can i use real seawater

[jsvokowest]

i collected a one gallon jug of natural sea water off my dads boat off of gardiners island and let it sit in the basement for a couple of days. found some sediment on the bottom of the jug but the salinity is 1.020 nh3 0 no3 0 no2 0 what are the risks of me using this stuff vs using the ro, salt additives etc which would save me a fortune. i would run the water through a sock to filter out the particles and let it age for a week in the dark. maybe even put a protein skimmer in the garbage pail housing it. what do you guys think?

 

[Kaz289]

Sounds scary who knows what is in the water around here, other stuff that dont show up on our test kits like chemicals that get carried into the sea by rain water. i dont think its worth the risk imo.

 

[Killerdrgn]

Actually i'm pretty sure there are a few people out in LI (Gardiners is way out east right?) that use NSW (Natural Sea Water). Though I'm not sure what precautions they take, maybe running it through carbon first. But I hear it works, second hand account as I don't live by the ocean to try.

 

[qy7400]

Atlantis is run completely off NSW collected near the Ponquogue Bridge. There are also a few members that use it and the general opinion is use it right away or let it circulate in the dark for a few weeks for the plankton to die off and cycle through.

 

[jsvokowest]

yes gardiners is between plum island and the south fork. water is contantly running out there. was going to take a sample from the plum gut rip tide til i saw the orient point ferry cutting through it. kaz i hear you about the scary part.

 

[jsvokowest]

thanks joe.

 

[cali_reef]

I think Paul use water from the sound and treats it with Clorox.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

Easy answer: Yes

 

[Imbarrie]

I would consider collecting halfway through an incoming tide. That way you minimize your chances of collecting Long Island Sound effluence.