Seawater from the 'REAL OCEAN' -- Pros/Cons

[halibutk]

Well i am new to the hobby of nano-reefs but am looking forward to starting one soon. You may have seen me asking a few questions on the boards from time to time, and now I am in the planning stages. I still have lots to learn I know.

 

The question I bring is:

 

What are the pros/cons and stuff to watch out for if I was to go with a bucket and scoop up the clean, pristine ocean water we have here in Alaska to use in my reef tank?

 

I live right on the coast so that is no problem.

 

I have tested the water quality in different locations around my house ( i live within 1/4 mile of the ocean) while finishing my marine biology degree several years ago and from my notes, the PH, and salinity seem to be right in line. However I have not yet tested for any trace elements.

 

Let me fill you in on what I would plan to do if it is not a bad idea:

 

I have the capability to drive to an area on the coast that is several miles away from any buildings and about a mile from any stream/river inlet (affecting salinity). I would scoop the water up into a 5 gallon bucket , test the salinity and PH and allow it to warm up (water here is around 45 degrees Fahrenheit). I live on a rocky coast so the water is pretty much void of suspended silicates (sand, like you get from getting water on a beach).

 

Im debating filtering the water for a couple reasons:

 

-One is that during the summer plankton blooms the water will be loaded with food. How long that food will last when the water warms up I am unsure, especially the copepods and amphipods in the water.

 

-Two I dont want filtering to remove any beneficial nutirents that could be suspended in the water. Is the previous thoughts wrong in any way. :*(

 

Any thoughts on how this is either bad or good and what else I would want to test, or make sure of, before I do this.

 

Saves me alot of money and in my noob opinion, it would be beneficial.

 

Thanks

[Aggie05]

I know that most of the time the big drawback to gathering sea water is that it carries pollutants from teh shore so the advice is if you are going to do it then to get it from miles off shore. You however present a unique situation which raises some possiblities. I'm sure one of our expert members will pop in on this one. But I agree, it sounds like it would be worth a shot.

[Crakeur]

a while back there was a member who was selling his reef and he lived near the ocean here in NY. He set his tank up with ocean water and every water change he did was with ocean water. I never saw the tank firsthand but the pictures I saw showed a very healthy looking tank. Not sure if that really means anything since you are on an opposite coast, your water temp is colder year round and probably has different things in it. One thing to note however, his proximity to NYC would mean that the ocean water, while several miles from the river outlets surrounding the city, was not the cleanest water in the world. Hell, he was taking his water from the same beaches where hypodermics are found year in and year out. My point? It can be done with some success.

[onthefly]

A few things you want to watch for and do:

 

1) Never get water after a heavy rain........What at least a week for all the pollutants that came down drains, creeks, and rivers to dilute away.

 

2) Try to collect water away from creek, rivers, and sewer drains (duh).

 

3) Not sure if you get "red tide" in Alaska, but never get water during any "abnormal" conditions like this.

 

3) Filter the water. Nothing major, just get out the chunkies.

 

4) Dilute with RO/DI to the SG you want (if ness.)

 

Other than that, peeps concerns about going miles offshore..... I never had a problem and I lived in Southern California.......beach closures ALL THE FREAKIN' TIME! But the water quality was fine. In Fact, most LFS in SD got their water at the same place I did.

 

Now that I'm in OR, I really miss the free H2O!!!!!!