Comments on: Should You Use Natural Seawater In Your Aquarium

By: John

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:21:50 +0000

Hello. In my reef system I use an artificial salt mix as it isn’t practical to use NSW. The corraline grows steadily and makes some very interesting shapes. I need to clean it off the glass, particularly in the corners once every three months generally, so it’s slow growing (which from a cleaning point of view is an advantage). The lighting is low power, a bank of five fluorescents, blue and marine white.
I suppose theoretically there should not be a great deal of difference between growth with NSW or artificial provided the mixtures are up to spec and kept so.
It will be interesting to see what happens.

By: Ray

Ray — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:20:15 +0000

Hey John im experimenting once again. This time to examine how fast corraline algae responds to the NSW. For some reason its moderate growing with mixes. So we spent all day today changes things around. We also changes filtration system with higher out flows to seed the corraline algae better! Will take a few pic before and after and email to whoever wants to see results if its any different.

By: John

John — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:34:51 +0000

Nice to hear again Ray. Agree with what you say about NSW being ‘treated’ before it goes in the display aquarium. Despite the fact (I think I can call it fact?) that the natural stuff is best caution remains the rule.

By: Ray

Ray — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:20:38 +0000

Hello everyone! its been a while since ive been on here. Wanted to let everyone know that my tank is doing great. I stopped using NSW for a while and noticed a decline in my corals, Corraline algae and such. Started adding trace elements and dosing calcium but the tank is not doing as well as it was when i was using NSW. So this weekend its back to the beach. Seems that its harder for my tank to deplete all the elements found in nature rather than usuing man made stuff. Just thought Id share this with my fellow aquarist. Wish we could post pics on here to show you what I am meaning by all this. Frankly even the coloration of my fish have declined. They were much brighter before than they are now. For anyone intending to us this method of harvesting NSW “DO NOT PUT IT STRAIGHT INTO YOUR TANK”! I cannot express this enough! Get a 55 Gallon Drum or Trash can, Place the water in there for at least 48 hours with a filter, Power head and if possible a UV sterilizer. Then use as water change water. You will be very happy eith results! Happy reefing everyone! send me a message from time to time I feel so not loved by you all! LOL my email is xdeputy101@yahoo.com from Destin , Florida! talk to you guys later!

By: John

John — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:27:21 +0000

Hello Dave.
Like so many others you report how well your system does with NSW. As you realise the greatest danger is pollution. Why systems do so well with NSW I cannot state categorically – but it seems to me Mother Nature’s own is very mature and directly suitable, whereas synthetic mixes are more harsh even after mixing for 24 hours or so. Or maybe there’s an ingredient in NSW that’s not fully recognised for its importance, but I doubt that!

By: dave

dave — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:52:24 +0000

I have used sea water on my last 2 tanks. The tank was set up on synthetic and i vary the water change between natural sea water and salt. the reason for this is im still not brave enough to just use nsw i collect it from near the shore when the tide is coming in, i may have option in summer of collecting from deep.
Through this winter it was proving difficult to collect so i went back onto synthetic and i would have to say that my tank isnt doing half as well!!!

By: John

John — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:43:47 +0000

Hello Koos.
Yes you can. Make sure the NSW (natural seawater) is safe, that is not polluted, and at the same salinity as your aquarium seawater. If you’ve been using a synthetic mix then it could be easier to slowly alter the synthetic mix in the aquarium to match the NSW (there are some who have reduced the salinity of the NSW if needed by carefully adding RO (reverse osmosis) water but this is creating work for the future that isn’t necessary). To find out the NSW salinity it needs to be heated to the aquarium temperature first before the salinity is measured as temperature has an effect.
If you are adding a very small amount of NSW (compared to the total aquarium seawater gallonage) then matching the seawater salinity isn’t absolutely necessary though it should still be heated. The overall salinity will match over time. Changes should always be gradual.

By: Koos

Koos — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Hi. Can anyone tell me.Can I top up my Synthetic salt water Aquarium with NSW water?Your help will be appreciated.
Thanks Koos.

By: John

John — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:37:29 +0000

Hello Xlman.
Thanks for your input. It’s very interesting particularly as it comes from someone with a coral reef on their doorstep and an available NSW supply. I have to say that if I had uncontaminated NSW available I would definitely try it. The usual problems with NSW are first the major one – getting it (transport etc), then ensuring it is generally clean including pollution and, as you say, maintaining parameters (though the same problem with parameters can arise with manufactured salt).
I had the good fortune to visit the Maldives (the island was Kanifinolu, I’ve probably mispelt it, sorry) and it was great snorkelling over the reef and just relaxing in general.

By: XIman

XIman — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:12:19 +0000

There is no specific way we have to follow, i agree John fully, and agree others too since i live in the Maldives and been in this hobby for 12 years on and off. I always used NSW since there is no way i can purchase synthetic salt from my country. I have tried different ways, had water straight after collecting. It takes 5 mins to bring, and its clear unpolluted water most of the time. Also i do water changes by storing NSW by collecting and storing in plastic containers in the hope of killing off any nutrients that might be in it. Important thing is i have to level temperature and add freshwater to get the correct salinity levels.

So from my experience, if i had the option to buy salt mix, i would use it for sure, WHY? coz i can never achieve the same quality, same condition, same levels in NSW ever ytime i do a water change, sometimes the water i collect have many nutrients and i have algae blooms, other times some other matter. And anyone who keeps sensitive corals knows that a change in water parameters does do a lot of harm to the corals, it might not show in show in short term, but in long term it affects the corals badly.

So my bottom line is, NSW is great if you can afford to have it, free even though a lot of effort. At the same time salt mixes are great in the sense that i can know i can achieve the same parameters every time i do a water change. And for those who have differences in noticing coral growth and health of it, we cannot prove its because of NSW coz 99% of all famous and great reefkeepers use salt mix, so we cannot argue that.

So all i have to say is we can never say NSW is bad coz its mother nature, but due to the factors i’ve mentioned above, its not always the best choice for your corals due to the influence of other factors of mother nature. My corals might be doing great in NSW bcoz they are wild, not cultured. and if i had cultured corals in NSW it might affect badly too, i would love to hear comments from experts.