Saltwater from my LFS

[Obi Juan kenobi]

My LFS offers treated ocean water and I was curious as to if any one has ever used anything like this and with what kinda luck. Irecently purchased a bio cube 29 and am trying to do all the reading and research I can get my hands on!!!!!

[seabass]

That’s not too much to go on. It could be fine; I’ve had success using Real Ocean Water (filtered natural sea water) from Catalina Water Company for well over a year now. It’s a little more expensive than mixing your own, but it saves me time. However, if they are collecting locally, I’d be a little concerned about pollution that is typically found in water just off the coast.

 

I’d be curious to know how it has been treated, where it is collected, and what the salinity is. You normally don’t have to worry about impurities in a quality salt mix like Instant Ocean or Tropic Marin, and you control the salinity; plus, buffers help balance the pH (some mixes are even adjusted for those dosing additional calcium).

[epicfish]

Bring a refractometer to test the salinity of their water.

 

I've bought "RO" water from my LFS that had higher TDS amounts than my regular tap water. Buyer beware!

[Mudfish]

That's what most of us use in southeast Florida. It's collected fairly deep, on the incoming tide. The LFS filters and tests it (I don't really know what they test for, now that I think of it... I'll have to ask).

 

50 cents a gallon makes it much cheaper, and of course simpler, than mixing your own. The only drawback is toting the jugs. The salinity is slightly high - you have to add a little splash of fresh to get down to 1.025, where I run.

 

I've been using it exclusively for eight months.

[Scott Riemer]

I had all sorts of problems buying water. I tried some "natural sea water" from one store and my Sarco closed up. Went back to pre-mixed from lfs but I always had to add more salt to get right SG. In a pinch one time I bought "RO/DI" from a different lfs, major Green Hair Algae outbreak. I finally just bought my own RO/DI system and a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter. I tested the water I was buying from the 2 different stores with my new TDS meter. One tested @ 40 ppm TDS. The one that caused my major GHA tested at approx. 530ppm TDS (Can't remember exact reading, there's a post somewhere about it). Needless to say these readings aren't great, especially the second one, it was worse than if I had used my own tap water.

 

The piece of mind I get from knowing I'm using good water from my RO/DI is worth the cost. JMHO

[Travis]

just mix you own, saves time and money.

 

My "Local" fish store is 45 miles away...so mixing my own really saves my time and my money (gas ain't so cheap now a days lol)

[wildernesstank]

i just fill up the jugs, cost 0.59 a gallon

[Obi Juan kenobi]

That’s not too much to go on. It could be fine; I’ve had success using Real Ocean Water (filtered natural sea water) from Catalina Water Company for well over a year now. It’s a little more expensive than mixing your own, but it saves me time. However, if they are collecting locally, I’d be a little concerned about pollution that is typically found in water just off the coast.

 

I’d be curious to know how it has been treated, where it is collected, and what the salinity is. You normally don’t have to worry about impurities in a quality salt mix like Instant Ocean or Tropic Marin, and you control the salinity; plus, buffers help balance the pH (some mixes are even adjusted for those dosing additional calcium).

Just found out that my LFS sells the Catalina Water Co. water. Thanks for the info!