NSW and beach sand

[thrillreefer]

Sounds cool. Have a picture of the sand in action?

 

[jfoahs04]

Thanks for all of this info. I'm about to get back into the hobby after being out for 5 years. I'm starting small - 13.5 AIO. I live just a few minutes from the beach in Winthrop and the proximity to the water combined with the small volume needed for my water changes makes NSW an appealing option (both cost, and the excuse to get over to the water). A couple of questions:

1) What's the issue with specific gravity and NSW from this area? From reading this, it seems like the NSW still needs salt added if I'm keeping a reef?
2) My initial plan is to fill 5g buckets. Those of you who use NSW, how to you fill your containers? Theoretically, I could just walk out and dip the bucket, but I'd prefer not to have to walk in during the colder months. Any suggestions on pump/hose setups? And if there's a better option than buckets (for a nano setup), I'm open to it.

 

[dz6t]

Just my opinions for your reference:
1. Atlantic cold water in our area may contain different strains of bacteria and plankton that are not exposed to by most of the coral that originated from tropical pacific reef. Especially stony coral. So use it carefully.
2. The coastal water is more polluted and hard to control, so carbon should be used to treat the water before use in reef tank.
3. The salinity difference needs to be compensated.
4. Depending on where you collect the water, look out for city water run off and avoid such area.
For me, it is not worth the efforts to collect and use sea water here.

 

[jfoahs04]

Just my opinions for your reference:
1. Atlantic cold water in our area may contain different strains of bacteria and plankton that are not exposed to by most of the coral that originated from tropical pacific reef. Especially stony coral. So use it carefully.
2. The coastal water is more polluted and hard to control, so carbon should be used to treat the water before use in reef tank.
3. The salinity difference needs to be compensated.
4. Depending on where you collect the water, look out for city water run off and avoid such area.
For me, it is not worth the efforts to collect and use sea water here.

Thank you - all very good tips.

 

[PatStar]

I started a 20 gallon nano tank with NSW over a year ago. My ugly stage was relatively tame. I dealt with some cyano that I believe were the result of nitrates bottoming out and a small amount of hair algae (mostly on my snails).

I go to Newport, Ri and grab water off Ocean Ave. I do a quick screening to remove any seaweed then use a 5 micron sock for better polishing. Water comes out clear. The tips above are what I follow to get my water too.

From the home tests performed, I knew the major elements had to be added but out of curiosity I sent out an ICP in June (Photo attached). Fauna Marin doesn’t test Alk but my Hanna reads 6.8 dkh. After getting the results, I started to dose trace elements and have gotten better results. I think not having any detectable Iron and Manganese hindered growth.

Overall, I would recommend the NSW especially if starting a new tank, just to get the beneficial bacteria. And If you don’t let the nitrates bottom out like I did, I’d guess the ugly stage would be even easier than mine.

good luck.

 

[PatStar]

Thanks for all of this info. I'm about to get back into the hobby after being out for 5 years. I'm starting small - 13.5 AIO. I live just a few minutes from the beach in Winthrop and the proximity to the water combined with the small volume needed for my water changes makes NSW an appealing option (both cost, and the excuse to get over to the water). A couple of questions:

1) What's the issue with specific gravity and NSW from this area? From reading this, it seems like the NSW still needs salt added if I'm keeping a reef?
2) My initial plan is to fill 5g buckets. Those of you who use NSW, how to you fill your containers? Theoretically, I could just walk out and dip the bucket, but I'd prefer not to have to walk in during the colder months. Any suggestions on pump/hose setups? And if there's a better option than buckets (for a nano setup), I'm open to it.

Salinity is fine at 1.025 but I guess you can bump it up to 1.026 if you wanted to. As you can see in my ICP results, the sodium is in the middle of the recommended range.

And how do I get it in colder months? I just tie a rope to my bucket and throw it in. Lol

 

[jfoahs04]

Salinity is fine at 1.025 but I guess you can bump it up to 1.026 if you wanted to. As you can see in my ICP results, the sodium is in the middle of the recommended range.

And how do I get it in colder months? I just tie a rope to my bucket and throw it in. Lol

Thanks for all of the information, @PatStar. It's extremely helpful. I'm planning to grab a sample for testing from the site in Winthrop prior to setup to get a better idea of what I'll be working with.