NSW users/wanna use NSW pls read

[comycus]

For all NSW users or bros planning to use NSW, would like to bring out that since the oil spill (that has been cleared up) a couple of weeks ago, a few bros have reported fishes dying with unknown reasons after doing WC with NSW.

There is no proof that there is oil residue in NSW that are causing harm to the fishes, however I do not believe in coincidences as well.

Perhaps more bros can chime in here on their experiences, if any. In the meantime, in spite of the lack of evidence against the hypothesis, I suggest to bros here to use salt mix with RO/DI water.

[raydiative]

Good point!!! I'm a firm believer of not using NSW.. hahah

[jackywongto]

good awareness post....

[Copperband]

true... not using NSW up till next year.... ok i admit... my tank only ready next year ... lol.... so can afford to look and see...

[Terryz_]

Would love to see some input as I am getting NSW for cycling...

[gerrard_boon]

i'm using NSW for my 1ft and i found the surface layer of oil to be much more after my recently water change, so far my tailspot and peppermint shrimp seems to be ok n i also added a additional red spot goby recently,seem ok to me at the moment.will update if any unusual stuff occurs.

not using surface skimmer by the way

[peacemaker]

I recently did a swap from using salt mix to NSW, and have faced fishes that were healthy before, dying. It is the only thing in my usual routine that was changed recently, so it seems to be the main suspect. It wasn't a complete wipe out though, but I'm afraid the survivors might not make it for long. Would be performing partial water changes with salt mix within these few days. Corals are doing fine though, which comes as a surprise. Will continue to monitor and feedback here.

[Copperband]

while there is no undisputed evidence stating that usage of NSW leads to fish death/skimmer going nuts etc etc.... there are also lots of people who said that their tank's problem started with using NSW after the incident happen... so i guess to err on caution here....

To be fair.... Singapore Straits has a huge volume of vessel traffic.... small oil discharges tend to happen..(at port).. its just that it never reaches the shore / beaches... and all this while before the accident ppl have been using NSW some with problem others with success...

so there is nothing new here.... ppl with concrete evidence that their tank has suffered directly due to the oil spill pls post here so we can learn.

For what its worth... I have been a NSW user for years before my decomm....

[Copperband]

gerard_boon : Did you recently change the food used to feed the LS in your tank.. Might explain the oil layer. . . becauze frommy understanding (from a reputable LFS) they do not take the water at the surface... they put it midway into the water columme and extract via a pump.....

[albinosage]

Copperband, you got a good point about the water being drawn from below the surface but you should also note that most oil slicks are cleared with oil dispersant which binds with the surface oil and sinks to the bottom of the sea.

This is a controversial issue cos environmentalists claim that this doesn't take the harmful substances out of the water, but simply presents a nice picture for the media to show (tadaa!, see, no more oil), while the chemicals are still causing long term damage to the sea bed.

Regarding the quality of water from our LFS, I can't comment cos I happened to switch to salt mix around the time of the oil spill; before that I was using it weekly with positive results. FWIW, I think most LFS that sells NSW have their own filtration system where they store the water too.

Food for thought: If all NSW collected is contaminated, would it mean that the livestock will be wiped out at all our farms and LFS too? (Maybe can ask them if they lose more livestock than usual recently)

[Copperband]

thanks for hilighting that part bino... in which case... we are presented with a new problem.... oil dispersant possibly having compounds that can wreck havoc in tanks ....

Speaking about filter.... how's about those wanting to use NSW filter their water with say Polyfilter.... and carbon?

[gerrard_boon]

ermm...no change of food feed but i did increase number of feeding to 2/3 per week(used to be once a week)

anyway i'm using NSW for water change all along.

[Copperband]

in that case that might explain the extra oil presence in your tank?

[comycus]

Good point bino

Maybe LFS are doing something better than us due to their large water systems, or maybe it's really just a coincidence. Whichever the case, it's good for NSW users to document their experiences here so bros can make a more informed decision on their part whether they want to continue with NSW.

I'm glad we're giving more thought to this rather than just assuming that the oil spill has an impact on quality of our NSW period.

NSW users pls take this opportunity to chime in!

Btw, I always advocate saltmix. D-D H2Ocean!

[Underwater]

Quite true, LFS definitely depends on NSW, then their livestock how?

Another issue would be the seafood that we eat. Besides the fishes, the high risks one shd be the crabs, prawns, clams, mussels, etc. Not sure they're safe to eat and the thought of harmful chemicals getting into my stomach (causing cancer?) freaks me out.

[yikai]

i've never used salt mix in my entire reefing life. have been using NSW since day 1.

look at my previous tank. healthy and alive.

need i say more?

never bought a single bucket of salt before.

[albinosage]

Those who visited East Coast Park during in the couple of weeks following the oil spill will know how bad it is... We could smell it from the chalet during the SRC bbq.

[Copperband]

this thread becoming more interesting... hmm seafood..... I am sure the AVA does random sampling of produce before it ends up in market in crisis time or in normal time?

Am curious how is the "kelong" sponserer is affected (forget whats their name is) ? i can safely deduce that since thir concept of caging fish in the water body itself... they are imapcted the most?

[comycus]

i've never used salt mix in my entire reefing life. have been using NSW since day 1.

look at my previous tank. healthy and alive.

need i say more?

never bought a single bucket of salt before.

We're not putting down NSW lemon But exploring if the oil spill has indeed affected the water quality. Of course the most concrete evidence we can get is if we do some lab test on the NSW coming in.

Maybe I should call up my friends over at NEA to see what their doing in their white coats and scuba diving goggles

[Terryz_]

this thread becoming more interesting... hmm seafood..... I am sure the AVA does random sampling of produce before it ends up in market in crisis time or in normal time?

Am curious how is the "kelong" sponserer is affected (forget whats their name is) ? i can safely deduce that since thir concept of caging fish in the water body itself... they are imapcted the most?

AVA are running test on the seafoods that are from local kelong and fisheries to prove that they are safe for consumption... Maybe I haven been following the news, did they say it is safe to consume after everything's been cleaned up?

The water in the kelong is not confined and the fishes are living like 2-3 metres away from the surface, the is a lot more circulation and exchange of fresh seawater compared to our tank... Anyway, those kelong and fisheries in Changi are not really affected much... The oil spill didnt reach there..

[ranchuboy]

I am using NSW for my 2ft x 2ft x 1ft nano reef (sps + soft coral) tank. I change water every 2 days. I noticed the sg of the NSW is always around 1.019 to 1.021. I have to add salt mix to boost it up to 1.026. So far no problem.

[Copperband]

hmm... that has always been a common observation.... our salinity is always slightly lower.... a good pail of seasalt will always help...

[mitlancer]

Using NSW every week for 30-40% WC. Notice nothing abnormal. But one of my wrasse did not appear after last Saturday WC. Cannot find any significance to the recent oil spill since the rest of the LS are doing fine.

[wilsontantw]

I cannot say for sure that NSW is the reason why my fishes died recently.

But will share my experience.

When my tank first crashed about 2 months ago, i had the entire tank (2.5'x2'x2') filled with NSW. It was all OK. This was way before the oil spill. Since then, i've been doing weekly water change with salt mix (Tropic Marin Pro-reef).

For the past week, i didn't prepare Salt-mix in advance, thus decided to get a full jerry can of NSW. (will not name LFS here - as it's not ethical until there's any concrete confirmation).

Used up the entire 20l of NSW for water change.

Here are the casualties within the past 14 days.

6xchromis (bought 3 weekends ago)

5xtiny dunno-what tiny fish (bought 3 weekends ago)

1xkole (bought 1 month ago - was definitely healthy)

1xtrue perc (bought 1 month ago - also very healthy)

Possible causes

1) NSW?

2) Sudden addition of chromis and tiny fish (total 11 here!) - these tiny fishes are well known to die (one a day - so no issues with them)

3) OD (overdose) of Az-NO3? Dosed 1 cap instead of 1 drop on the first day of use.

4) Added a few new small rocks of zoas (some from reefers and 1 from LFS)

I dunno about you guys... but for sure, i will not be using NSW for awhile. I will rather use Tap water (treat with Seachem Prime) + salt mix now.

No more buying of fishies too...

[Terryz_]

Are you all running carbon? I think carbon might help?

Maybe it is the source of the NSW that is being collected...