[topicsid]

I live in Jersey so salt water is very near, about a 10 minute drive, so whats better / easier salt water from the sea or tap water with added salt?

[mtfabel]

Im not sure what the benefits of using ocean water would be if any. But i would stay away from tap water as much as possible. RO/DI is the water that should be used if not using ocean water.

[Rmorris24]

I have used tap water for a few years now, with no downside whatsoever. I hear and see people stopping by there pet store because they don't want to use tap water. I find this interesting since it has never really hindered my aquarium, if you are really worried about tap water i have heard "prime" helps. I don't know if there is an advantage to ocean water it may not be bad to try in small amounts and see how everything reacts.

[CaseyH]

If you decide to get ocean water yourself, be sure and get from a long distance OFF SHORE. Do not use water from the beach because it will not be pure (i.e. pollution). I use a RO filter and mix my own salt and it seems to work fine.

[bugout]

worth the money to mix it who knows what you would be adding, not to mention what kind of chemistry problems it could cause. just trying to look out for ya!

[rick67]

I just mix it myself. It also depends on how your tap water is treated. In Virginia we had to use prime. If we didn't it would kill the fish even if you distilled it.

[walkerj14]

also echo, the mixing your own with ro water and commerical salt water mix,, has worked well

[medic]

You have no clue what you are getting if you get it from ocean. You want to be incontrol of your tank what goes in and so forth. If you have a problem you won't be able to even track it. I like mixing my, plus with alot of the salts out there they have more in them than just salt. I have a few hard corals and have noticed that i don't have to dose them as much, because the salt has some cal in them.