Sea Water

[rednwhite barmy]

this could be the daftest question yet am spending good money at my local stockist on barrels of salt water but i live 20mins from the coast, my point being can i use sea water? or is englands north sea just too mingin?

 

[BigC]

I think I posed this exact question many moons ago and yes, the seawater from round the coast is too poluted to use in our tanks. I personally would not run the risk of spending hundreds of pounds on fish, critters and corals to jeopardise their well being using local water.
Regards
BigC

 

[andywg]

It is more than possible to run a tank from British SW. A shop near me used to proudly keep sea horses in water picked up from Southend, and I know Navarre kept a stunning reef with natural sea water.

Best bet is to take a sample of water and get it tested (preferably by a lab of some sort) to ensure there isn't anything massively nasty in it.

You may want to consider UV treatment of the water prior to using it to prevent local pathogens entering the tank with foreign fish in it.