# Saltwater Tanks, water from the Ocean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316 "2006-09-03T21:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/1 "2006-09-03T21:31:33Z")
Note: I’m not planning on doing this, but it’s something I’ve wondered about… Saltwater tanks are supposed to be duplicating a little piece of the ocean in your living room, yes? So rather than go to all the trouble of adding salt to fresh water, and trying toget the mix just right, what’s to stop me from making several runs to the local beach and scooping up 20 gallons of Ocean Water? Does the mixture change close to the shore? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/2 "2006-09-03T22:03:19Z")
Wonder no longer. [QUOTE=Tristan] Saltwater tanks are supposed to be duplicating a little piece of the ocean in your living room, yes? [/QUOTE] More or less. > [@](#): > > So rather than go to all the trouble of adding salt to fresh water, and trying toget the mix just right, what’s to stop me from making several runs to the local beach and scooping up 20 gallons of Ocean Water? Nothing. Help yourself to all you want to tote home. > [@](#): > > Does the mixture change close to the shore? YES, Not the salt content so much as undesirable contaminants. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/3 "2006-09-04T00:36:53Z")
[QUOTE=Tristan] Note: I’m not planning on doing this, but it’s something I’ve wondered about… Saltwater tanks are supposed to be duplicating a little piece of the ocean in your living room, yes? So rather than go to all the trouble of adding salt to fresh water, and trying toget the mix just right, what’s to stop me from making several runs to the local beach and scooping up 20 gallons of Ocean Water? Does the mixture change close to the shore? [/QUOTE] There are actually companies out there selling clean seawater for saltwater tanks as a premium product. Generally you can buy a bag of salt and trace elements for a relatively inexpensive price at better pet stores. The bag is usually portioned to make 5, 10, 20 gallons of seawater per bag so a 60 gallon tank would take 3 “20 gallon size” bags of salt mix. The mix is cheaper and a hell of a lot more portable. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/4 "2006-09-04T01:18:11Z")
[QUOTE=drachillix] clean seawater [/QUOTE] A do it yourselfer might want to filterhis seawater before putting it in his tank, in order to eliminate undesirable algae and animal larva. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/5 "2006-09-04T01:53:31Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] A do it yourselfer might want to filterhis seawater before putting it in his tank, in order to eliminate undesirable algae and animal larva. [/QUOTE] Well, in a reef tank some of the natural flora and fauna suspended in the column can be desirable coral food. But yeah, you’re right, some is very undesirable, though I think you tend to introduce a lot of that when acclimating new fish anyway. People do this, but the level of contamination, near the shore, is not to be taken lightly. Even in “pristine” Hawaii, it’s recommended to go out a mile or so and 30 feet down. Still, if I lived ON the beach, I’d be tempted to run a couple pipes for a continuous flow, and give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/6 "2006-09-04T01:59:25Z")
Eh, I left out a tidbit. Much/most of the microscopic flora/fauna suspended in natural seawater will quickly die in an aquarium and likely pollute the tank, if there isn’t continuous replacement. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/7 "2006-09-04T03:42:24Z")
Not for nothing, but the trend for at least the last 5-8 years has been to use what is referred to as “live sand” and “live rock.” Both are harvested from various oceans around the world and help a reef aquarium keep most of its flora AND fauna. It is exactly those things that help define the prices of said items. There is actually a local farmer here that “makes” live rock. If you want to learn more about it, check[Tampa Bay Saltwater](http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/) You can see how the whole operation works. Once upon a time, they had a retail store you could go into. However, they are entirely phone/web now. Aquariums have long gone past the plastic plants and fake rocks. It is rather amazing at the technology that can go into a tank. This site [Oregon Reef](http://www.oregonreef.com/) is of persons tank. It is an amazing reef tank and very, very well done. He changes out his live sand every couple of weeks because he thinks it looks better that way. That is a pretty heavy investment for that kind of return. To give you an idea, a “package” deal from Tampa Bay Saltwater, that has all the rock, sand, “cleaning crew” for a 55 g. aquarium is $690. They sell rock from the Gulf of Mexico. Many other types of rock, like Fiji Rock is far more expensive than TBS’s. Now, back to the OP. Contaminants are the issue. It’s not necessarily what is living in the water, but rather what we are dumping into it. Most of the critters that habitate said rock/sand/water are pretty well known in the community. What we don’t know is WTH shady company X has poured out and that close to shore, it doesn’t have much room to swish around and get diluted. When you are talking about the kind of money that some of [These](http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/) are investing in their tanks and existing livestock, it is much more cost effective to be safer than sorrier. I have a freshwater tank and I had a weather loach go over the overflow, through the wet/dry filter and clog the pump. $10 loach, $10 worth of mollies, a $3.99 cory and $20 worth of plumbing supplies, about 3 hours labor. Saltwater fish, excluding damsels, are routinely far in excess of $30 a fish. Some say keeping saltwater tanks is like standing over a toilet and flushing money down it. That being said, it is a fascinating and rewarding hobby, moreso now than ever and the enjoyment I get from my tanks is well worth the investment. My grandparents lived on the Gulf for many years and had tanks. The kids caught little fish and things and they changed the water frequently, heck, it was their back yard. It was a pretty low tech setup. It can be done, just probably not with a successful reef tank. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saltwater-tanks-water-from-the-ocean/371316/8 "2006-09-04T06:43:45Z")
[QUOTE=Auntbeast] Not for nothing, but the trend for at least the last 5-8 years has been to use what is referred to as “live sand” and “live rock.” Both are harvested from various oceans around the world and help a reef aquarium keep most of its flora AND fauna. It is exactly those things that help define the prices of said items. [/QUOTE] We’re getting off topic, but considering you need hundreds of pounds of sand to make a standard 4 inch live sand bed in a 180 gallon aquarium, most people buy the sand dry, then seed it with sand from other local aquarists. At least when we’re inland a bit. That said, while live sand beds have been all the rage for the last “5-8 years”, they do tend to end up crashing. Experience has shown that they are a huge nutrient sink, and that when they are disturbed or they finally overload, loads of nitrates and phosphates can be released, stressing corals and more delicate fish.