what kind of water is better?

[itbechill]

What kind of water is better, natural seawater or fresh mixed with salt, and if it makes any difference in regards to a fish only setup or a reef.?
Thanks
Matt

[hobbzz]

Depending on where you get your seawater, it *could* have very dangerous poisons in it. And I doubt you'd be taking your water from a natural reef!;) Personally I wouldn't take the chance of that. My .02:)

[itbechill]

Yeah, Im talking about Catalina Seawater, i just have heard conflicting things, and do you need an r/o system?
Matt

[Mako]

If it were me, I would take advantage of the Catalina water. I know a few reefers who use this water and are very pleased with the results. NSW will always prevail over ASW in my book and would be my first choice.

[itbechill]

But how about just for a fish only tank, i should be able to mix my own right?
Matt

[reef enforcement]

hi there, read buy or mix my own water,

[itbechill]

I ended up buying an ro/di filter, and mixing my own water, so far the result have been great.
Matt

[reef enforcement]

thank you; ps where did you buy the unit from and how much did it cost. buy the way, where did you place the unit?

[itbechill]

Well, i got it from strictly fish in long beach, for about 350.00 (which in the long run will save me water, and since i live in an apartment, i dont have that much room but luckily it has a hose adapter, so i just bought another 2dollar adapter for my kitchen faucet and i was set, it was a kent marine max60his, its worked great. about 5 gallons an hour with my faucet power.
Let me know what you do , good luck
Matt

[reef enforcement]

that LFS is over price. i found the kent marine max his -60 for $210.00 on at marine depot on line. thank you for your help.

[Gene Wilders hair]

i used IO for almost five years -right after the s 22 report/dr rons urchin larvae study came out -i immediately did a large water change with catalina ..ive been using it since -and i must say -i notice a difference-increased polyp extension(was always pretty good) and also slightly increased growth overall -and some species -in particular my tubipora -has grown as much in the last four months as it did in the year and a half previous.

the shrimps also seem to be molting more often and look somehwhat more vibrant in color.maybe i had an iodine deficiency?not sure-with as much nori as i feed i thought there was plenty.

anyway bottom line is -i cant ever see going back. all my invertebrates look happier, which for me personally anyway,confirms the findings that most salt mixes have high amounts of heavy metals /trace element defficeincies .

thats my story and im sticking to it:D

[itbechill]

yep it is, but they always give me free stuff, and huge discounts, so im willing to pay more for some things.