Has anyone used real sea water in there tanks?

[newfishliny]

Can we use real sea water in our tanks ?
If we can , is there steps to take before adding fish or coral ?
If NO why not ?
thank you for your input
new fish

 

[fireo1o]

ive never dealt withit but ive heard that its a bad idea as the sea water may carry all sorts of junk and pollutants into the tank

 

[dburr]

I used to.
You first have to make sure it's not polluted. Look at the water, smell it. I collected in off times. Early spring, fall and winter. Use it directly or let it sit for a min of 10 days in a dark place. No lights at all. This is how I used it most of the time. This kills everything that is living in the water. Don't use the stuff on the bottom of the container.
Now that I have mostly SPS, I don't bother. It makes me a little nervous to use it.

 

[nm reef]

Nope...real ocean water is fairly scarce here in New Mexico...but there are those that do use it. I know in Southern California there are a few reliable sources of filtered ocean water available. I think the key is to collect the water far enough away from public access to avoid polutions...I don't know how they filter or prepare the water but I do remember a hobbyist that had a truck come to fill his newly set-up(and rather large) display. There isalso a product on the market that claims to be Ocean water...I heard you can buy it from some places. I'd be very careful though about collecting my own...real hard to tell just what you are getting. Personally...I'd have to ask myself ...why risk a problem. Synthetic salt mixs are reliable/consistent/fairly cheap...and formulated for marine aquarium use. I just depend on Instant Ocean Salt for my use.:thinking: