Question for Paul... Or other Nsw users..

[Bob 1000]

I have been adding NSW for 1 week now from great kills in staten island with no ill affects to corals or fish... I have checked every parameter of the water I could, but I noticed today that I left out the most important....Salinity, the salinity is about 23 or 1.017... Is this the norm for NSW or is this just mines??And is this okay???? I have added about 60 gallons to my 280 gal. system..With no loss in salinity or calcium being that these 2 are lower from Nsw...

 

[Deanos]

If your overall intent is too lower your tank's salinity, then it's ok.

 

[Bob 1000]

Will my corals live going down to a lower salinity from 32 or 1.024???

 

[Deanos]

There's a lower limit for sure.

Why? Do you plan on continuing to use water with a less than ideal salinity for a reef tank?

 

[marrone]

Will my corals live going down to a lower salinity from 32 or 1.024???

A 1.024 should be fine. Most people keep corals in the 1.023 to 1.027 range. You want to be consistant and not let is fux.

You need to remember the SG levels is different all over the place and you need to make sure you keep the SG the correct level for what you're keeping. Fish can take different SG but most corals need it to be correct, or close.

 

[cb747]

As an idea you can always let the NSW evaporate till it reaches the salinity you want or you can bump it up slightly with salt before adding it to your tank.

 

[marrone]

This is a big problem with using NSW as the water is different not only from place to place but time to time. Not to mention containments that it may contain that you mayn't be able to test for.

 

[Paul B]

THe water here is lower in salinity than the tropics. I think it is due to less evaporation in our colder water and more fresh water being added from rivers. I usually put in some ASW salt to raise it a few points. The salinity in my tank is much lower than yours so it should be fine but I would raise it to the salinity of the sea where most of your animals come from.
Paul

 

[Will]

I wouldn't use it at 1.017 that's kinda low....
The S.G of the water I get from the Inlet near my house is 1.024 all the time. I have checked the water inside Shinnecock Bay at the opposite shoreline and the S.G. is much lower at about 1.022.I keep my tank at 1.024 anyway so the inlet water is fine.If your getting NSW from inside a harbor or bay , a distance from the ocean, the salinity will be lower.

 

[scumonkey]

I have been adding NSW for 1 week now from great kills in staten island with no ill affects to corals or fish

I think you've been lucky if your using water from there!!!
a few weeks ago there was a huge sludge spill and the water at the kills was NASTY!!!
This happens alot over there and that water might not be the best to collect!?!?

 

[Tonyscoots84]

i would never ever use the water from any ocean around us thats just my opinion....

 

[Bob 1000]

As an idea you can always let the NSW evaporate till it reaches the salinity you want or you can bump it up slightly with salt before adding it to your tank.

This quote made me feel really bright... I should have thought of this a while ago...Makes a great deal of sense will do...Thanks for a the info guys.... I love all the different opinions...

 

[Bob 1000]

This happens alot over there and that water might not be the best to collect!?!?[/QUOTE]

Very informative, but I fish the kills almost every other day and never noticed the change...Was this a big spill??

 

[Bob 1000]

Just got a 90 gal oceanic... Plan on making a reef only from nsw...What do you guys think?? Will start with frags from my main tank...Pics tomm.

 

[scumonkey]

I fish the kills every week....always snag my bunker there!
IT was a huge spill- human waste :Yikes:
The water was $h it brown and smelled like it too.
Happened last year as well!
There is also a tremendous amount of boat traffic in the area.
Looks can be deceiving the sand can also hold a lot of contaminates
that you won't see in the water. These slowly leach out - yuk!
Paul (I believe) lives way out on long island- and collects his water there?
I wouldn't risk using the water from ANYWHERE around the 5 boroughs- it's got to be a game of Russian roulette (but that's just me).

 

[scumonkey]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15025167&dopt=Abstract

...Gateway's Great Kills Park, a portion of which served as a city landfill until the 1930s. It became federal parkland in 1972.

 

[grknyer]

:smash::dead1::dead1::dead1::dead1::banghead::eek1:ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!! New York area bay water.:skull: . Question to you is have you seen the Gowanus Canal???!!! That water looks pretty toxic to me as well as other areas around the city. Those areas I'm talking about aren't isolated. They mix with the rest of the surrounding waters. If you choose to still continue to use THAT water you might want to try to catch a Coney Island white fish as a new addition to your tank.

Final question? Would you swim in it??

 

[Bob 1000]

Today I went out and I see what you are talking about now....Damn, Guess I'll have to hold off on the 90 gal. for a couple of weeks...

 

[Bob 1000]

Going to pick up some nsw tomm. from the kills the water didn't look that bad today...

 

[Tonyscoots84]

bob i would not use that water.... but your gonna do it anyways so tell me how the stink is in your house when your all done....