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malawi
11/23/2013, 12:50 PM
What you guys think about setting a tank up with already made saltwater you can buy, I have a empty 55gl I decided to set it up as a saltwater reef tank, soft corals, mushrooms, ployps etc.been out the saltwater hobby for some years since 2006, so I'm like new to this again, I see alot of new stuff out now, to the point Im overwhelmed.But anyway letme know whats up, Thanks

james1990
11/23/2013, 12:53 PM
In regards to using pre made salt water that's fine to use. Something to note though is the expensive of buying it over investing in an RODI filter and mixing your own salt.

malawi
11/23/2013, 01:03 PM
In regards to using pre made salt water that's fine to use. Something to note though is the expensively of buying it over investing in an RODI filter and mixing your own salt.
Yeah I see what you saying,
I need to brush up on alot tho,for as what to do, what to start off with, what to have

ryeguyy84
11/23/2013, 02:33 PM
Some fish stores will sell premixed saltwater and RODI water. Around me it's $1/gallon for saltwater and $.50/gallon for RODI. That's how I started in the hobby.

Just a warning though, it gets really old carrying all the buckets around haha

James77
11/23/2013, 07:35 PM
What you guys think about setting a tank up with already made saltwater you can buy, I have a empty 55gl I decided to set it up as a saltwater reef tank, soft corals, mushrooms, ployps etc.been out the saltwater hobby for some years since 2006, so I'm like new to this again, I see alot of new stuff out now, to the point Im overwhelmed.But anyway letme know whats up, Thanks

IMO it is a total waste of money. 99.99% of all the thriving tanks you will see on this forum use salt mix.

phillrodrigo
11/23/2013, 09:08 PM
Its all good until you run into your first issue. Thats when lugging gallons of distilled got old for me. Getting high nitrates down buying water is the worst. I went my first 6 months with all distilled and petcos pre mixed. The day I got my rodi was the best investment you can possibly make. You may run into a issue and someone bought the last of it and then your out of luck.

Mazzy
11/23/2013, 10:40 PM
I actually disagree cost-wise if you have an LFS that sells saltwater. I have a 29 biocube and no ro/di unit (I'm in an apartment) and I bought my water. Yeah, lugging it home isn't fun, but it isn't terrible either for a small tank. My LFS sells saltwater for $1/gal and Ro/DI for $.36/gal. I bought pre-mixed to start up my tank. I figure, though I didn't actually confirm this so I could be wrong, it appears my LFS is using Red Sea Pro Coral salt mix (if all the empty buckets of it they had were any indication). That salt mix is approx. $25 to make 55gallons. At my $1/gallon cost, I get the salt, of course, plus I am not making the RO water which has a LOT of waste water flushed away down the drain - which is money flushed down the drain. City water is cheap, but still I don't think $1/gallon is that far off the mark when you figure in not only the city water bill and all the water that is flushed when making the RO/DI, but the salt that costs basically $.50/gallon, and the filters that you need to keep up on.

Is it ultimately cheaper to get your own RO/DI unit? Yeah, sure, in the long run. But with LFS' selling at $1/gallon I think it's actually a very reasonable price and pretty comparable to what you'd be spending anyway. My LFS is only a couple blocks away so I'm not figuring in gas, but I suppose if you counted gas, THEN the cost of buying would finally outweigh making your own; otherwise, I say if it's more convenient for you to buy pre-mixed then go for it cuz you really aren't saving some huge amount by buying pre-made. PS - and that $25 for a bucket is ONLINE pricing while I'd say most people buy their salt from a brick and mortar and it is far more expensive at the LFS.

malawi
11/24/2013, 12:05 AM
I tell you what, to get me started Im going to go with the LFS water, the shop is right around the corner from my job, but the things is now I got to build my stand and canopy .

Mazzy
11/24/2013, 06:50 AM
The buckets are what ends up being costly to start out - but you'll use those over and over even if you do end up buying an RO/DI. I bought "food grade" though I honestly don't know if that's entirely necessary if the water isn't going to be in there long. Maybe someone else can weigh in on that?? I bought the food grade because, for exactly the reason philrodrigo pointed out, I planned on keeping a bucket of RO/DI and a bucket of premixed stashed in the closet (though I don't know if the pre-mixed will hold up well without being circulated so that idea may no fly).

Good Luck! And fyi - food grade buckets at Lowe's are a few cents cheaper than Home Depot (I went to both looking for black but they only came in white/opaque). They were just under $4 per bucket, and $1.25 per snap-on lid.

malawi
06/04/2014, 07:22 PM
The buckets are what ends up being costly to start out - but you'll use those over and over even if you do end up buying an RO/DI. I bought "food grade" though I honestly don't know if that's entirely necessary if the water isn't going to be in there long. Maybe someone else can weigh in on that?? I bought the food grade because, for exactly the reason philrodrigo pointed out, I planned on keeping a bucket of RO/DI and a bucket of premixed stashed in the closet (though I don't know if the pre-mixed will hold up well without being circulated so that idea may no fly).

Good Luck! And fyi - food grade buckets at Lowe's are a few cents cheaper than Home Depot (I went to both looking for black but they only came in white/opaque). They were just under $4 per bucket, and $1.25 per snap-on lid.

Tank up and running, buying some fish this weekend...trying to see what Im going to buy first:fish1: fish only, reef later on...so I need to get reef safe fish..any suggestions on what fish to start off with