Where does your aquarium's saltwater come from?

[Spiderguardnano]

just started using scrips nsw from the bearch aquarium

[Sancho]

Catalina water from LFS, or Scripps pier water.

[Lynton]

Being new to the hobbie I don't own a ro/di unit as of yet so my water will becoming from my LFS for a while when the tank is wet

[Reefpros]

Red Sea Coral pro is the only way to go! Little more money but I was able to stop dosing after I started using it..

[Markburns43]

Using the fluval salt that came with the m90 in my my ten gallon to use it up then switching to red sea pro salt. Fkuvals good it mixesfast calcium levels a re great and mag but alk is anywhere from 7 to 8, down fall to this is the more lps and sps u add the more they suck up so dosing of alk is a must through the week with this salt.

[jlangtree]

East Coast of Australia, so natural salt water for me

[ReefSafeSolutions]

Water from the Birch Aquarium here too...my corals LOVE that water. They look so much more vibrant and full after I do a water change!

[ProtectDa2nd]

 

If your ever in the Northern Virginian area there's a nice shop called Marine Scene in Herndon. It's worth checking out.

Im going to check this place out Friday since ill be down that way from Winchester.

[fishfreak0114]

Red Sea pro mixed at home with...yes prepare to cringe...tap water

[dcullen2]

My RO/DI with red sea coral pro

[Funkateer_1]

I go get mine from the ocean lol

[kakorb]

Store bought filtered seawater. Every now and again I mix coral pro with distilled water.

[masssnapz]

I used natural sea water from a few local LFS all from the same 'source' distributor. Switched to another LFS these last few weeks, not sure what it is but its got excellent numbers compared to the inconsistent readings I get from the other guys.

 

50% water changes once a week, 10% water change mid week.

How do your corals react to such large water changes ?

[Hamilton Technology]

Pacific Ocean.

 

Scripps or Port Hueneme.

[Sancho]

Pacific Ocean.

 

Scripps or Port Hueneme.

Thats a long drive. Scripps has worked well for me for 20+ years

[gulfsurfer101]

I get these food grade bins. After a good power washing they are ready to be put to use!

Then every once every six months usually in the winter or fall when the water is to cold for most common bacteria like red tide I will collect about 275g!

I'll pump the water into a cleaned sanaitized holding bin rated for 325g add a little bleach to kill off any unwanted nasties then cure with prime. I'll store it covered in a tarp to block light out in my pole barn. I change out a 5g bucket every two weeks and takes me about 10 minutes to complete. Here is a recent shot of my 20l using nsw!

Cal-450

Alk(dkh)-9

Mag-1420

[reefsahoy]

Natural sea water

[timothymarsh]

Natural seawater from Biscayne Bay, FL and occasionally from the Gulf Stream when we go offshore fishing. I don't test my water, but the corals seem to respond well to the natural stuff- even if it isn't "perfect" by hobby standards. I think there is a lot to be said for the unique microbiotic makeup found in natural water.

[mickeyc1195]

having a nano tank and doing about 5 gallon wc a week which is not a lot of water going to buy pre-mixed water at my LFS which runs me about $6.50 which is not too bad. the salinity is consistent and they use red sea coral pro salt so it provides good mg, alk, and calcium for my little basic reef.

[Astinus]

LFS from their Tanks.

[Sherman]

AquaForest salt with RODI.

 

Singapore is surround by sea but the sea water quality is bad for reef

[HarryPotter]

FINALLY doing my own RODI + salt. First attempt with RSCP looks good but there is a TON of residue in the mixing container, sucks. Can I just make water again without cleaning the residue?

[makingfilms]

Nsw catalina water from lFS. I think they filter it. Sometimes I take my boat out that way and will pick some up for free but it seems slightly different than the stuff i purchase.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

FINALLY doing my own RODI + salt. First attempt with RSCP looks good but there is a TON of residue in the mixing container, sucks. Can I just make water again without cleaning the residue?

 

Yeah I never did rinse out the residue. If it's precipitated calcium or carbonate, then there's nothing that's going to make it dissolve back into solution. As long as it's not some brown sludge, you're fine.

 

One thing I've got in the habit of doing to prevent precipitation is adding the salt in slow, measured amounts. I get the water heated up to 78* and get it moving with a powerhead. Then, I measure out all the salt I'm going to need for the current batch (with TMPR, that's about 600g per 5 gallons of RO/DI). Then, every few minutes or so while I'm puttering around the house, I add a 1/4 cup scoop. The 1/4 cup scoop seems to be a decent compromise between adding the salt too quickly (getting precipitate) and adding it too slowly.

[squamptonbc]

I use instant ocean, always have, cheap and makes a lot of water. No local fish stores around other then petsmart and the little jugs of top fin water they sell are a total rip off, like 10 Canadian bucks for 9 gallons worth (its concentrated so only like a 3 gallon jug) vs 18 dollars for 50 gallons worth of instant ocean + home made ro water, and since tap water is not metered, its essentially free.

 

I could go to Vancouver area and collect natural water, but its an hour and some change away, and frankly with all the ship traffic into and out of the area, not really sure how clean the water would be, and it would cost more in the long run with gas/parking/bridge tolls.

 

Easier and faster to just do it at home.