Mixing Salt??

I've used NSW that I collected myself when I was in Vero Beach, Fl... and I'd do it again today if I was that close to the ocean. To be honest, that's when I had the least problems with my tank. You don't want to boil the water as that will affect your salinity, but parasites, etc should not be a problem, anyway. You should, however, only collect the water at high tide where there is no human activity, and test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphates- you certainly don't want to add polluted water to your system.

 

Hmmm, definitely a good call with the high tide...grab the water when it's "New", and has been freshly filtered. If that could be a good source of water, I could do a 50% water change weekly and not spend a dime less the gas to get to the beach. Not that I would change that much water every week, but just saying. Salt cost and RO really adds up when you're doing water changes weekly.

 

I read an article a long time ago where they use dchlorine to sterilize the NSW and than use vinegar to neutalize the chlorine.