The demand for Sea-water to supply the Marine Aquarium--now to be
seen in so many houses--induced Mr. Gosse to attempt the manufacture
of Sea-water, more especially as the constituents are well known. He
accordingly took Scheveitzer’s analysis of Sea-water for his guide. In
one thousand grains of sea-water taken off Brighton, it gave: water,
964·744; chloride of sodium, 27·059; chloride of magnesium, 3·666;
chloride of potassium, 9·755; bromide of magnesium, 0·29; sulphate of
magnesia, 2·295; sulphate of lime, 1·407; carbonate of lime, 0·033:
total, 999·998. Omitting the bromide of magnesium, the carbonate of
lime, and the sulphate of lime, as being very small quantities, the
component parts were reduced to common salt, 3½ oz.; Epsom salts, ¼
oz.; chloride of magnesium, 200 grains troy; chloride of potassium,
40 grains troy; and four quarts of water. Next day the mixture was
filtered through a sponge into a glass jar, the bottom covered with
shore-pebbles and fragments of stone and fronds of green sea-weed. A
coating of green spores was soon deposited on the sides of the glass,
and bubbles of oxygen were copiously thrown off every day under the
excitement of the sun’s light. In a week Mr. Gosse put in species of
_Actinia Bowerbankia_, _Cellularia_, _Serpula_, &c. with some red
sea-weeds; and the whole throve well.