Cali Kid Corals

Can I use water from the Ocean for my saltwater tank?

Alexx

Alexx

Supporting Member
BARcard
Hi guys,
I live close to the ocean here in SF and I was wondering, wouldn't be better for me to just go to the ocean and get a few buckets of water from the ocean and use it in my fish tank?

I've been reading some posts online and I herd some ppl are doing it. Not sure if they get the water from SF ocean...
 
Rich Ross use sea water IIRC. But that supposedly pumped from a "clean" spot and goes through a lot of filtration before it is used.

I also remember some of the ocean side large aquarium use filtered ocean water
 
Pollution is probably the big issue.
Industrial, medical, and phosphates from runoff mainly.

Depends a lot on where exactly you plan to get it.
There are people that do, yes. I think they get it from half moon bay.

I would definitely not do it without 1 a micron filter + carbon.
 
See where the zoo is next to the beach? Yeah right next to that is the sewage treatment plant and everytime it rains too hard it overflows directly into the ocean. In college I had a surfer buddy who would regularly get sick if he surfed off Ocean beach after big storms. Bottom line, too close to major human populations usually translates to pollution.

That said, if you had a small 5 gallon tank, why the hell not? Call it an experiment :D
 
I wouldn't. I'd be sorely tempted to, but as pointed out ... full of crap, literally. When that bum poops on 6th St, it gets washed into the bay and then into your bucket. Do you want bum poo in your tank? Because that's how you get bum poo in your tank.
 
I was thinking to get it from half moon bay but did not know that I would need to filter it as well. I don't have a filter for that.

I was thinking it would be a good idea and cost effective.
 
You'd be better off when someone does a water change to save you some water.
I just did a 50g water change and just dumped it in the drain.
 
Years ago the old CalAcademy in GG Park Had a pipe line out to the ocean where it pulled in water and they sold it for $.10 a gallon. I used it for awhile and then I started testing it and every time it had high nitrates, phosphates and I forget what else. I will skip half moon bay unless it’s massively filtered. The sheen from diesel and oily fish from the offloading place screams NO at me.
 
xcaret said:
You'd be better off when someone does a water change to save you some water.
I just did a 50g water change and just dumped it in the drain.
Click to expand...
damm I think I could have used that water maybe it would have helped my tank. Not sure what is wrong with it.
 
Alexx said:
I was thinking to get it from half moon bay but did not know that I would need to filter it as well. I don't have a filter for that.

I was thinking it would be a good idea and cost effective.
Click to expand...

A lot of folks (and stores in the area) use saltwater from Half-moon Bay, but not directly from the ocean. It IS full of pollutants that will decimate your tank especially in the winter months when there are storms offshore and the sea-bottom stirred up. The sea water they use (and I used for years) comes from a guy that has a license to pull it from the bay. He then trucks it to his house where it goes through a nine step process o remove all that. Even after that though I wouldn't use the water at times in the winter because nitrates would still be high.

So the bottom line is -- no. Not if you're just grabbing it from the surface where most of the pollutants are and not treating it. Since you're in the city you can either make your own (easy) or maybe you can purchase from @Coral reefer ? Not sure if he sells to individuals though.
 
Just make sure you use a filter to remove the used heroin needles, condoms, and joint butts common on SF beaches.
 
If you're ever in the south bay, Neptune Aquatics sells NSW that's buffered and Ca+ dosed for $1.25/G. . RODI there is $0.75.

Fortunately for me, the Wholefoods near me has RODI refill for $0.49/G

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
Yup. They dose it to about 420 typically... and buffered.

Super convenient for a lazy guy like me. :)

And since i buy the water card, it's even cheaper and comes out probably better than home brew RODI + salt and dosing...
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I didn't know that. They get the same Half Moon Bay seawater (from Bob) that many other stores (and individuals like Erin) get. So do they buffer it once he delivers it?
 
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