Using Natural Seawater in an Aquarium

If you are fortunate enough to live by the sea you can take advantage of free saltwater, but it takes some work to make it safe for aquarium use. The first thing is to find clear and clean water. You can usually tell the quality of water by looking at it. If you can go offshore to collect water, when you run into a major current, (here we have the Gulfstream), the water is particularly well suited for aquarium use. If you don't have a boat you can still collect water for near shore locations, just take care to stay away from inlets, river mouths, marshes and the like. Water from the beach will be better than these areas usually because the water will be less affected by run off and freshwater mixing, but if you have to get water from an inland location, go at high tide and be sure to test the salinity at the time of collection.

After you find a suitable source of water, you can collect it with buckets or with a pump. If you use a pump that has a cord make sure that the plug will not be affected by sudden waves from passing boats and the like. However you pull the water out of the ocean, you should run it through a micron sock to remove larger particles and potential pests from the water. Plankton netting can also be used and it is generally made better than micron socks.

Water barrels with tops are great to use if you have a trailer or a large van. You can find the standard used in the hobby here. If that won't work, five gallon paint buckets are probably the best for use in a car, you don't want to make the buckets to heavy, especially if you have to park your car far from the water source. At this point you are probably thinking, "Maybe I should by a boat so I can get free saltwater for my aquarium". My advice to you if you go this route is to tell people you decided to get a boat to "take the family out", "go fishing", or to "get a tan". People will look at you strange if you take this hobby any further than you have already.

When you bring the water home you still have a few more steps to perform to make the water safe for use. Even though most parasites will have been sorted out by the micron sock or plankton net, spores, larvae and other life may still persist. You can kill all the life in the water by treating it with chlorine. When doing so add a little at first, under aeration until the water takes on a slight swimming pool smell. Allow the water to sit for a few hours. Test for the presence of chlorine, you will want to reach a reading of 10ppm, and sustain it for a few hours. Chlorine will dissipate, so it is important to wait some time before testing. After you reach a reading of 10ppm, (or higher), allow the water to sit with aeration over night. When you are ready to use the water, treat it with Prime, or similar dechlorinator. Test to make sure readings are at zero. Even when they are, it pays to let the water sit for another 24 hours with aeration, although this time a bag of carbon should be added to the water container you are using. After this, the water should be safe to add to your aquarium. You should test all the parameters in your aquarium that you regularly monitor, (salinity, ph, temperature, calcium, etc..), to make sure the water is comparable. If not, make changes to the water until it meets the standards you want.

Comments (6)

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• wu-fezu-wa-ma

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  If you have any questions about using Natural Sea Water, (NSW), let me know.

  Mon 23 Jul 2012 13:48:16 PDT

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• Guest (Michael Kennedy)

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  I am lucky enough to live near Scripps Aquarium in San Diego. Scripps filters their sea water then uses it in their system. They allow anyone to come and take free sea water from their system. My question is, have you ever heard anything bad about using this type of access. I have heard some rumors, but nothing confirmed. I've had very good luck so far.

  Mon 23 Jul 2012 17:06:28 PDT

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• wu-fezu-wa-ma

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  They use ozone if I am not mistaken. Sometimes large coastal institutions have deep saltwater wells that they use. However they do it, it is a very popular source, and has been used by aquarists for years with great results, I would use it. Next time your there ask them what system they use. It is probably impractical for home aquaria, but it would be interesting.

  Mon 23 Jul 2012 17:11:23 PDT

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• Guest (Kyle)

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  Hi all, I am also lucky enough to be living near to the ocean. I currently reside in Fort Lauderdale but am relatively new to the area. I was wondering if you were familiar with this area and if you knew if there were any good places to collect near shore NSW as I don't have a boat yet to collect offshore. I'm asking because I'm not sure how safe it is around here because there are not only some large sewage outfalls but also massive outflow through port everglades containing all the inland junk.
  
  Thanks in advance!

  Fri 12 Oct 2012 03:47:45 PDT

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• Guest (Jacob Davis)

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  I live on the ocean in Newfoundland and was thinking if getting buckets and just bringing the NSW to my house but over the summer I noticed gasoline or oil on the surface and ther is an oil refinery just at the mouth of the bay. Do u think this water is safe for a sps heavy reef aquarium?

  Wed 13 Feb 2013 14:41:36 PST

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• wu-fezu-wa-ma

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  No I wouldn't put oil contaminated water into your reef tank, or any fish tank. Small amounts can be lethal in aquaria. Try to find an inlet away from heavy boat activity that has a flushing of water, or a beach far from marinas and inlets.

  Wed 13 Feb 2013 16:30:55 PST

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