Preventing Ich?

I have a 46 gallon bow front with some soft corals mostly polyps and mushrooms. I am waiting to get all my inverts in the tank before I start putting fish in the tank. I live in florida so i get my water from the beach. Im wondering if ill be safe using the beach water because i dont want to introduce ich in threw my water changes. I hear healty fish wont get ich but what about other paricites floating in the beach water. please help

 

DO NOT USE WATER FROM THE BEACH. it has pollution in it. it may be acceptable for you to go a couple miles of shore(depending on businesses around you) to collect it but don't get it from the beach.

 

the beach is natures protein skimmer. think of it as you are dumping skimmate in your tank

 

Ich

so would i be better off mixing my own water? The local pet shop sells salt water that they get from a few miles out would this still carry parasites? also ive been using the beach water for a while with absolutely no adverse effects to my haitian anenome, rock anenome and other inverts. thanks for the help guys;D

 

yes you would be better off mixing your own water. i would check if the the pet shop runs it through a uv sterilizer if it doesn't i wouldnt buy it. all it takes is one batch of bad water not worth the risk.

 

do you know your params?

 

Do you live near an inlet of any kind? I know alot of people that get water from inlets like Boca, or Haulover. Just make sure when you collect it that you do it on the incoming tide about halfway through and you will be fine. All the guys that sell saltwater to the fish stores all do this. It's not a good idea to just walk out to the beach and start filling buckets though.

 

i do a 10% change every week so the water stays at 8.1 or 8.2 i think and my nitrites are non existant. my salinity/grav is 1.24-1.27 i barely test my water, mabie once every week or so and every thing has been fine for the aquariums entire existance.

 

Boca Inlet

Funny you said boca thats where i get my water. The water moves vvvery fast and i think this makes it a bit cleaner? It has never harmed my tank even after huricanes turned the water here into sand soup.