottom. I wanted to ask if I could get a few.

 

The place is definately a lot smaller than I remembered as a kid. Feels even smaller when you go with someone that rushes from exhibit to exhibit without really looking at everything. You can cover the place in less than half an hour that way . You can easily spend the entire day if you take your time and really explore each exhibit.

 

Looking forward to the visit tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too crowded, it is winter break.