straight from ocean

[guitarded]

i am new to SW. i have kept FW for quite awhile.

anyway, i just bought a 75 gal to setup as my SW tank. i live in hawaii so i am considering getting sand and rocks straight from the ocean. has anyone on this forum done this or know of anyone who has. further, isthere anything i should know before doing this? if i do this, will this seed my tank to help cycling.

i plan on getting the sand and rocks about 100 yards out to reduce the likelihood of contaminants from beach goers and also plan to go to a beach that is not a popular recreational beach.

also, should i get my water from the ocean for my tank? if i fill my tank with water, sand and rocks from the ocean, will i be able to skip cycling?

 

[philly]

the thing is that its always good to have a mixture of live rock from diferent places

 

[philly]

also when you get the rock for the ocean you should lay it out then rinse it to rid it of and dangerous parisites.

 

[lando]

I am not sure what the collcetion laws are in your state so you should check that out first. I would be leary of collecting rocks from the ocean. Buying acu-cultured LR is more envirnmentally friendly and you get very nice "reef" style rock. I do not think you would want to collect your won from a natual reef. i am pretty sure that is a no-no. As for the LS, you do not know whats in it, you could end up intoducing pollution or parasites to your tank. Ording LR/LS from an on-line vendor or getting it at your LFS will greatly reduce the cycle time of your tank. As far as what philly said about the benifit of having a mixture of LR from different places...I have never read or heard of any support in this. Good luck! Lando

 

[RogerMcAllen]

As far as diversity, it is a good thing. Not necessary, but if you get it from a few sources you will end up with some interesting things from around the globe. Now if I knew anything more about SW, I might be able to give you some examples.

 

[Nitrate]

I wouldn’t use ocean water, but would be tempted to grab some sand. Heard of several people doing this in Florida with good success, but would have its risks as lando said.

 

[guitarded]

well, looks like the general consensus is not to use sand, rocks and water from the ocean due to possible pollutants and such. thanks all for your input.

 

[lando]

No problem. For LR and LS, check out liverocks.com. It is all acu-cultured and wonderful stuff. It gets the highest praise on this site. Devilvered it is just over $5 a pound and comes with wonderful life on it. A great way to go to get started.

 

[lando]

I can't believe I forgot this but...WELCOME TO AA!!!

 

[guitarded]

i have seen a lot of talk about liverocks.com in this forum and i did check them out. however, shipping costs to hawaii gets a bit costly (not to mention that i feel a bit silly ordering stuff that grow naturally here!). that is why i was curious about "harvesting" my own. at any rate, to increase my success at starting up my marine aquarium, i will probably have to go ahead and pay the extra shipping costs.

FW tanks are easy compared to marine tanks. after researching the SW information, i have to admit that i sometimes think i should just stick with FW. however, i am going to give SW a try none-the-less. i will definitely have more questions to ask.

btw, thanks for the welcome!

 

[lando]

You are correct in the fact that SW tanks are a bit more difficult then FW. However, the reward is greater as well. I would strongly encourage you to order from liverocks.com. It is all acu-cultured and none of it is taken from natural reefs. Please leave the beautiful reefs in your state alone. Harvesting from the wild only damages the reef we try to protect. As aquarists, it is our responsibility to promote as much acu-cultured products as we can and buy them when ever we can. Lets be honest, the rocks you would take for your tank are much more enjoyable and benifical in the ocean. have fun with the set up! Lando

 

[Zack]

(not to mention that i feel a bit silly ordering stuff that grow naturally here!).

There are only two organizations who are allowed to collect rock from the reefs of Hawaii, both are public aquariums.