bottled ocean water?

[penam]

ok.. check this out i found a place that sells ocean water in a bottle(4.5 gallons of it) should i use it? does this stuff really work or is it some type of gimmick?

[MrDumass]

sounds too good to be true....be weary my friend.

[Reefer_Buddha]

you can get ocean water thats pre-packaged but i would only buy it from a respectable name. Ive seen it at petco under the name coralife which id deal with and look to see it says "Natural Sea Water". An lfs will also sell natural sea water as well. I find its just easier to mix my own.

[Aiptasia]

Since there's no one regulating the meaning of "natural," who'se to say they aren't mixing up their own seawater and selling it for $9.95 a jug?

 

I wouldn't use true natural seawater in my tanks without knowing the source first, the collection methods and how the water is purified. God knows what's in it. I live at a beach and I know for sure there's all kinds of runoff and crud in our inshore waters.

 

The best wild water to use is water directly from an ocean current, such as the gulf stream or the alaskan current. To get out to the gulf stream from where I live is a three hour boat ride. Even then, the water will have all kinds of zooplankton in it, some of which might be unhealthy for the tank. If you use wild sea water, make sure you micro filter it and UV sterilize it first. Nobody wants to accidentally introduce a pest or disease species of zooplankton to their tank accidentally.

 

I find my tanks do just fine with instant ocean and RO/DI water.

[agorsky]

I have been using Catalina Water and my experience has been very positive. I only pay $0.38 per gallon so it is VERY inexpensive for me to fill my tank. I pay lower because my LFS is filled directly by this company and they distribute directly into your personal container. You can see the company at: http://www.catalinawater.com/

 

Aaron

[obarrera]

What is the pet store called agorsky?

[ravenlot]

I'm just outside L.A. too. The Catalina water "Real Ocean" around my home is $.50/gallon. All the lfs near me seem to use it. I've heard only good things about it. They're now shipping bottled Real Ocean water to Petco, $10 for 5 gallons I think. That's way too much for me especially since the lfs sells it for $.50/gal. But, if that's what you saw at the store and you really, really, really want real ocean water, it's good stuff.

 

I've also heard good things about Oceanic salt. Obviously, you still have to mix it with fresh water but from my understanding it does come from natural salt water. It's supposedly cheaper than IO salt too. I've heard that it's got a consistency somewhat like powdered sugar and disolves really fast. Plus, it comes in plastic jug.

[MillerLite]

I just started using catalina water too. I did buy if from petco but 5 gallons for $10 isnt too much for supposedly real sea water huh? I use about 1 box a month. Unfortunately I cant get it in D.C. for $0.50/gallon, but I find that everything in the tank is looking good so far. Just started last week. We will see if the good luck continues. The parameters for the box water were as follows:

 

pH = 8.2

ammonia = 0

nitrite = 0

nitrate = 0

alkalinity = 7

calcium = 350

 

didnt measure Mg, Fe, PO4-

 

I raised the alkalinity and calcium and did a water change. Polyps seem to like it.

 

Also, I wrote the company and their is a expiration date on the box. They say it is good for up to a year, but Im not so sure about that. I try to buy it when they receive a new shipment of the stuff.

[ebin]

you all must remember the sea water that is sold is sea water and can be great but this water is piped in from the shore lines and only filtered through a sand filter media this is sufficent except in times of rain. i live near the beach and have seen the shores after a good downpour... i sure dont want that in with my investment. ive found that ocean water can also be very hit or miss on such things as buffer ph ect... i was having a ph problem it was the ocean water. i now stick with the mix myself it has what my system needs and is more controlled.

[ravenlot]

Well, I don't know about other sources of sea water but the Catalina water goes through a sterilization process according to the company's website http://www.catalinawater.com/Product.html. I suppose it's possible that their claims may be inaccurate but since several of my lfs use it as well as the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, I'm pretty sure that the quality is good and consistent. I haven't had any problems yet. Buy yeah, if I were already using a salt mix and it was working for me, I sure wouldn't change it.

 

I suppose I really like the convenience of just picking up saltwater too since I go to the lfs frequently anyway. I know it's easy to mix saltwater. But hey, it's one less thing to do.

[MillerLite]

I agree with ravenlot. Mixing saltwater can be a real pain in rear, especially with all of the inconsistancies between salts, and batches of salt-mix. Not saying that seawater is better than pre-mix, just thought I would try something different. Seems to be working so far.

 

Also, I guess it is true that we really dont know where the water is coming from. Could be piped just from the shore despite what the website says. But if several LFS and aquariums are going to trust Catalina water for their tanks with expensive livestock, I'd say why not. I always test the batch of water before using it anways. Hopefully Catalina wont let us down...

[MillerLite]

PS. Forgot to mention that I know I cant test for pollution in the water. But also, one cant test your salt mixes to make sure they are what they say they are as far as minerals go. We can only test those things with testkits unless we have access to sophisticated equipment to do so. Therefore there must be some trust placed somewhere...LFS? Catalina? Instant Ocean? etc...

[dmw913]

I saw a similar thread on this issue about 6 weeks ago and decided to visit the local mega-pet store to try out the water. I've fallen in love with the ease of use of the product and standard quality. I don't have a problem mixing, but one of the reasons I got into the nano biz and got rid of my big tank was to save time. The ready-made water is just another way for me to save time while maintaining a consitent type of water for the fishies. The only downside is the cost, but hey, in SLC Utah, the only saltwater I'm near is the Great Salt Lake...good for brine shrimp, not so good for tanks.

[milhouse74]

What is the SG of this water? Is anyone adjusting it higher or lower?

[ebin]

Catalina Water Company has developed a state-of-the-art filtration system that combines the use of oxygen (O2) converted into ozone (O3) and UV Sterilization. This destroys any bacteria or harmful microorganisms and, when used in conjunction with charcoal and sand, it will remove any heavy metals and toxins.

 

I am not knocking the bottled ocean water gig but it is only sand and charcoal filtered i too use it once in a blue moon & I used to swear by it. I found however it can tend to be inconsistant and in a nano we have little room for error with our water quality. sure the million gallon systems of the huge public aquariums can handle it when a couple thousand gallons are added. the ocean should test for ph at 8.3 so out of curiosity i tested some i picked up at the lfs it was 7.8 maby the kit was off some but ... maby the water is inconstant? this thread should go to the general discussion topic of the week i like all your input on the subect and want to hear more opinions on the matter.

[ebin]

also i just noticed the live rock at the catalina site stated above very nice

 

www.catalinawater.com

[MillerLite]

Also noted that when I just changed my water with the Catalina product, for once everything stayed open. Despite my many efforts to add the water from salt-mix slowly and my increased testing of salt-mix water, my inverts always seemed to close up for a short amount of time after I added the new water. For once, my polyps all stayed open and are now even bigger and more open than before water change.

[ebin]

is my lfs the only place that mixes big quanities and sells it by the gallon?

[Stingray]

I noticed a HUGE difference switching from Instant Ocean mix to using the Catalina Real Ocean water. My corals look a whole lot bigger and better. I don't think that they are selling hype. In fact, did you read about how poorly salt mixes reproduce actual ocean water. There is no comparison to the real deal.

 

Read the Report: "The Toxicity of Some Freshly Mixed Artificial Sea Water; A Bad Beginning for a Reef Aquarium." By: Ronald L. Shimek Ph.D.

[andrenym00378@msn.com]

just used nutri sea water and alkalinity is 10

[MillerLite]

I would be skeptical of saltwater mixed by the LFS for sale to customers. Unless you really know the owners, they may be selling you filtered tap water (ie not RO or DI) water that is mixed with salt. I cant seem to find any LFS in the DC area that uses RO water on their show tanks. I'm not sure where I could get the stuff. The catalina water, although expensive, works great. Good enough for me...

[pyrrhus]

ebin, the ph of seawater is 7.8 not 8.3 as you think, we keep a higher ph to prevent drops going below what the creatures can handle. they can actually handle a higher ph better than a lower ph hence using our water at 8.2-8.4