Natural Sea Water Vs Instant Ocean Salt

[robgarcia]

I was wondering with one will benefit my reef aquarium? Would there be a difference if I switch over?

Thanks,
Rob

[jeff@zina.com]

Do you have an easy source of natural seawater and the ability to purify it if need be? Dipping a bucket at the local dock is NOT recommended.

Jeff

[IslandCrow]

You'll get a lot of different opinions on using natural sea water. Personally, I think it's a good thing (all sorts of micro plankton you're not going to get from an artificial mix), but as stated, it depends on your availability of an acceptably pure source. When I lived in Florida, I collected mine from a stretch of beach on military land, where there was no development, so I considered the pollution risk to be minimal. Others say they would never use it unless it's collected from at least a few miles off shore. And then some say it's just too much risk for too little benefit with the possibility of pollution, parasites, etc. I didn't see any significant difference in my tank between periods where I used primarily artificial or natural seawater, so either can certainly work well.

[lougotzz]

Yeah, natural sea water might not be able to house natural fish lmao.

[robgarcia]

My concern I see is I’ve seen the saltwater tanker pump water at Haulover channel on high tide. And the same tanker delivers water to many local saltwater aquariums stores. Now the question is do they filter the saltwater? Should I take the risk on using the natural sea water?

Thanks so much for your input.

Rob

[capnfritz]

When you use artificial saltwater (with a RODI)you pretty much know what's in it.
At least you have more control.

[Lemeshianos]

How can we check if NSW has contaminants?
And what exactly do we check for?
petroleum, copper?

I live in an island in the Mediterranean and can get NSW, but I would like to check if it's ok to use. I might take a sample to a chemist but what should I ask the chemist to check for?

[robgarcia]

How can we check if NSW has contaminants?
And what exactly do we check for?
petroleum, copper?

I live in an island in the Mediterranean and can get NSW, but I would like to check if it's ok to use. I might take a sample to a chemist but what should I ask the chemist to check for?

It will be great to see if we can check for contaminants, is there such test kit?

[username in use]

I use natural salt water that I collect from a beach. No problems.

[lordofthereef]

As has been said, there are varying opinions. I will add that most of the seawater that is available on the market is pretty heavily filtered. That is for an added safety factor. Some collect themselve and have no issues. Again, success with this depends on the area.

[Paul B]

I collect it on Long Island NY and dump it in my tank. Never had a problem.

[conwayscience]

The idea of filtering natural sea water before use seems silly to me. without doing a in depth particle size analysis I just intuitively think that anything capable of taking out toxins is probably going to take out that plankton you were talking about as well as maybe even trace elements you desire.