wasp Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Well FINALLY we have had several days of steady SouthWest winds, and happy to report that the water at Takapuna boat ramp is good quality at the moment (Sunday night). It is the best it has been, that i have seen, since October last year. Should remain good for at least another day or so, remember to collect just before high tide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Most of the sewage should be washed away with all the rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Here's a couple shots taken at various times of some of my own more sensitive coral types, growing in water from Takapuna boat ramp. You can see how sick they are, suffering from all that sewerage, I guess! And, if there is ever a REAL problem, a little vodka can do wonders! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 At least the cat is happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Wasp, your frag has settled well in my tank colour is amazing with polyps extension and growing fast too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Cheers Speed! You know I tried when you were in Aussie, but couldn't give that one away! I'll be in touch today about a visit . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Thanks for the snails Speed, and your tank is a stunner, very impressed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 So does this mean you can use beach water? Any specific considerations you got to take into account? Sorry to hijack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Yes, but collecting straight off a beach would be difficult to get really clean water. Rocks, wharf, or boat ramp would be best. Basically I don't collect water unless it is near enough crystal clear, when conditions are right I collect enough to last me several months so I won't be pressured to collect when conditions are less than ideal. You need an off shore wind so the sea is flat and muck is not being stirred up, and collect shortly before high tide. If there is a river or some kind of run off close by you would not collect after a whole lot of rain to avoid any possible undesireable contamination. NZ seawater is more concentrated than where most of our fish and corals come from, so you dilute it with 10% fresh water. Having said all that using artificial salt mix can be a perfectly fine option, some of us just use seawater if it is easy to collect, plus of course it is cheaper if we don't have to do many miles to collect it. I drive past Takapuna boat ramp every day. But for some people making an artificial mix will be the best option. There are some people who dig their toes in and say either artificial, or natural, is the only way to go, my own private opinion is both options can work well, there are pitfalls with both, long as you understand and manage those pitfalls, just go whatever suits you best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Yes, but collecting straight off a beach would be difficult to get really clean water. Rocks, wharf, or boat ramp would be best. Basically I don't collect water unless it is near enough crystal clear, when conditions are right I collect enough to last me several months so I won't be pressured to collect when conditions are less than ideal. You need an off shore wind so the sea is flat and muck is not being stirred up, and collect shortly before high tide. If there is a river or some kind of run off close by you would not collect after a whole lot of rain to avoid any possible undesireable contamination. NZ seawater is more concentrated than where most of our fish and corals come from, so you dilute it with 10% fresh water. Having said all that using artificial salt mix can be a perfectly fine option, some of us just use seawater if it is easy to collect, plus of course it is cheaper if we don't have to do many miles to collect it. I drive past Takapuna boat ramp every day. But for some people making an artificial mix will be the best option. There are some people who dig their toes in and say either artificial, or natural, is the only way to go, my own private opinion is both options can work well, there are pitfalls with both, long as you understand and manage those pitfalls, just go whatever suits you best. Thanks for that, I wasn't aware, always used artificial salt. Natural would be cheaper for me :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camnbron Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I have been using NSW on my tank for about 7 months. Its handy if you have friends that go fishing lots - just ask them nicely to take some containers and fill them up before they head back in. I would suggest that if you are store NSW for your tank that you use food grade containers and if they are secondhand ensure they are very well cleaned out. I know of a couple of Aucklanders that didn't clean them out enough and introduced some form of sugar into their tanks which related in some storck losses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 this should make good reading . experts in waitakere have been saying it for years and years. only now it makes the papers http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/stor ... d=10499855 However it says. Chemical contamination of Auckland shellfish is low by international standards and shows no deterioration. Thats good. should not effect clams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Used ASW on my last tank - worked well, sucessful sps tank Using NSW on my new tank - works well, sucessful sps tank so far I tend to agree with Wasp, both work equally well given all other parameters stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I've been using Takapuna water for over a year and so far no probs, UV filter has proved to be very important when using NSW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volkster Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I'll be going NSW with my new tank (cheaper option as it's a 7 footer) would Kawakawa Bay be an ok place to collect NSW or is there a better place? Takapuna is a wee way from Papakura :lol: Can see here: http://www.wises.co.nz/l/Auckland/Kawak ... s/7047v/4/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Kawakawa would be as good, if not better. You'll just have to avoid the water after rain etc, and same tide, i.e., just before full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Thanks for the article Reef, it's sad to see what is happening to our gulf. For a while now i have had a sinking feeling that the time might come I can no longer collect water from the sea, we will end up like the US where everybody has to use salt mix. For the time being though I'm seeing tanks using NSW growing lovely healthy corals, but the quality of our seawater is something we need to be aware of and continue to share information on as we become aware of it. There is also an emotional component to the NSW vs ASW thing, where people take a fixed position to support whatever they themselves are doing. An example of that would be an ex Chch reefer who on this forum vehemently opposed the use of NSW on the grounds it might contain pollution, yet got his top up water straight out of the tap! Said the tap water was "good", but never actually tested it. Go figure! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I read an article from Israel that some reefers over there collect water from the Mediterranean sea, now, that is one polluted sea that makes takapuna water sparkling clean with comparison. and I can confirm this as I found myself at times swimming in Tel Aviv beach surrounded by floating pieces of crap. :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 i think i now who you are referring to :lol: . He gets such a hard time (though i know you mean no offence wasp), i feel i have to stick up for him, he was really helpful and kind looking after my fish, corals and helping me shift my tank when i bought my setup. Re: chch tap water, well i tested the house water today with the TDS meter was 70ppm. Tested the water in my barrel that had gone through the DI meter it was 23ppm... so still not great, however previously this barrel was being used for mixing my salt so that may be making the readings higher. i'm going to try measuring the water straight out of the DI unit and see what it reads, if its not sufficiently low enough i'll have to look at adding an RO kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Yeah, I remember him fondly . But I was really just showing how we can tend to justify our position emotionally, even when some of the things we do are contradictory. I think the NSW/ASW argument, which has been rather aggresive in the past, can be like that. Tap water at 70 is higher than I thought in Chch, my own Auck North Shore water is around 90. But there's no way the water should be 23 after going through DI, probably contamination as you suggested but if not it must be either your tds meter or something wrong with the DI resin. Also is the DI unit assembled correctly? Some of these units can be wrongly set up so the water bipasses the resin. Best plan as you said test it straight out of the DI. If you test it as it is coming out you will get a true reading, which with a decent DI will be 000 ppm, detectable. But even putting it in an apparently clean cup can raise it by a few ppm. BTW when I was in Chch a few months ago i really enjoyed drinking the water, the stories are true, Chch water really does taste good! I couldn't bring my tds and phosphate kit to test it though my wife would have flipped if we were doing fishy stuff on holiday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 But I was really just showing how we can tend to justify our position emotionally, even when some of the things we do are contradictory. I think the NSW/ASW argument, which has been rather aggresive in the past, can be like that. agreed and you make a very good point wasp, so many times on the net ppl take an aggressive standpoint on a subject and can't be swayed despite the evidence to the contrary... in the case of us chchians we're all just one eyed cantabs Also is the DI unit assembled correctly? Some of these units can be wrongly set up so the water bipasses the resin. Hmm i wouldn't have a clue if its setup correctly, i guess it must be doing something to reduce the water 23ppm. I've run around 80l through the unit so its going to be interesting to see how quickly it wears out the resin. I'll test it out of the DI today and post the results, i assume that im correct in thinking that even without an RO unit i should still obtain a reading close to 0ppm? BTW when I was in Chch a few months ago i really enjoyed drinking the water, the stories are true, Chch water really does taste good! when i was in auckland recently the first thing i noticed about the water was the strong chlorine smell out of the tap and then the bitter taste... blech! You mean the TDS and phosphate meter weren't essential travelling items??! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 You'll have to move up here Wasp, sparkling clear water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Another risk when using NSW. The other problem in using nsw is that you have a potential to close down the marine hobby. Maf is getting very anal about importing fish these days and there is a risk that a new organism can be introduced into nz water, it is very low risk however the risk is there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Thats wrong reef. How are you going to transfer an organism into our waters by collecting NSW. None of my containers come into contact with water from my tank, and I am sure NO-ONE takes old water back to the sea, and in that case what difference would NSW or ASW make. You have issues with NSW apparently, but i don't understand your point here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 That is not wrong, because some hobbyists would use the containers to maybe do a water change etc, and then use it to collect sea water. Which can come in contact with the ocean? the point is that there is a risk and MAF are looking closely at the hobby and even told me that are looking to maybe closing it down due to the risk of introducing a new organism, not necessary from collection sea water but the risk from getting the fish/corals in. Give MAF an excuse and they will use it. We know for a fact no tropical coral will live in NZ waters, but they still make it almost impossable to add any to the MAF list. That is the mind set you have to deal with. I have had to mitigate many issues with importing and i dont want to be overcome another hurdle with the collection of seawater by hobbyist. Especially given the people you are dealing with in MAF. They just don’t care about the Hobby and just keep putting the screws into make it harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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