NSW fm LFS

[marble]

Hi all...

Like to ck out if by using NSW fm LFS instead of mixing my own salt water,does it mean tat e NSW is alrdy a mature water so dun ned to cycle new tank for so long liao???

Wat r e advantages of getting NSW fm LFS instead of mixing our own???

wic is better???

any advise???

tks

[d88p]

still have to cycle.... buying salt n mix is easier if you have a bigger tank... if you have a 2 ft or so then buy the water also can.... you very strong to carry that many bags or jars

[marble]

still have to cycle.... buying salt n mix is easier if you have a bigger tank... if you have a 2 ft or so then buy the water also can.... you very strong to carry that many bags or jars

was tinking of mixing my own or gettin NSW fm LFS lor as my new tank is a 4ft one....hmmm

so looking for wat r e advantages of gettin fm LFS lor....

[colinsoon]

NSW is cheaper, and to me, it comes with all the goodness of the oceans, and of course, there are some who think they come with all of the oceans' badness too... i would say that in the long run, NSW would be cheaper, when you are talking bout changing water, but then, when you consider that if you are gonna start up the tank with NSW, you are talking bout 500L ++ of NSW leh... 1 man show, can die... haha..

i have all the faith in NSW, as my home tank is started up with NSW, and 1 day after adding NSW, i added LR, and the third day, LS went in. no casualties, except for 1, which was due to my stupidity, cos i totally forgot to introduce air into the tank...haha.. till now the tank is running very well, everything has at least doubled in size over the last 3 months.

i would prefer NSW over mixed salt, as there is always certain things in the water that you just cant get with mixed salt. and of course, when you wanna go about purchasing NSW in smaller quantities, its better to go to the more established LFS, with a good filtration system for the NSW... if you wanna get like half a tonne of NSW, i think there is a number to call, which will deliver the water up to your doorstep... i aint very sure bout tis, think its something of the guy pumping water up from the ground with a very long pipe...

juz my half cent's thot...

[arcanehacker]

4ft would mean 500+ltrs!!. You sure you want to get NSW?? You probably need lorry or truck to carry so mush water... go with a huge pail, salt and water.. much easier.

there probably isn't any diff in the cycling process.. you still need to cultivate the necessary bacterial..

[FionaFiona]

NSW is cheaper, and to me, it comes with all the goodness of the oceans, and of course, there are some who think they come with all of the oceans' badness too... i would say that in the long run, NSW would be cheaper, when you are talking bout changing water, but then, when you consider that if you are gonna start up the tank with NSW, you are talking bout 500L ++ of NSW leh... 1 man show, can die... haha..

i have all the faith in NSW, as my home tank is started up with NSW, and 1 day after adding NSW, i added LR, and the third day, LS went in. no casualties, except for 1, which was due to my stupidity, cos i totally forgot to introduce air into the tank...haha.. till now the tank is running very well, everything has at least doubled in size over the last 3 months.

i would prefer NSW over mixed salt, as there is always certain things in the water that you just cant get with mixed salt. and of course, when you wanna go about purchasing NSW in smaller quantities, its better to go to the more established LFS, with a good filtration system for the NSW... if you wanna get like half a tonne of NSW, i think there is a number to call, which will deliver the water up to your doorstep... i aint very sure bout tis, think its something of the guy pumping water up from the ground with a very long pipe...

juz my half cent's thot...

Yep, bro colinsoon is rite to say that NSW comes with all the goodness (n badness as well) from the ocean (heard some reefers mention some LFS scoop waters off singapore coast, n i dun think singapore coast waters are nice...) which salt mix is unable to achieve. (+ 1point ; if confirm water is from Singapore coast, I will - 1point)

He also mentioned its 500L ++ of waters in the case of ur 4feet tank(i dunno how u calculate, but its not the main point here).... thats like 500+ Kilograms hor~~~

and yes, 1 man show CAN kill u. ( - 1point)

A reduced water cycling period is for sure, thats a plus point. (+ 1 point)

Note that live-sands and liverocks that comes with all the nice nice bacterias will also aid in reducing the cycling period. Then again, why rush? Cycle longer = better. This hobby is abt patience. I never like impatient ppl. ^^

Another thing is that I ve measure the salinity of NSW (i buy NSW before) before. Not up to standard.... too low Salinity. ( - 1point)

In the above case situation, you would still need to be buying packets of salt to mix water in order to achieve the desire level of water parameters. So in the case of relying totally on NSW is not desirable. ( - 1point).

Going to the LSF to buy NSW every month (assuming u conduct 10-20% water change monthly) can be tedious; waste time, waste energy, waste petrol

( - 1point).

Buying excess LSF to store (so u can save a trip next time) in undesireable becuz these NSW bages takes up lotsa space. ( - 1point)

I asked Ah-beng before: " how long can these NSW be stored?". His reply was "a couple of days, but if u need to keep longer, u need to aerate the water with bubbles from an air pump." Meaning if kept for too long, bacterias inside will start to die off and the water becomes stale and useless. ( - 1 point).

Total scoring = - 4points.

Finally and analogically, if u are locked up in jail, do u want the prison warden to give u Natural Mountain Water (inclusive of good AND bad bacterias), or Water from Singapore's Taps (full of flouride and chloride) and passed thru DI/RO unit?

hahaha =p

[ady]

HI Bros.. I have a 4feet tank at home...

Calculated amount of saltwater is abt 240liters only...

not 500liters...

[bluezing]

gd discussion

[arcanehacker]

HI Bros.. I have a 4feet tank at home...

Calculated amount of saltwater is abt 240liters only...

not 500liters...

Try here: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/information/calculate.htm

Your 4ft tank must be very thin.. .. not to mention sump water is not included..

[FionaFiona]

the reason is simple:

4 feet tanks can have different height and widths.

I can have a thin and shallow 6 feet tank and only 240 litres also.

(think: 6feet x 0.5 feet x 1 feet .....) get the idea?

[alanseah]

I think the discussion is out of point from what marble asking.

cycling of tank got nothing to do with water. It due to the reason of adding new LR which result of dead during transportation when you moving it from farm to house and then scaping them. Thus cycling is the process of removing those waste before your tank is stable and in good condition to house all the LS and coral.

[FionaFiona]

yep, i agree. off-topic already.

Stick to the NSW subject ya? Not the tank size got how much litres.

[speakerphone]

Bio oceans helps to get NSW up to your door step.

[arcanehacker]

Bio oceans helps to get NSW up to your door step.

hmm.. I've always wonder how they do it for highrise.. 20th floor maybe? .. hehe

[colinsoon]

yep, i agree. off-topic already.

Stick to the NSW subject ya? Not the tank size got how much litres.

wah sis you very fierce leh... hahaha... but true, lets stick to the topic of NSW vs salt.

this discussion has be over and over this forum many times already, even though i am with this forum for a short time only. if you do a search, you will be able to find out a lot of information you need....

NSW is good as there is a lot of stuff in the water that you cannot get from salt mix, and its also cheaper. many people always say that singapore coast waters aint good, and i fully agree with that. i do not dispute that. but then, if you had read my first post carefully, i did mention bout getting water from a reputable LFS, which has properly filtered through the water and quarantined for a while.

there is this certain LFS along the lavender stretch of road, that i always get my NSW from. the uncle there broguht me to see the various QT for the NSW, and the process for doing the QT. honestly, all LFS uses NSW. you think they so rich to use salt mix meh? they will spend all their time mixing lor...

and btw, most, if not all the NSW comes from the singapore coast, some even from canals emptying out into the main sea. The SG for NSW is always at 1.020-1.021, never more, never less. so i would say, its a good level to maintain the SG at... if forget to top up water for days, water wun get too salty... anyway

bro marble, consider carefully on whether to use NSW or salt mix. i used to be quite sceptical on NSW, cos of all the bad things the bros out here always tell me, until i decided to take the risk of using NSW. discovered there is noithing bad to it, except carrying out the bags of water to change water... which i hardly change nowadays... haha... tank is still fine... NO2 zero...

if you consider NSW as you final decision, you can get the number to call for the NSW to be delivered to you. you dont even need to move.. think if my memory dont fail me,. its bout 80 bucks for 1 tonne of water.... any bros out there can answer? else juz do a search...

[madmac]

Yep, bro colinsoon is rite to say that NSW comes with all the goodness (n badness as well) from the ocean (heard some reefers mention some LFS scoop waters off singapore coast, n i dun think singapore coast waters are nice...) which salt mix is unable to achieve. (+ 1point ; if confirm water is from Singapore coast, I will - 1point)

He also mentioned its 500L ++ of waters in the case of ur 4feet tank(i dunno how u calculate, but its not the main point here).... thats like 500+ Kilograms hor~~~

and yes, 1 man show CAN kill u. ( - 1point)

A reduced water cycling period is for sure, thats a plus point. (+ 1 point)

Note that live-sands and liverocks that comes with all the nice nice bacterias will also aid in reducing the cycling period. Then again, why rush? Cycle longer = better. This hobby is abt patience. I never like impatient ppl. ^^

Another thing is that I ve measure the salinity of NSW (i buy NSW before) before. Not up to standard.... too low Salinity. ( - 1point)

In the above case situation, you would still need to be buying packets of salt to mix water in order to achieve the desire level of water parameters. So in the case of relying totally on NSW is not desirable. ( - 1point).

Going to the LSF to buy NSW every month (assuming u conduct 10-20% water change monthly) can be tedious; waste time, waste energy, waste petrol

( - 1point).

Buying excess LSF to store (so u can save a trip next time) in undesireable becuz these NSW bages takes up lotsa space. ( - 1point)

I asked Ah-beng before: " how long can these NSW be stored?". His reply was "a couple of days, but if u need to keep longer, u need to aerate the water with bubbles from an air pump." Meaning if kept for too long, bacterias inside will start to die off and the water becomes stale and useless. ( - 1 point).

Total scoring = - 4points.

Why would NSW become stale and useless after a few days? Have you tried keeping one for a few weeks and using it after that. Why would bacteria die? when you can buy live bacteria in sealed bottles and packets of 'live' sand sealed tight.

Why would you prefer to, instead of adding 400l of live NSW to a new tank, add the same 400 l sterile tap water(maybe with chloramine still present), with no live at all, made with artificial sea salt, which may come with batch production problems or with certain elements/ions missing or in short supply(when compared to NSW, the real standard), only to have to supplement it later.?

SG too low. Have you measured the SG of NSW lately, over a period of no rain for many weeks? The one at Iwarna tested 1.029. So now jus add a bit of water lah. In situations where they are low, there are many, many ways to bring up SG instantly, without having to buy artificial sea-salt. In fact, due to evaporation of your tank water, your SG increases, so adding a lower SG NSW balances it out very nicely. Try it.

You either store bags of sea-salt and standby good water for mixing, or have NSW on standby.

So you ask Ah-beng, how long NSW can be kept? Is he a business man or not? Does he want you to return back to his shop often? Now what answer wud he give.

Finally if you are locked up in jail, do you want to breath fresh natural air thru a window, smell the seasons of times or breath artificial air? Air made with some chemicals and piped into your cell?

[arcanehacker]

Why would NSW become stale and useless after a few days? Have you tried keeping one for a few weeks and using it after that. Why would bacteria die? when you can buy live bacteria in sealed bottles and packets of 'live' sand sealed tight.

Never heard of R&D? ... Thats why you buy bacterial in small bottles that cost so much..

NSW is NSW.. just suck off from sea thats it.. Just like you set up your marine tank and not turn on your pump for a few days.. baterial in there will die off, your water becomes stale and probably stink..

[gunzo]

SG too low. Have you measured the SG of NSW lately, over a period of no rain for many weeks? The one at Iwarna tested 1.029. So now jus add a bit of water lah. In situations where they are low, there are many, many ways to bring up SG instantly, without having to buy artificial sea-salt. In fact, due to evaporation of your tank water, your SG increases, so adding a lower SG NSW balances it out very nicely. Try it.

Eh .. do tell how many ways to bring up SG other than using salt ???????

Thread starter .. the NSW is taken off the Changi coast drains .. near DTSS where all the run offs and silts and whatnots are .. of course the LFS will tell you they do filter and such and not to just go scoop off the sea like they do ..

Its definitely less hassle than mixing your own salt though .. but ultimately decision lies with you whether you strong enough to lug 25 gal cans to and from your vehicle (if your vehicle is big enough)..

Or just turn on the tap .. fill it up with 400+ltrs of TAP water .. dump in the salt and wait for a few weeks

btw .. saltwater very sticky .. make sure you clean up after all this (either lugging or mixing) coz very yucky and damaging afterwards !!

[marble]

tks for all e comments bro n sis...

actaully my situation now is i alrdy have a 3ft tank running for 1yr liao...

recently upgrading to 4ft...Im not intenting to sell away all my LR n corals lor....N e worse ting is i wan to shift e new tank to where my present 3ft is....So my plan now is to get a stdby 3ft n 2ft tank(wic i have) n huse all e LS in for e time being untill e 4ft tank is cycle....

All my LR will be reuse n more added...

now thinking wat is e faster way to cycle e tank tank water so tat i can put bk all my LR n corals as i scare they cant tahan in my stdyby tanks....

I noe i got to b patient...Have being in tis hobby for 1yr puls liao...noe tat no patient MEANS DEAD......

So was still thinking shld i sell all or look for ways to speed up e cycle process???

ONe of e ways looking at NSW lor.........

tks for all e advise....

[gunzo]

I used the LR from my old tank and dumped the bacteria in a bottle..and new rocks..

took 1.5 weeks or so for the cycle to settle.. still faster than new.. but guess NSW will be definitely faster in you case..

hey ..how bout 50/50 mix?

or use back the water from ur old tank lor.. just temp put the LS somewhere

[Qxnviolet]

Using back sand and LRs from your aged system will shorten your cycling time since there are beneficial bacteria in them already. But how long cycling takes depends on how much new LRs you add in too. For me, i'll cure my LRs in my old tank 1st, after removing everything first of course, the amt of die-offs from new LRs is simply unbeliveable. Dirty my clean clean sand....

[colinsoon]

i recommend a 5050 mix from your old tank to your stand by tank. and accordingly, if its just for storage for a month, it will be fine.

many people juz tend to forget that fishes and corals come from the sea. using seawater is so wrong to some?! haha... weird.

i like that prison theory... you come from the outside, breathing outside air. when u get locked up, i dun see them creating artificial air for you... air still comes from the outside...

madmac bro, wat sis fiona is trying to say is that, there are other organisms inside the water that will die off after a few days of not aerating the water. bacteria that i am not sure if they will die, but i do know that, the micro-organisms present in NSW will die off, and i tell you, the water will not stink very badly, but it will still smell as though something died in it... mark my words for it. i am a NSW user... i made the mistake of storing water for over 2 weeks... haha...

for a new tank set up, with new LR, it would be ok to use salt mix, den add a lot of bacteria starter... otherwise if you think its a waste of money getting tablets you cant eat, den NSW will do good also. comes with a lot of it already... but 25 jerry cans... hmm.. ( i am taking this NSW option with my new 3 or 4 footer startup. think i will do just that. 25 cans, ok la. can be done. half dead after the whole thing you will be only... )

anyway AM sells salt mix water. so if you guys prefer not to mix ya on, and still dun wan use NSW, den AM is a good place to go to...

[KennethK]

Bacteria are mostly stored in ur old LR. NSW and mixed will not be much of a difference except for chlorine. Usually I will mix salt and tap water leave it for 1 day. After that transfer my LR in. Coral and fishes after the LR. No casualty.

[madmac]

Eh .. do tell how many ways to bring up SG other than using salt ???????

Well you'll have to know what are the ions that make up seawater, besides Sodium and Chloride (which by themselves constitute 84%), there are is also Magnesium and Sulphate... (another 3% and 7%. Together they form close to 95% of what is seawater.

If you add 1 tsp of baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) to 3 L of seawater, you can bring up SG from 1.023 to 1.027.

About the same goes for Calcium Chloride(CaCl2), same for or MgCl2(Magnesium Chloride) or MgSO4(Mg. Sulphate). Pls apply some sensibility before you add, by testing the SG. Depending on where the SG of the new solution is, you may dose immediately.

[madmac]

Never heard of R&D? ... Thats why you buy bacterial in small bottles that cost so much..

NSW is NSW.. just suck off from sea thats it.. Just like you set up your marine tank and not turn on your pump for a few days.. baterial in there will die off, your water becomes stale and probably stink..

Expensive bottles of live bacteria? thats is enterprising capitalism.

Bacteria, lives for about longer than 1 day, in all conditions, weather 'good' or 'bad'. They are limited by about only two things, food and space. They can reproduce before they die and can cannibalize off each other for food; they simply cannot multiply(as in increase in numbers after the max is reached) when there's no more extra space, other than the ones already available.

Some may need O2 and some don't. For those that do, and in the event of a depletion of O2, they can meet their respiratory demands from one of the following natural oxidants, :

•nitrate (NO3-),

•manganese dioxide (MnO2),

•iron oxides (e.g., FeOOH), and

•sulfate (SO4 2-),

They are tougher than you think