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A: If you have access to clean ocean water (NSR or Natural Sea
Water) to put in your saltwater aquarium, by all means use it.
Dissolved trace minerals and salinity may vary slightly by area, but
since natural sea water is what marine animals live in, it can often be
a better source than using fresh tap water and a commercial salt mix
to make up solutions, which can be time consuming and costly.
When deciding to use ocean water, just be sure to collect it away from
freshwater river and stream run-off areas, especially if they are near
chemical plants, factories, and animal or agricultural farms where the
water may contain toxins, or when fuels are present in places such as
around boat docks and high traffic harbors.
If you do not have access to ocean water, did you know that there are
some public aquariums and water companies where you can buy
filtered sea water? The prices that most of these outlets charge for sea
water is really quite reasonable, especially when you take into account
the price of a bag of sea salts and the time and energy required to mix
up a barrel or even a bucket of saltwater.