OREGON FISH COMMISSION'S 



SALT-WATER SYSTEM AT NEWPORT, OREGON 



By C. Dale Snow 



Research Laboratory, Oregon Fish Commission, Newport, Oreg. 



Abstract. — This paper describes a simple salt- water system used at the Oregon Fish 

 Commission's shellfish-research laboratory at Newiwrt, Oreg., and discusses some of 

 the problems in maintaining and operating such systems. 



Our salt-water system at Newport, 

 Oreg., is simple and is illustrated in figure 

 1. Water is pumped into a 750-gallon 

 Douglas-fir tank that has been treated with 

 biturine to slow down damage by Teredos 

 and Limnoria. The pump in use is a 1- 

 inch Jabsco powered by a i/^-horsepower 

 electric motor, but a Gould pump with 

 glass liner and impeller would be far 

 superior. Pumping is regulated by an 

 Allen-Bradley float switch that can be op- 

 erated automatically or manually. Place- 

 ment of the outlet from the tank 6 inches 

 above the bottom reduces the amount of 

 sediment pumped into the aquarium trays. 

 For piping water from the tank to the 

 aquarium we use 1-inch Portco plastic pipe. 

 Aquarium trays are made of i/2"inch ma- 

 rine plywood that is also treated with 

 biturine. The water supply into the aqua- 

 rium enters through one to four tee- joints 

 placed in the salt-water line. Each tee 

 has a rubber stopper with a i/4-inch glass 

 tube through the center and a piece 

 of surgical tubing on the end to which a 

 screw clamp is attached. The amount of 

 water entering is regulated by this clamp 

 and the free fall into the aquarium aids 

 in aeration. A 1-inch hole with a rubber 

 stopper and a i/^-inch glass-tube standpipe 

 regulates depth of water. To clean the 

 trays, the stopper is removed and the trays 



are scrubbed with a heavy brush as the 

 water drains out. This system, while 

 quite simple, has proven to be adequate 

 for our purpose of holding animals (clams, 

 crabs, etc.) for various studies. 



The biggest problem with this system 

 has been fouling of the water lines by 

 mussels and barnacles. To combat this 

 we periodically flush the lines with hot 

 water during the spring and summer 

 months to control settling and survival of 

 these animals. If the lines are neglected 

 and growth becomes too heavy then the 

 lines must be disassembled and a half- 

 strength Clorox solution run through the 

 pipe. This solution dissolves the byssal 

 threads of the mussels and allows the mus- 

 sels to be flushed out. If Clorox is used, 

 the lines must then be thoroughly flushed 

 before they are used again. I would rec- 

 ommend that salt-water lines be put to- 

 gether in such a manner and position that 

 they can be taken apart easily for periodic 

 cleaning. 



In our salt-water system the outlet 

 placed well above the bottom has proven 

 adequate in allowing sediments to drop out 

 and it holds to a minimum the sediments 

 entering the aquarium. Periodically we 

 allow the level to drop down so that the 

 bottom sediments can be removed with a 

 garden hose siphon. A recent innovation 



137 



