Can I use saltwater from the ocean at the beach?
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Hermiehomes4Gretchen
Topic author - Posts: 50
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Can I use saltwater from the ocean at the beach?
I’m visiting at the beach and was wondering if I could collect saltwater for my crabs there?
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aussieJJDude
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Re: Can I use saltwater from the ocean at the beach?
It's a huge risk, and many would say no.
Saltwater from the beach tends to be heavily polluted, especially if sourced close to an area with heavy human (including boating) activity. Towns nearby with run off is also something to keep in mind, and to avoid.
Even at the most pristine of beaches, the introduction of a plethora of micro organisms and bacteria could be highly detrimental to crabs health. You really have no way of checking what exactly you're adding, and many without a food source (algae, light, other micro inverts ect) will quickly die off and lead to ammonia spikes. Ammonia is something you want to avoid if you can, since it is harmful to crabs health.
In the aquarium industry, salt water from the ocean can be used. However, this salt water is heavily screened to remove much of contaminants, requiring a multiple filtration process involving super fine mesh. And they also tend to be sourced in open ocean, which has a smaller amount of pollutants from human active then close to shore.
All in all, no. I wouldnt reccomend.
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Saltwater from the beach tends to be heavily polluted, especially if sourced close to an area with heavy human (including boating) activity. Towns nearby with run off is also something to keep in mind, and to avoid.
Even at the most pristine of beaches, the introduction of a plethora of micro organisms and bacteria could be highly detrimental to crabs health. You really have no way of checking what exactly you're adding, and many without a food source (algae, light, other micro inverts ect) will quickly die off and lead to ammonia spikes. Ammonia is something you want to avoid if you can, since it is harmful to crabs health.
In the aquarium industry, salt water from the ocean can be used. However, this salt water is heavily screened to remove much of contaminants, requiring a multiple filtration process involving super fine mesh. And they also tend to be sourced in open ocean, which has a smaller amount of pollutants from human active then close to shore.
All in all, no. I wouldnt reccomend.
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Re: Can I use saltwater from the ocean at the beach?
I never thought about it being polluted. We always see schools of fish and dolphins in the area we swim and lots of people fish from the beach. I usually bring back a 20 oz water bottle of ocean water once a year when we go. My reasoning was that there would be nutrients or trace elements in the ocean water that might not be in the mix I add to make their salt water...kind of the "breast milk vs formula" debate. I usually bring back some sand too for the same reasons. Plus, I figured the salinity was right on the money! I've never noticed any adverse reactions, but then again, it only lasts them about 2 wks. If you're going to do it, I would suggest you don't get the water from around any piers or near any marinas.
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