Seawater or Synthetic Better

[lee]

I've been using Seawater purchased from local farm since I started

more than a year back (lower cost). Recently someone told me the quality of these Seawater had deteriorated and he is changing to Synthetic Salt for a change.

Anyone has any experiences changing from Seawater to Synthetic (all other things unchanged) and had better results; .i.e corals staying opened longer and expanded better, etc.

[Matt06]

I always use natural sea water taken from our local beaches, corals are really nice and better then Synt. Salt mix. But cautions must be observed when using natural sea water. From what I know and information gathered, those water sold by LFS are from our shore as well.

[RAV-65]

Hmm... where do you get your seawater? our waters is like so murky and dirty all the time.... or do you filter it somehow?

BTW, anyone know where to get cheaper seawater besides the water trucks? been buying it for $2 per 12Litre bag...

Vincent Ho

[ashidiq]

i personally find that synthic saltwater is better... first synthic saltwater has alll the required vitamins in it and lesser harm full chemicals... secondly due to rainy seasons the saltwater is diluted sue to high amount rain water...

[damsel-in-distress]

Hmm... where do you get your seawater? our waters is like so murky and dirty all the time.... or do you filter it somehow?

BTW, anyone know where to get cheaper seawater besides the water trucks? been buying it for $2 per 12Litre bag...

Vincent Ho

Until a month ago, I bought NSW from L*C110. They sell at $3 per 25 litre plastic jerry cans (if you collect yourself). You can buy the containers from them at $8. I've since switched to synthetic salt mix so I can now control (to some extent) what goes into tank at each water change.

[Matt06]

Hmm... where do you get your seawater? our waters is like so murky and dirty all the time.... or do you filter it somehow?

BTW, anyone know where to get cheaper seawater besides the water trucks? been buying it for $2 per 12Litre bag...

Vincent Ho

I guess you are really wrong, during high-tide, water is really clear, think about it: If our water can support lots of corals, if certainly will and safe for use in our tank. I suggest you to collect your water from ECP if you really live near there, however, I got mine from Pasir Ris Beach.

[Jimaroon]

The farms near Farm Mart at Sungei Tengah selling sea water at $2 for 16 to 25 litres. It's cheap, but I donno the source. I've seen many ppl buy from there tho.

[dravan]

well i guess its juz two different school of thoughts on the usage of seawater vs salts.... i use salt mix as u can control whatever goes into ur tank... the mineral composition is the same everytime... provided u use the same brand of salt... for seawater... the mineral composition defers n if there is an oil leak or whatever i think its not that safe anymore

[AlfaRomeo]

Personally, I will stick to the syn salt as its a controlled product and we know more or less what goes into the tank.. those NSW very unpredictable , what happens if there was an algae bloom in the waters when they were collecting it or any other diseases? got high prob that the closed system we have at home will not be able to survive intact.

[RAV-65]

hi all,

my question is, will saltmix water really have all the minerals as compared to seawater? seawater being more natural may have certain elements that cannot be transferred into synthetic form.... also, i heard somewhere dat the seawater will have certain bacterial which is good for the tank but not saltmix.... Anyone got any other ideas to share?

Vincent Ho

[Matt06]

I guess the main concern about using NSW is about that minerals that you can't find in synthetic salt mix... As for bact. It will always generate itself where there is life in your tank.

[Achilles Tang]

I'll say it simply.

IMO, NSW from Singapore shores 'probably' has a high risk factor and is inconsistent in its components, usually lacking in something that requires you to supplement it. The high risk comes from the possibility of chemical pollution. Lastly, it's usually quite dirty, requiring some form of mechanical filtration.

Synthetic salts are consistent in their makeup and usually balanced to provide the optimal PH, salinity and calcium levels. Downside is that they usually contained higher than normal heavy metal trace elements than NSW and are suspected of contaminating DSBs and Liverock with heavy metals causing 'old tank syndrome'/DSB crash.

I use synthetic salt and do not trust local NSW. Perhaps if one day, we do not have that much commercial sea traffic, land reclamation, proximity to parks and golf clubs etc.

[aStRoBo|]

and AV@ still have the cheek to raid ppl and say they wan to so call protect the imports of corals to SG. And government on the other side, keep reclaim land, affecting our seas.. *pls delete this thread if it's sensitive.

[Matt06]

Not sensitive at all if it is the truth. Anyway, Gov have got no choice, I will consider the same if I am in their shoe. Regarding NSW, I already mentioned that it is a risk that you have to take. By the way, I frequent local beach and know how clean our water is. You might like to compare the large number of ships "parking" near southern part of Sg and yet, you can still find similar corals reefs in Huntu Island and so on... Guess NSW is Sg is not as bad as "pollutions".

As for myself, I been to clean beach such as Phuket and comparing our high-tide water, it is almost the same. Just that it might not be as "clean" when it comes to minerals. I have been adding water to my tank quite frequently and the result is really good.