Who is using NSW in their reef?

[reefjock]

I live on Sequim Bay and have been using NSW for over a year now. I have not had any problems. I simply walk out into the bay and dip my 5gal buckets. I only collect water on slack high tide and only if the water is visibly clear. Once collected I store it in 25 gal rubbermaid garbage cans. SG is normally about 1.19 so I will add approx 2 cups of SeaChem Marine salt to get to 1.024. I also add Seachem marine buffer to boost ph to 8.3. I slowly bring the temp up to 78 and areate for two+ days. I believe that it has been extremely successful as I have been able to keep 5 flame scallops, a mandarin goby and powder blue tang very happy!

 

[TJL]

Unwanted guests???

Hey Reefjock,

Have or do you ever get any unwanted guests in the NSW ie; crab, shrimp or barnicle larve in the collected water. I would imagine there must be an occasional pod or something? Also do you intentionally collect any pods for your system?

Todd

 

[reefjock]

Todd,

I really can't say yes or no to your fist question. At times some sea lettuce will be included but as far as larvae go I have not seen any with my naked eye. That's not to say they aren't there. No, I have never intentionally collected pods.

I started using NSW for two reasons. First was cost, at the time I was strapped for cash to keep up with my wc regime. The second was that it was driving me crazy that I had easy access to it and wasn't using it. I did a lot of reading on forums about the topic and the opinions were so varied that I decided the only way to find out would be to try it myself. As I said before I have not had any ill effects. I have a full blown reef tank with sps, lps, ricordia's, rbta, chili coral and xenia. Everybody is happy and growing!

 

[broskie]

I was just at the Seattle aquarium and after talkin with an employee about the tanks and the water I thought it would be a great idea to get water from there. So since I just got my 57g up I will start the tank with this water and see how it goes. The price is amazing most lfs charge 1.00 a gallon. With my sump that would be $77 dollars. At the Seattle aquarium that would be $3.85. Yes please

 

[scottmdebord]

Did the employe say if they add anything to the water before they use it

 

[broskie]

Nothing more then it's pumped from the bay thru a filter and into there tanks. I would imagine though if the salinity is low they would need to add to it for there tropical tanks.

 

[Chichas01]

I was just at the Seattle aquarium and after talkin with an employee about the tanks and the water I thought it would be a great idea to get water from there. So since I just got my 57g up I will start the tank with this water and see how it goes. The price is amazing most lfs charge 1.00 a gallon. With my sump that would be $77 dollars. At the Seattle aquarium that would be $3.85. Yes please

3.85 for 75+ gallons of water from the Seattle Aquarium? Am I reading that right?

 

[broskie]

That correct, they charge a one time fee of $10 dollars for a card that allows you to use the pier with the pumps and it's a nickel a gallon. Then at the end of the month they send you an invoice for the water you used. Minimum $1

 

[Chichas01]

wow! I'm pretty sure I can't make my own for that. Would still need to add some salt but holy crap that's cheap and I wouldn't be sending 4 gallons of water down the drain everytime I make a gallon of RO/DI. I think it's time to rig up a 50 gallon drum in the back of the Subi. Wife is gonna love this one. Best thing is its so close to me since I'm in WS!

 

[broskie]

Oh, theres know way you can make it for that cheap. It's about time Washington starts giving back. I'm in the same boat though having to load two 50 pound drums into the back of the womans Scion casue it isn't going into the E55 haha. But I will start My system with this water and see how it goes. I would beleive it would only be benefical with the natural additives that would come from the ocean but will see. Another Bonus is that it's open 24HRS so you can go down there and get water whenever you wish. They suggest between 8pm and 7am so its not so busy at the pier but being able to go there on a sunday at 8-9pm for a water change the next morning is great.

 

[Chichas01]

What sort of filtration does the water go through?

 

[broskie]

So this is from there web page.

The water is drwan from Elliot Bay and is the same water used in all there exhibits "including there Reef Tanks". Salinity is App 28 ppt as where open ocean water is 32 ppt. The water is passed thru Ultraviolet disinfection wave lengths and then passed thru a -750 Micron filter. I'm going to call and see how the whole sign up process works.

 

[broskie]

So I just called and it's pretty easy to sign up. All you need to do is drive to the aquarium to get your access card. The card is a one time fee of $10 dollars. They ask for you to preload atleast $25 on the card and charge $0.05 per gallon with a minimum charge of $1.00 per visit. After you use your $25 dollars "500 Gallons" up they send you a monthly invoice for any visits you may have made in that month. At $0.05 a gallon the minimum amount of water to get to reach your dollar is 20 gallons. Still an amazing deal in my opinion.

 

[Chichas01]

Great info. I'm totaly going to try this for 2 months and see what happens to my water bill.

 

[Chichas01]

You have a link to that info on their web page?

 

[Brie]

I'm curious if anyone has tested phosphate, calcium, mag, etc of that water? Could anyone give me results?

 

[Chichas01]

You have a link to that info on their web page?

Nevermind. I found it.
http://www.seattleaquarium.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=230

4th item down on the page for anyone who is interested.

 

[beoks]

I'm still trying to work out how Im going to get all this water home

 

[barrierreefcf]

So I know it'll seem like I have an agenda but I just have to throw out my .02. Please keep in mind we make about a 12% margin on salt sales so this isn't some grand scheme to sell more salt. Over the years this water source has gone from popular to unpopular many times. I can't tell you how many customers were hot on it for months, only to come in and say it crashed their tank when they did a water change. No other changes...just their usual change. All we could deduce was that maybe during periods of heavy rain there were toxins in the freshwater runoff that found their way into the source area. Saltwater that had been fine for a while suddenly caused problems killing off entire aquariums. This water is filtered with sand filters and UV. Nothing is done for chemical toxins or nutrients. I would run carbon filtration before use and test for PO4 and Nitrate at a minimum.

On the other hand...the purity of your source water is the backbone of your healthy aquarium. You are putting your faith in an environment that is subject to numerous factors beyond your control. You are also trusting someone else to maintain filtration equipment that doesn't even ensure the suitability of the water for your intended use. There are so many things we can't control in our aquariums. Why add something else to that list? Is it really worth the risk??

Just presenting another side to this

 

[fishoutofwater]

I will put my 2 cents in. I have been using this water for 10 years with no ill effects what so ever. I have heard it all but have never had any problems what so ever. I will leave it at that.