deeveus Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 I've put my containers in my spare room with a single pump driving 3 sperate air stones for each individual container. Is there anything else I need to do to sustain it for about 2 weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 You don't need airpumps in it or anything. It's fine in just a sealed container. If anything you don't want airstones because then you'll need to add water to top off the evaporation before using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 does NSW have a best by date or loose it saltinity etc over time, how long should it be stored before using and what s too long to store it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 If u wanna store it .. best in the dark for 6-8 weeks If u wanna use it.. best asap after 2 weeks it won't be much good IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Steve is right, HOWEVER i've used it at different intervals, 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months etc. Never noticed a difference. I just keep it in the garage in the jerry cans. Not saying what I have done is right, but it is what I have done. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeveus Posted June 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Yeah its on another lid with a tiny hole for the air hose, spare room which is dark. Best I knew this incase the water was useless down the track... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeh1 Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 I just heat it up and biff it in I changed 80 litres this weekend. (two surfing trips 2*40 litre water changes) almost half my total water...... It was from a West coast washing machine storm. A little cloudy for a couple of hours. But I reackon that even in the tropics there are storms and most likely trace elements that get stirred up that the marine life loves. As I add the water the clown fish come and play around it. I reckon the anemone responds within an hour or two. My rule is put it in straight away, but I do surf alot making NSW the best option for me. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Raeh1, just a word of warning that you need to be careful collecting water too soon after its been raining, not sure if its been raining out your way but has been p!@#ing down here. When it rains all the stuff farmers stray onto there land washes into the sea, or if your in the city all the streams and storm water pipes get a clean out which all ends up in the sea also. Also the cloudy water is likely to be, organics and sediment that has been stirred up, again risky to add to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeveus Posted June 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Cool. I only ever done 5-10% water changes per week and I never bothered heating it as I've got a 300watt heater which takes care of the cold water very swiftly. Not too sure if thats a good thing or not for the fish however I never had any problems with it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 go diving thermoclines are normal... a couple of degrees drop does not harm IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeveus Posted June 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Thanks for the help people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 Sea water is a living thing in itself so if you store it it has to be kept alive for it to be benificial. There are two reasons for using NSW. It can be cheaper than salts depending on how far you have to travel but the most important is the natural foods that it contains that the salts don't have. There is alot of life in sea water and O2 must be put in the water to keep the microscopic life alive. Depending on the time of year that you collect it, it can be a good idea to lightly filter it mainly spring when the plantonic algae and everything else goes mad. I have a small amount of live rock (supported by an acylic rack that I made) at the top of my storage tank just below the lid, the waterpump is at the bottom of the tank and sprays over the rock. I don't need air because the oxigenation of the splashing water as it returns keeps the O2 level high. I only use air if the level gets closer than a foot from the rock, if I remember to turn it on. When I add water to the storage tank I don't use water from it for 2-3 weeks depending on how good the water that I last added was. if the water that was just added is/was crystal clear I don't worry about waiting. My storage tank is 1000 litres so I can easily go to colleck water and decide against it when I get there if it isan't up to my standard. If you choose not to keep it alive you will lose allot of the natural foods that are in that water because they will die and decay which is another problem in itself. You must wait along time before you use it or must use it straight away, the later makes having a storge tank pointless. If your main tanks system is good you want notice any problems by not keeping it alive. Any problems in the water from storing it will be very quickly taken care of by your system. Cycled storage systems are far more conveniant and can be used whenever you need it (unless you had to use bad water in it). You will also be providing the inhabitants of your tank with seasonal water changes which is very benificial as the life in the water changes from season to season and this is one of the key factors in triggering spawning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 Control - I don't think much of that is partically correct if any of it. If its 'so important' to keep NSW alive, how do the people using ASW fare with their already dead and sterile water? I think its benificial to use to sooner rather than later because there is life in it, but you can not keep the 'micoscopic life' alive or in ballance for more than a few hours/days (according to EVERYTHING i've read with the exception of your post). Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Seawater has only 7-8 parts per million oxygen.... the complex life in it will die increadibly quickly without oxygen exchange happening.. in fact so will you tank if all your pumps go off! 5 hours it will look real ugly as the oxygen levels plummet... am not sure but the idea of keeping it 6-8 weeks implies to me that you are almost letting it cycle.. ie, organics dier off and break down before you use em, the walls of the container would provide a good medium for the bacteria to live on.... I almost always use it within 1 hour... last night I added in a refugia of 125L and did another 125L of main water change.... Some people who keep tanks in the florida quays have semi open systems with about 10% exchange per day... now thats a great way to export nutrients and keep trace elements in place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Pies wrote how do the people using ASW fare with their already dead and sterile water? Are you actaully saying that ASW has everything in it that corals would get in the reef. Surely your not suggesting that to be so. Our NSW in NZ is nowhere near what they get either but its allot closer than ASW. Pies wrote I think its benificial to use to sooner rather than later because there is life in it Yes it is, and I do that as well. But that method isan't much help if you have a couple of months of bad weather and need to do a water change. Pies wrote but you can not keep the 'micoscopic life' alive or in ballance for more than a few hours/days My cheap kids microscope says otherwize. Pies wrote according to EVERYTHING i've read with the exception of your post There is plenty of info on natural ecosystems on the net that state and show that they work and why they are more successfull. I have already put some links up in this forum on that subject writen by people who do it themselves and are well respected. This is the last one I put up and I don't think that you will find any people that know about his tanks that would argue with him. It has 7 pages. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/eb/index.htm My storage tank is connected to my sump and my Aquacontroller does water changes automatically or when I tell it to. I'm getting another storage tank soon, the same size and I'm thinking of filling it with live rock or something similar and running a slow feed to and from the tanks sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 well i don't want to upset any of you, but your are all full of ^%$$&. i have had very succesful "reef tanks" in the maldives, the cook islands and tonga. i used NSW on a daily basis. it is not hard to have a gret tank with air con., NSW, Live rock, natural sunlight and constant water changes. this in my opinion is not a reef tank in aquarium terms!!!!!! i don't accept tanks that have a 10% or what ever daily change of water from a natural source, as RnB stated as an aquarium, there is not really a challenge what so ever NSW has a lot more stuff in it as some of you would agree to, but why would you use? just to save some dosh???? ASW is sterile i fully agree to that but it is save, and easy (so i am lazy :lol: ) always available, not dependend on the weather, etc. i tried using NSW but is was to much of a hassle. but i will still agree that it is better then ASW because of all the micro organizm that live in it if used right away, even if some "know it all reefers" say that water doesn't contain any living benefical stuff. but NSW also contains fertilieser from the land and this has to be remembered when collecting NSW. nowadays i change water not to remove utrients but to add trace elements and othe rstuff my "may need". i have zero nitrates and phospates. so why do i change water?? because my corals love it and grow very fast. anybody for a cutting? also my xenia has never crashed in many, many years. please read a.calfo's book on coral propagation as he pointed out that there are lots and lots of newbees (with lots of "great advise" who know it all after acouple of years of reef keeping)! if have been keeping corals and work as a chef for over 23 years but i still don't know it all. and maybe i never will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 anybody for a cutting? yes please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Cookie Extreme: What does all that about 23 years of expernane and successful tanks overseas have to do with storing natural sea water? Any why are we ALL FULL OF SHIT? I don't see much if anything that your wrote having anything to do with whats going on in this thread. Or did you mean to post it somewhere else? 23 years keeping corals and working as a cheif. WOW! Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 wher does it say shit in my post pies? don't post words i didn't say! what i am trying to get across is that some people have a very narrow minded view on this side and only believe they are right and everybody else who don't share this believe is wrong! some people sitr lots of crap and it will hurt this hobby very soon very bad. just wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 what i am trying to get across is that some people have a very narrow minded view on this side and only believe they are right and everybody else who don't share this believe is wrong! I don't think that is the case with this particular issue. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 On a lighter note: For those of you who collect NSW It is PRIMO at the mo. I've collected over 1000L in the last 2 days & its crystal clear, and its all being used already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 maybe i should get my ass in gear and collect some too, maybe next weekend. iam of to the shops now. (hollywood and jansen's that is, who needs food if one can blow his money on fishies) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 some people sitr lots of crap and it will hurt this hobby very soon very bad. just wait and see. ? I assume its aimed at me? I'd like to know what you don't. What part of any stiring is going to hurt the hobby? Sounds fairly silly to me. As for posting things you didn't say, you implied it, and I didn't quote you. Be like me saying your a #$%( ()@$. Because I don't say it maybee i mean 'great guy' by your logic not something else. NSW is nightmare down here at the moment, rains every other day for the last 3-4 weeks. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 NSW is nightmare down here at the moment, rains every other day for the last 3-4 weeks. Hah, I think the sea has frozen over down here with the temperatures we've had lately. Yet another reason not to use NSW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 hi pies didn't mean to offend you at all. sorry if i did. what are you using at the moment for water changes if the weather is crap and probably will be for a while? weekly water changes tend to cost quite a bit on a large system using ASW (not just the salt but the makeup water aswell. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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