Natural Sea Water

[DSmith]

Being the Fl. Crackers that we are.... Does anyone know how to safely filter natural sea water? As we are presently "cooking" our rock, we are spending a great deal of money on salt that we could save by toddling our little butts out to sea and getting it for FREE!

Any filtering ideas?

[partobe]

First off Fl rocks!! I think the problem Ive heard before is if you collect it you need to collect it from out in the sea not from the banks. The beaches and sea banks are where all the cr*p wind up. Maybe someone who knows more about it will chime in. I totally know what you mean about the money.

[tims]

Yes patrick you are correct,
i do know of a few Florida reefers that did or still do use that water to run their tanks too.

[reefmanwannabe]

you can use it , I went to Macna this year and someone asked the same question , and the speaker(forget his name) says you can use it . Personally I would make sure its very well filtered (just in case). I live in Kissimmee , kinda wish i lived closer to the water would make my life a lot easier.

[hng]

I agree with Patrick. First, what would you use to filter the water with? Unless you have some specialized equipment, you can, at most, filter out particulate matter like sand, twigs, and large particles. But that leaves all of the dissolved waste located in the water, including phosphate, chemicals, heavy metals, etc. Most people recommend using only offshore water because water at the coast is contaminated by all of the runoff from land (chemicals, fertilizer, human waste).

[DSmith]

I read esewhere to keep it in the dark for 3-4 days, siphon the yuck off of the bottom, and then run it under a UV light. I was hoping there was someone out there who had already done it.

We will definitely be getting the water from off the coast and during the incoming tide.

[fish.freak]

i have used it in flow through system with no problem in OR. When I put it in my 10 gal closed system I got lots of hair algae.

[DSmith]

Fish.Freak, How did you filter the water?

[fish.freak]

Originally Posted by DSmith

Fish.Freak, How did you filter the water?

I didn't I just filled a bucket put an air stone in and heated it for a few days. Then I tired to avoid the sludge at the bottom of the bucket. Probably not the best choice, but it worked for the summer I was on the coast.

[DSmith]

You must be one of the luckiest people alive! If I did that, I would end up with ich, popeye, and every other weird ailment known to the aquarium. And on that note, We'll launch the boat tommorrow.

[fish.freak]

dont let my story be the reasoning behind you actions... Did I forget to mention a BAD HAIR ALGAE outbreak?

[DSmith]

I was just kidding. In all seriousness, I figure we are using the water to cook the rock and rinse it. So, if anything is left in the water after it is stored in the dark and then run under a UV light, it will die in the dark where the rock is "cooking". This is seriously turning into quite a project.

[hng]

Originally Posted by DSmith

I read esewhere to keep it in the dark for 3-4 days, siphon the yuck off of the bottom, and then run it under a UV light.

I really don't see how this technique would help much. The UV would help kill pathogens but it wouldn't remove any dissolved chemicals. Ask Flyguy about phosphate in the water .

[Elegance Coral]

The problem with NSW is that it is alive. It is teaming with plankton from microbes on up. Many of these critters begin to die shortly after being removed from the ocean. If you had a canister filter with a very good mechanical filter to remove most of these critters then run it through your UV to kill anything that may make it through the canister, I think you would be fine. This should greatly reduce the amount of organic matter on the bottom of the bucket if kept in the dark for a few days.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by DSmith

Being the Fl. Crackers that we are.... Does anyone know how to safely filter natural sea water? As we are presently "cooking" our rock, we are spending a great deal of money on salt that we could save by toddling our little butts out to sea and getting it for FREE!

Any filtering ideas?

You don't say what part of Florida you are in. If you are on the West Coast of florida (Gulf Of Mexico) side, give up the idea. You would have to go just about into the middle of the Gulf to get any decent water. The water flow patterns in the Gulf make it extermely difficult.

If you are on the Ocean side, then you would need to go 30 miles or so out to get away from the "bad water". The further north you go, the worse it gets (The Jacksonville area is horrible).

If you are going to try to filter NSW, to save money, then you could just as well try to filter the waste water. One is going to be just as difficult as the other.

Cost wise? Compare the cost of running your boat, your vehicle, plus the cost of filtering that water and you will find out that it is actually cheaper, in the end, to make your own sw. You haven't said how much water you use each change, but, SW weighs in at just under 9 pounds a gallon. 100 gallons is 900 pounds (give or take a little), and you have to transport, store, and filter that water.

I considered it, for much the same reason you are, cost. In the end, I figured out it just isn't worth it.

NSW from the coast in Jacksonville is how I ended up with my 75G tank. My best friend set it up, got the NSW, and finally gave up on trying to get rid of the Hair Algea. Gave me the tank. He has it back now (I got my 90) but I am getting ready (after I move) to go get it again, he didn't learn his lesson the first time