Buying prepackaged sea water

[oOBrieOo]

I was just curious.. Since I will be soon setting up a small(5-10gal) nano, and have no other SW at the moment, I was thinking of setting it up with the prepackaged seawater we sell at our shop. What are yall opinions on this? I've yet to bust one open and test it, but it advertises that its nitrate and phosphate free, etc. Just purified sea water. I'd be paying like, 8 bucks for 6 gallons of it, which is fair enough IMO although I know you can go buy RO water for cheaper... But I figure it's nice and easy for initial set up, and weekly water changes..

 

[reefersnob]

I used the Natural Sea Water for the first 6-7 mo. my tank was up. My corals loved it. The salinity is generally 1.026. It became expensive for me so I now use the Instant Ocean. The corals have shown no change in growth or color. So...... it's at least just as good as the water I make.

 

[oOBrieOo]

Awesome, thanks.

The sality of the brand i'd be buying averages 21 so I may have to add a little salt to it anyway.

 

[jski711]

if you have to add salt to it anyways you might as well save some money and mix your own!! jmo.

 

[Rosseau]

I would recommend making your own. Nearly everybody mixes up their own water. The salt products like Instant Ocean are very good and used by everyone from the amateurs to the pros.

I think it will be cheaper in the end too.

 

[polyppetey]

I like the catalina brand, no problems for me at all. I have a 12g nano so 1 box lasts me for over a month with a weekly 1 gallon W.C. Just my .02.

 

[flaco626nj]

try reef crystals they are good but i use tropic marin pro its the best

 

[SugarFox03]

I recommend Reef Crystals if you want to mix your own water. I get mine from Drs Foster & Smith. Although I did find a local guy who sells Tropic Marin Pro, 200 gal buckets for $75.00...I'm thinking of trying that when I'm out of Reef Crystals.

 

[Azial]

Use Reef Crystals. The Coral Facility locally at Drs Foster and Smith also user the exact same thing. I figure if they use it professionally, hell I can't go wrong with it either. Plus I love the fact I can drive over to Drs. Foster and Smith and not pay for shipping ha!