NSW

[Amy Yates]

Hi guys

I am thinking of changing over to NSW - I’ve read from various different posts across the globe that there’s people out there that have switch over to NSW and haven’t had to dose etc they just run cheato and floss?!

I will be cycling a new 200 Litre set up from scratch so I want advice on this ? Is it the same process as setting up any tank for cycling?

But the big one is converting my 100 litre nano to NSW..... how do I do this without shocking everything? 5% or 10% weekly water changes with NSW and increase ? What’s the score ‍

THanks guys

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I am thinking of changing over to NSW - I’ve read from various different posts across the globe that there’s people out there that have switch over to NSW and haven’t had to dose etc they just run cheato and floss?!

Dosing doesn't really have anything to do with whether your saltwater comes from an artificial mix or comes from the ocean. Dosing is required if the animals in your tank use enough of the major elements in the water to create a problematic level of instability. If the animals in your tank don't use a lot of calcium, carbonate or magnesium, then you likely don't have to dose. But that's true whether you use artificial saltwater or natural seawater. If the animals in your tank use a lot of calcium, carbonate or magnesium, then you'll need to dose whether your seawater is natural or not. The only exception is if you do massive water changes every few days.

It's also worth noting that plenty of people who use artificial satwater use just filter floss (or socks) and macroalgae like chaeto for filtration. Again, this is not a natural vs artificial seawater thing, it's a matter of if this type of filtration can keep your water sufficiently clean between water changes.

There's nothing wrong with using natural seawater if you'd like. Plenty of people do and have had good success. It just doesn't have any magical properties. It's just saltwater. You might still need to dose and you might still need to use more advanced filtration if your tank requires it.

 

[Amy Yates]

Dosing doesn't really have anything to do with whether your saltwater comes from an artificial mix or comes from the ocean. Dosing is required if the animals in your tank use enough of the major elements in the water to create a problematic level of instability. If the animals in your tank don't use a lot of calcium, carbonate or magnesium, then you likely don't have to dose. But that's true whether you use artificial saltwater or natural seawater. If the animals in your tank use a lot of calcium, carbonate or magnesium, then you'll need to dose whether your seawater is natural or not. The only exception is if you do massive water changes every few days.

It's also worth noting that plenty of people who use artificial satwater use just filter floss (or socks) and macroalgae like chaeto for filtration. Again, this is not a natural vs artificial seawater thing, it's a matter of if this type of filtration can keep your water sufficiently clean between water changes.

There's nothing wrong with using natural seawater if you'd like. Plenty of people do and have had good success. It just doesn't have any magical properties. It's just saltwater. You might still need to dose and you might still need to use more advanced filtration if your tank requires it.

Thanks for a speedy response - maybe I’ll just stick to as I am then, I’m very lucky with my dosing as it is on artificial water. I only ever need to dose every now and again just to top it back up, the consumption rate is so tiny. I assumed there was some magical benefit from NSW - silly me [emoji85]

 

[P-Dub]

What ^^chipmunkofdoo^^ said. I used NSW for years with great success, BUT I still had to increase the Calcium and Alkalinity of the water I was using. Still had to dose major and minor trace elements as well. As far as changing over to NSW, it will be no different than changing salt mix brands. If you have a way to source it yourself it sure can be a $ saver!