Collecting NSW

Rivah Rat · 01-12-2006, 10:15 AM

I have heard of some people going out in the ocean and collecting their own NSW. Would it be possible to collect the water from the Chesapeake Bay and add salt to bring the levels up to where they need to be for my tank? I have terrible well water and my tank has not been doing well The water has alot of sulfer (at least) and I was told I need a chlorine injector on my water supply. I have an RO/DI unit for my tank water, but I don't have a TDS meter yet. What are your opinions please.

ski1297 · 01-12-2006, 10:18 AM

How old is your RO/DI?

ski1297 · 01-12-2006, 10:24 AM

I would just use the RO/DI water. Its hard to say what could be in the water from Chesapeake Bay. The RO/DI should take out every thing you do not want in your water. Who told you that you need a chlorine injector on your water supply? Was this for you house water or you RO/DI water?

Rivah Rat · 01-12-2006, 10:51 AM

The unit is a couple years old, but I change the filters regularly. My tank has gone through a few changes lately. I used to run a DSB in my 55 gal. but algae problems started and the tank started crashing (corals dying).I decided to upsize my tank and bought a new 120 AGA. When I switched tanks I went BB with starboard and massive flow I also switched to oceanic salt, I think I'm going back to IO.

Rivah Rat · 01-12-2006, 10:53 AM

The suggestion about the chlorine injector came from a guy I called to test my water, but only came prepared to sell me gadgets to remove the sulfer smell.

ski1297 · 01-12-2006, 10:57 AM

I would try to get a TDS meter when you can. But if you change your filters you should be ok. Like you said he only came prepared to sell me gadgets.

dobejazz · 01-12-2006, 11:30 AM

I would also check you hot water heater as the source for the sulfer smell! We had that problem and the water guy I called checked the hot water heater thats where the smell was coming from

tdwyatt · 01-12-2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivah Rat

I have heard of some people going out in the ocean and collecting their own NSW. Would it be possible to collect the water from the Chesapeake Bay and add salt to bring the levels up to where they need to be for my tank? I have terrible well water and my tank has not been doing well ... I have an RO/DI unit for my tank water, but I don't have a TDS meter yet. What are your opinions please?

Adding IO or other ASW mix to the seawater from the Chesapeake Bay will not result in an acceptable product for ASW, as the proportionality of the conservative elements will not be under your control. It would be much better to avoid all the junk in the Chesapeake and use a contollable source filtrate (RO/DI water) to manufacture your own ASW using a quality salt mix (like IO). With the Chesapeake, nitrates and phosphates will be the LEAST of your worries...

http://infotrek.er.usgs.gov/traverse...17549113617251

RO/DI, and install one of the carbon block filters intended for the whole house on your incoming water main to remove any objectionable smells or bad tastes from your drinking water. You can get one at most home improvement centers, and so long as you replace the filter on a regular basis, it will be an aid to your RO/DI filter as well as improving the quality of your drinking water.

Marine Depot makes a inexpensive TDS meter with two sensors for your RO/DI device made by HM, and although most folks use it to monitor both the output of the RO membrane (to watch for exhaustion of the membrane) and the final product water (to monitor the DI resin efficiency), you can set it up to monitor your water mains TDS to see how well the whole house filter is working (and this will tell you when it is exhausted if the taste doesn't give it away). See THIS LINK for the Marine Depot HM TDS device .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rivah Rat

My tank has gone through a few changes lately. I used to run a DSB in my 55 gal. but algae problems started and the tank started crashing (corals dying).I decided to upsize my tank and bought a new 120 AGA. When I switched tanks I went BB with starboard and massive flow I also switched to oceanic salt, I think I'm going back to IO.

I am concerned more about your comments on the system, could you post some parameter values for your water column as well as the specs for your setup? Also post a few specifics about what you think is wrong with the system as well.

Twitterbait · 01-12-2006, 12:11 PM

What is the salinity of the SW along the coast up there. I have used natural SW but i collected it away form shipping and processing areas. I would stay away from the bay. but it might still ba a possibility. But it would be best to start by finding the problem with your current setup.

Rivah Rat · 01-12-2006, 02:22 PM

The only parameters I have right now is SG 1.023(refractometer) and the PH 8.3. I need to order all new test kits, it think mine are too old.

The tank setup is an AGA120 with a 15gal. sump with a turbofloater skimmer. The return from the sump is an Eheim 1262 with and eductor (900 gph) and a closed loop with a sequence dart (3600 gph) this has 2 eductors and two regular outputs.
I cooked my rock before setting up the 120 and now I am trying to eradicate the aptasia and the hydroids from the live rock.

That's a shame I can't use the bay water, I was hoping to derive benefits from using NSW, but it sounds too risky.

Twitterbait · 01-12-2006, 04:13 PM

When i collected i followed a few simple rules.

collect from a vacant beach that is away from shipping or rivers. make sure the beach looks clean and that there is little to no foam buildup on the beach.
make sure it isn't raining

the best thing would be to circulate the water through a skimmer and a UV filter.

JCox · 01-12-2006, 04:18 PM

I wouldn't even think of adding water from the Chesapeake into my tank. Man, that stuff is far from the quality of water that your inhabitants are used to. Keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion, I have no scientific stats to back up my suspisions, but I would definately assume that the bay's water quality is far from optimal for a reef tank. When was the last time you could see more than a foot below the bay's surface?

Rivah Rat · 01-12-2006, 10:30 PM

Actually, I was going to use it as an excuse to take the boat out. But I'm thinking that it's not a good idea after all. I'll get a TDS meter and if I can't lower the nitrates enough I may try filtered bottled water.