waterchange + Black drum ??

Hi all
I have bought some black olive drums 220 ltr for collecting my seawater and storing but have been told today that any ocean water collected in the drums must be used within one day and if not it must then be stored for at least seven days before use.

I was wondering if anyone can give more information on this as to why seven days and what proccess the water goes through, and how you know when it's safe to use.

It's probably overlooked when not a newbie and if so could be quite costly
if unknown.

PS this is my second post on this subject i think the first one didn't work
Thanks

 

Its my understanding that SW can be stored for as long as you want. I never heard of that. To keep it "fresh" just have a powerhead and an air pump in it. Did you ask why? Luna

 

I make 40 gallons of RO/DI water a week,and keep 3-4 5 gallon buckets of sw made up for the week. I keep powerheads and heaters in all of the storage buckets...I have no problems....Just be sure that you check the temp before adding any sw from the container as this will effect the sg of the water at that time...

 

Hi again
Yeh the source of info tells me something that with the lack of light on the
the water will cause it to develop i think it was it was a nitrifying bacteria which will make the inside of the drum slimmy and the water toxic to the fish but within the 7 days some kind of cycle happens and the water becomes good again indefinatly.

This does not happen if the water is kept in clear or white containers that let in light, or if you use a light over the black drum

I followed this up with another reliable source which gave the same time period but did not go into why, both these sources have been good in the past and deal with marine tanks.

 

If its natural raw sea water then it will die and go foul , We use water about 50,000 Gal per week from the New haven sound and it is U/V 'ed and Ozoned and filtered and kept in huge storage tanks , Its kept on average 2 weeks but its always being treated and circulated heated or cooled and aerated .. Now synthetic salts is a different story its sterile and have nothing living in it clean like NSW will . NSW in a storage barrel will do just what a tank will with no filtration or setting stagnate for a few hrs or days , This also applies to R/O filters for those who hook them up to a faucet and fill a few buckets and remove the unit all that waste on the membrane will be a breeding ground for bacterias and they can cause lots of problems with water quality and algae . You need to refrigerate the units membrane between weekly use .

 

As tangster mentioned, in order to use natural saltwater, you must keep the microbes present in the water alive like you would in your aquarium, or it will go foul and start a cycle in your container.

 

MMMM So then
do you agree that after 7 day it is usable again
and if so how do you come to this conclusion.

 

If you are asking me if I think that after 7 days of setting at room temps in a barrel with not filtration or oxygenation would the water be good to go again ? NO not unless it was treated and cleaned up before storage took place .. The Bio life in seawater cause the fouling and The fouling is caused by marine plants phytoplanktons and micro animals and bacteria's when such organisms die they foul the water beyond me ever using it . The two basic types of organisms are the soft plant like algae and hydroids and then there are the hard shell like barnacles, mussels, oysters, tube worms and sea squirts every type of living creature in the sea have micro larva floating around in the sea waters they die and sink and foul the water .. Set a glass of un-homogenized milk out see what happens and how fast
Ever smelled a bottle of bad phytoplanktons ?
NSW is full of microscopic fauna and bacterias . I myself would never try it hell I'd never use NSW unless It was filtered. I have totaly free a few miles down the raod and I when working would get paid to ride there No thanks not for me.

 

Thanks Tangster
Thanks for your time and welcomed advise.
I might post again and see how many reefers are
actally using natural seawater and how the are preparing it
could be some lessons for all
much apreaciated

 

Cool Info Never thought of using NSW before. Great info. BTW Matt R (the big man) was using NSW for awhile. Until collecting it nearly killed him LOL

He's away right now but I'm sure he could share his experience with you when he gets back

J