agoerl Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 I am still kind of new to this and am ready to start up my tank and I was wondering if it is better to buy premixed salt water form a lfs or is it better to buy bottled water and instant ocean salt and mix my own. I only save about 2 dollars by mixing my own and the premixed water at the lfs is going for about 9 dollars for 5 gallons (I think that was the price) and my nano is a 5.5 gallon. I thought that it was worth buying the premixed because it would save me the trouble of mixing my own and I have never done it befor, I have only had fresh water fish so far. I just wanted to see what other people are doing and if anyone had any advice. I also wanted to see if anyone has any bad experianced with premixed water before. Link to comment
caja Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Wow, that's pretty darned expensive for premixed sw. I pay $1.19 a gallon here. I'd be mixing my own if I had to pay what your LFS is asking for premixed. Link to comment
aqua_aaron Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 I mix my own and even if I didn't, no one around me sells it. It isn't that hard to throw some water in a bucket and add salt till it's the right salinty. Also, one tip, I wouldn't use Instant Ocean. That's what I started my tank with and it isn't as good as something like Reef Crystals. The instant ocean doesn't contain trace elements. Right now I'm waiting for the tank to completely cycle and then I'll start changing the water with Reef Crystals water. Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Originally posted by caja Wow, that's pretty darned expensive for premixed sw. I pay $1.19 a gallon here. I'd be mixing my own if I had to pay what your LFS is asking for premixed. man, you guys are getting hammered on water I pay 39 cents. At one membership place it goes on sale to 19 cents once a month. Link to comment
Pigup Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 my place sells it premixed for .50, but i don't trust their salt mixing abilities, on top of that, they use tap for the sw! RO is .25 per gallon Link to comment
agoerl Posted January 15, 2004 Author Share Posted January 15, 2004 Wow it sounds like I am realy getting ripped of here. There is one other lfs that sells premixed salt water but I know that they us tapp water in all their tanks so I don't trust it. Also Instant Ocean is the only salt I have found around were I live and its almost as much as the premixed sw. It cost $4.00 for a small box which is enough too mix about 5 gallons, and RO water averages about $1.00 per gallon. soo I end up spending almost the same. This sure is getting to be an expensive hobby. Link to comment
zizmans Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 It's so easy to mix your own in water cooler jug. water-salt-shake. I wouldn't buy pre-mixed, no way Link to comment
agoerl Posted January 15, 2004 Author Share Posted January 15, 2004 And now that I think about it, the price may be $9.00 to $10.00 for 10 gallons of water, I forgot to look when I stopped in at my lfs yesterday. Link to comment
Whitten Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I buy premixed for several reasons. 1. it is mixed and completly settled to 1.025 2. I don't have to buy any additives or calcium supplents. 3. I do small water changes every week so I replenish what ever was depleted during the week through that. 4. The water from my store has been mixed for use in there uber sweet 1,500 piece coral sale tank, and has everything that makes growing corals, fish, and inverts happy. Link to comment
darwin604 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I've mixed my own since the start and its cheaper than buying pre-mixed water and way less of a hassle - plus, chances are your LFS is using the same salt mix that you buy from them. Unless they have a really sweet RO/DI system or it works out cheaper than buying the salt mix and your own water - I'd just keep it simple and mix it up yourself. As for trace elements and stuff, a good salt mix will already have all that in it. 4. The water from my store has been mixed for use in there uber sweet 1,500 piece coral sale tank, and has everything that makes growing corals, fish, and inverts happy. whitten: in your case I'd buy it from my LFS for sure, but mine has one big central water system for all their SW tanks so I have no idea what kind of poo is floating around in it. That sale tank sounds pretty sweet. d. Link to comment
Tempest Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Mix your own... This way you know exactly what you're getting. You can buy good salt on the 'net; like a 200 gallon bucket of Tropic Marin for $65 including shipping from www.Drsfostersmith.com. Way cheaper than buying from the LFS and probably a better salt than they use to boot. Aqua_aaron - Reef Crystals and IO are made by the same company and a chemical analysis of the 2 showed that the only difference between Reef Crystals and IO was the price. There's a good thread here discussing the different salt mixes. Sorry, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. Do a search for "salt mix" or "best salt" and it should turn up. Link to comment
yOyOYoo Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I just use Catalina water, since I only change 1 gallon a week. If it's good enough for Catalina, it's good enough for me! Link to comment
jolson247 Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I've also used pre-mixed saltwater bought from one of my LFS (Petco). It's nice because it's already mixed, the salinity is set and I don't have to wait 2 days for the bucket to be ready for the water change. This was back with my 35 gallon hex though. I've recently (last night) switched to a 7 gallon Nano and may be using the salt mix (I was recommended Coralife) now. Wisconsin doesn't have too many oceans or saltwater, so all that stuff has to be shipped out here. I can see why we're being overcharged, the question was from a guy up north in Menasha. Also, I haven't heard of many LFS selling RO (reverse-osmosis) water around here. I'll have to ask around. What's the importance of that instead of using tap water and a dechlorinator? I've used that method in the past with my 35 gallon tank that contained some live rock and a yello-tail blue damselfish, but those two aren't very fragile. I'm sure that a 7 gallon Nano containing corals and crabs and shrimps and snails and a clown is much more delicate than my big tank was. Any info is appreciated. Thanks and I hope to post some pics when I get going. Link to comment
darwin604 Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Dechlorinated tap water can work, but it all depends on the quality of your water supply. Once you've invested lots of money in your nano though (and you will ) its worth it to get ro/di water since there are many things in tap water that can wreak havoc in your tank besides just chlorine. As for mixing salt and letting it sit for two days, IMO, its not really necessary. I usually mix my water up and aerate it for a few hours and add it to my tank - I've never had a problem, I just know exactly how much salt I need to add to my 1 gallon jug and it works out fine every time. Mixing your own water isn't a big deal and you have the pleasure of knowing exactly whats in it. You never know what elements are depleted by livestock at your LFS, or what medications / impurities are present in their system. I just don't see the point of using 'used' water to renew already 'used' water. d. Link to comment
Chronicles Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Stuff at petco the $9 for a 5gal box isn't premixed water, it's Catalina filtered ocean water, I'd use it constantly if it was more like $5. I guess it's not bad if you only do small water changes each week and it ends up to only be $9 a month. http://www.petco.com/product_info.asp?fami...s&ct2=Salt&ct3= Link to comment
spoon_dc5 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Originally posted by yOyOYoo I just use Catalina water, since I only change 1 gallon a week. If it's good enough for Catalina, it's good enough for me! where u get your catalina water (im in CA too)? Do u need to add calcium to that? Link to comment
Chronicles Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Like I said.......petco and no it's ocean water, what you're trying to simulate with salt mixes. Link to comment
Isaka Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I am not saying every fish store does this,,, but you guys might wanna read this thread... http://www.dfwmas.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ik...t=ST;f=5;t=2275 The moral of the story, mix your own water, its easy.... Link to comment
jolson247 Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Yeah, the stuff at Petco is ocean water. I bought a box of it 6 weeks ago and still have about 1/3 left, after doing 3 small water changes for my 7G. It's very nice to have. I also keep a small bag of salt to mix in an emergency. That's the best thing about such a small tank, that I can do 1 or 2 gallon water changes and it's 15%-20%. Very cool. Link to comment
imsuperjp Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I started mixing my own water bc the LFS(very good store) I usually get water from made the mistake of giving me regular RO water instead of salt water. I put the water in my tank and it dropped my salinity from 1.023 to 1.018. Luckily nothing died and the LFS was very sorry. After that, I just mixed my own water bc at least I know wats going into my tank Link to comment
seaker Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Originally posted by imsuperjp made the mistake of giving me regular RO water instead of salt water. I put the water in my tank and it dropped my salinity from 1.023 to 1.018. Luckily nothing died and the LFS was very sorry. ya mean you didn't taste it first? j/k Link to comment
gShark Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 i use catalina seawater too from the fish store and when i measured the specific gravity of my water it was right inbetween 1.020 and 1.021. Is this a little low? I also pay 59 cents a gallon for it. Link to comment
imsuperjp Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Originally posted by seaker ya mean you didn't taste it first? j/k haha...i tasted the left over water after i put it in my tank water. i think 1.023-1.024 is what most ppl say. Link to comment
seaker Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 mines at 1.023 from what my swing arm hydrometer says. my refractometer is still on its way. I ordered the one on the home page about 10 days ago, still not here. but I guess I should expect that, cause it's coming from a whole 6 hour drive away. Link to comment
seaker Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 refractometer came today. hydrometer 1.023. refractometer 1.026 Link to comment
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