seattleaqua water

[Sealab2021]

therewas a post here syaing the seattle aquarium sells water good enough for a FO for a mere 0.05 a gallon. is this true?
if so, would I need to join PSAS to recieve such a offer,
when can I do it,
do I need to bring my own receptacle

my tank went boom and I need a quick fix...help

 

[aquariumdebacle]

Yes you can use it for a fish only tank. It comes in at a very low salinity, so you might need to add salt. It also comes in high in Iron which may cause algae problems. Let it settle, then siphon from the middle and discard the very bottom gallon.
I would recommend, areate it with an airstone to mix salt and oxygenate, then let settle.
I believe that you must sign up for an account but membership is not required. You do need your own vessel. There is a spigot on the North end of the dock and it is charged to your account with a card.

DO NOT USE AFTER A HEAVY RAINFALL; everything in Elliot Bay will be in the water. It is only filtered for particulates at the 10 micron level. All chemicals present will be in this water: use a carbon filter with good carbon if at all possible.

 

[mattseattle]

i've been using the seattle aquarium water in my reef tank for about 6 months. so far no issues except the water has low calcium, alk and magnesium. the salinty is usually ok at 1.024. i've never had an algae bloom using it. i also haven't tested the iron content so i can't vouch on that aspect. i've had amazing coral growth and all using this water but i've spent quite a bit on additives to get the water up to 'reef' standards.

it's .05 a gallon and they bill you every 2 months. when signing up it's a 10.00 charge for the card and all. you also have to go during business hours in order to get the card but after that you can go 24 hours a day to get the water. you have to bring your own container.

 

[Mushroom Boy]

You don't need to be a PSAS member for this, and last time I checked, you don't need to be a member of the aquarium either...

 

[Minh Nguyen]

I use the water from the Seattle aquarium for my reef tank while I was in Seattle. I got 5 20 g gasoline container. I pick up the water in the middle of the night. Just back my car right up to the dispenser. I just use it straight every time I change water. I did not have any problem with it at all. My clams did fine and my SPS grew like crazy. My fish was healthy. I had too much fish in my 100 g tank so the water quality was not as good as it is now in my tank. I did have algae problem but I think it is due to tank management (too high bioload) rather than water problem.
I think it is high in Nickel, which is the characteristic of water from the Puget Sound (per Dr. Ron). The Seattle Aquarium takes water deep from the Puget Sound, filtered it with a sand filter and irradiated with Ultra Violet to sterilize. They dispense it with a hose right at the Seattle Aquarium. I use a magnetic card to turn the pump on and just pump it to my container. I wish the Texas State Aquarium did the same thing here in Corpus Christi.

Minh