i go out on my boat alot could i?

I have been collecting sea water for yrs. now ,go about 5 miles out and collect 60 gallons every month with no ill affect !!!
Where do you thing the LPS gets their water at ??

 

We live by the water and I know a guy who has had his tank exclusively on saltwater he got from the gulf. OVer 5 yrs now. He goes out on the boat to collect it but not even a mile out. So I would just stay away from obvious high traffic areas. Also our aquarium in Tampa gets all of its water from the Gulf as well. I don't remember how exactly they do it. It was a huge amount though..like 60,000 gallons. Next time I go I'll remember to write it down

 

Oh I found it. Tampa's Aquarium gets 300,000 gallons of water shipped in on a barge from the Gulf taken from about 100 miles out. It saves them about $400,000 a year instead of using fresh water and mixing it. They also treat the water and filter it for 4 days before putting it into their tanks. The aquarium is right on a channel and they admit the water quality is too poor for them to use. Oh they do this every two months btw. Maybe I need to save some money and go out on the boat today lol

 

The guy who supplies my LFS the water says he goes out a couple of miles out and at least 80' down. I have never gone with him so I cant confirm this statement, but its the only logical thing to do. Collecting water from the shoreline or heavy traffic channels is not a good idea. It can be polluted and cause havoc in your system.

I've been contemplating on buying a big azz holding tank, like 250-450 gals and have the same supplier fill it up with the same water and do "in-house" water changes instead of carrying those jugs every two weeks. It would be even cheaper than buying it from the LFS. Luna