2G kitchen marine

**chrisfraser05** · 06-26-2011, 07:10 PM

Well, it had to happen sooner or later....

SW MTS!!!!

What happened was.......

I was doing the dishes and realised my little kitchen tank was getting boring.
I quickly removed the plants to put in my daughters tank, removed the guppies and put them in my 80G community then cleaned it out ready.

I cleaned the filter sponges with hot tap water to kill the FW BB and added a little sand from my reef.

Next I added 2G of real sea water into my main tank then drew off 2G for this tank.

I used a few shells and a tiny piece of LR from the main tank as decor.

Next I took the piece of rock my crab was hiding in and smashed it open with a hammer to get him out.

I put the rock back in my sump and the crab in the new tank, his new home is hiding under the stones lol

heres some pics :)

Heres the crab hiding lol

Thanks for looking, chris

**Cecile1** · 06-26-2011, 07:49 PM

Very nice little set up! I'm sure the crab was not expecting to be removed by swat with a hammer! I'm sure he will learn to love it!

**DylanisHawttt** · 06-27-2011, 01:04 AM

Tank looks great so far!

**Cliff** · 06-27-2011, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by chrisfraser05

SW MTS!!!!

LOL, I'm surprised it took you this long

**Cermet** · 06-27-2011, 11:50 AM

When you say "Next I added 2G of real sea water into my main tank then drew off 2G for this tank" I was wondering - as in from the ocean? Aren't there issues of marine virus's, and bacteria, algae, and zooplankton innate in such water a problem when placed in a closed environment like a tank? Also, local pollution could be an issue of possible heavy metals for water near a coast? Wouldn't high quality fresh water with added salts be safer? I know little on marine tanks but these flags concern me.

**chrisfraser05** · 06-27-2011, 04:52 PM

Those were my concerns with NSW too before I read into it.

I was reading more and more in UK and international forums about people using water collected straight from the sea in their reef tanks.

After reading of the success of others I thought I'd give it a try.

The only think I've noticed in my tank is better coral growth!!!!

I started a poll on the UK forum about who uses it etc and the results were as follows...

Do you use NSW?

Yes, used for a long time with positive results 8 10.39%
Yes, used for a short time with positive results 9 11.69%
Yes, used for long time but not so positive results 0 0%
Yes, used for short time but not so positive results 1 1.30%
Will not use it because I'm scared to 3 3.90%
Not using by interested in trying.... if a little nervous! 18 23.38%
Will not use after bad result/result of another user. 0 0%
Not close enough to coast to try 38 49.35%

We asked the only user who claimed no positive results if he had any issues and he only said that as he had NO changes at all. Nothing different or bad from his shop bought salt.

There are no real industries in my area and what is here has VERY strict controls on poluting.

I checked the environment agencies report on our local waters too.

I collect the water in 25lt drums and store it in a water butt where I mechanically filter it through a sponge.

I then just add it straight to the tank for WC's.

I do have my own RO unit and a 50lb bucket of premium brand reef salt in the shed but while I'm still seeing the excelent results I am I'll continue using NSW.

Hope that gives you an idea why I'm so confident with it :)

Chris

**Cecile1** · 06-27-2011, 07:30 PM

When I was younger, and my brother had a sw tank with many diffrent inverts and sw fish, I too would go down to the ocean and get sw for the tank. We never had issues, considering the water was worse in the early 90's compared to now, but I always wondered if it had any effect.

Once it became a chore to get the sw from the bay, we finally started using instant ocean. My mom was a marine bio major, with chem/bio minors, so it was sort of a learning/fun experience looking under rocks and identifying stuff!