Salt Water

[Bamzam]

Hi All,

 

New here with zero experience on a salt water tank. I have a Mr Aqua 12L on the way and I'm slowly getting all my equipment together. My question is, what do most of you do for salt water in your nanos? Do you order the pre-made ocean water? Or buy sea salt and mix with RO the night before? My tank is only 12 gallons and I plan to do water changes once a week religiously, so I guess I'll probably need about 3 gallons a week? I have no plans to buy a RO/DI unit so I'll need to buy RO water either way for my ATO reservoir. I'm just trying to weigh if the cost savings (if any) of mixing my own salt water is worth the trouble since I'll have to prep it a day in advance and constantly test salinity.

 

Thanks in advance!

[CronicReefer]

Cost savings are huge in the long run. For example, my LFS sells RO water for around $0.25 per gallon (very few are going to sell RO/DI, most just sell RO water) or $0.80 per gallon of saltwater. The cost for me to make one gallon of RO/DI water at home is about $0.003 (3/10 of one cent). The salt I use is more expensive and costs me about $0.45 per gallon. So my total cost is $0.453 per gallon at home. Nutri-Seawater costs anywhere from $3-5 per gallon so that is just ridiculously overpriced IMO. Also making your saltwater at home gives you the benefit of knowing your water is truly 0TDS and you get to control what salt you are using.

[Bamzam]

Sorry this may be a noob question...but what's the difference between the .80/gal saltwater and nutri-seawater?

[Sunstar]

get RODI system and mix it at home. That way if there is ever a problem on days shops are closed etc. then you have peace of mind you can mix what you need, when you need it.

[AZDesertRat]

While I always recommend having your own RO/DI system so you control your water quality, that is not always cost effective for a small nano system.

Most good LFS will have RO/DI water and many sell or rent 5 gal containers or you can pick up containers at any camping supply store or even WalMart in the outdoors section. I prefer to buy a bucket of salt and mix my own saltwater immediately before using it, no need to wait 24 hours as long as the temperature, salinity and pH are close to the display. I have found most LFS I frequent mix their salt a little lighter than I care to use.

 

Long term, it does not take any time at all to pay for a RO/DI system when you consider the average cost to make RO/DI water nationwide is about 5 cents a gallon. This includes average water and sewer rates, replacement filters and replacement DI resin in that nickel. It makes even more sense to use the RO only portion of the RO/DI for drinking water, cooking and pet watering and is really easy to justify then. Look at all the plastic water bottles we buy and throw away when you can refill a bottle, pitcher of jug over and over with your own RO water and save a mint, not to mention the landfill space or recycling costs of the plastic.

[Cencalfishguy56]

Hi All,

 

New here with zero experience on a salt water tank. I have a Mr Aqua 12L on the way and I'm slowly getting all my equipment together. My question is, what do most of you do for salt water in your nanos? Do you order the pre-made ocean water? Or buy sea salt and mix with RO the night before? My tank is only 12 gallons and I plan to do water changes once a week religiously, so I guess I'll probably need about 3 gallons a week? I have no plans to buy a RO/DI unit so I'll need to buy RO water either way for my ATO reservoir. I'm just trying to weigh if the cost savings (if any) of mixing my own salt water is worth the trouble since I'll have to prep it a day in advance and constantly test salinity.

 

Thanks in advance!

you don't have to mix 24 hours before, I mix mine before I'm gonna use it, just match ph, salinity, and temp, also I just get my RODI water from my LFS I test it so I know I'm not getting screwed but I know the fish guys really well so they also know what they're doing lol

[rjl45]

After running my small nano 24gal for a year, I just broke down and bought a rodi system. Total water cost for 1 year, bi-weekly water changes, storage and gas to drive to the lfs totaled $450. To set up my 6 stage rodi (chloramine disinfectant in my water) bin and salt costs approx $400. The convenience of being able to make water whenever I want is fantastic. At first it may seem that an rodi system is more hassle, but in reality, in the end it is more of a convenience and will save some money over the long run.

 

My favorite saying about reef keeping...its not about managing the reef or fish, it's managing your water. Those who take care of their water will always have success with their reef.

[Reef Hollister]

At only 3 gallons a week you could just go to WalMart and buy three gallons of distilled for less than a dollar a gallon. It comes in handy to know you have an exact gallon also when measuring salt to be mixed in. My $.02.

[BoxKing]

Option 1- Look for something like this in the water isle of any grocery store... they come in 2.5gal containers and fluctuate in price from $2.00-$2.50. Buy two, and run the other as your ATO. The distilled versions usually have red labels or caps, or they read "DISTILLED"

http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-ccca/k2-_bb8656fa-b5c2-49c4-88f1-963a95b1239a.v1.jpg

 

Option 2- Buy an RO Buddie w/ DI cartridge, and you have an RO/DI system for right around $100.00 - setting one of these up takes 10 minutes.

http://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Reverse-Osmosis-50-Gallon/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464152162&sr=8-1&keywords=ro+buddie

 

52 weeks in a year (you will prolly exceed this buy 10-20%) x $2.50 + buying ATO water + running back and forth to the store to buy them + disposal. Best bet is to just hit the grocery store until you realize making your own water is easier.. if not.. happy lugging!

[Polarcollision]

redSea blue bucket and RO/DI water. I used distilled water from the grocery store with the 8 gallon. It's just easier to buy a gallon for 1.50 than make the water.