Need to start cutting some costs...

[fishhugger]

I went out to visit 'That Fish Place' in North Tonawanda, NY. Which is about an hour and a half from me, and on my way home my clutch gave out....so ive got 800-1000$ in car repairs, especially if the flywheel needs to be replaced too....I have no/very little money to spend on my tank.
So yeah, I've come too far to call it quits. Right now, I have:
tank & stand
canister filter (no media)
New 48" t5 fixture and lights
9w UV sterilizer....I was going to turn the flow waaay down and use it in a QT.
300w heater
5gallon bucket of salt
50lb bag of sand
Sheet of egg crate
API saltwater master test kit
I am still waiting for my refractometer and tds meter
I still needed a return pump for my turf scrubber, two power heads, a container for my scrubber/sand, scrubber lighting, 50ish lbs of live rock, media for my canister, and a new power strip, the only thing keeping mine relatively safe is that I have it setup so all my cords have a drip loop
You might be asking what the purpose of this thread is...I'm just pretty depressed about this situation that I am in, and was hoping that someone could give me some reassurance that I could still start my tank with what I have without spending much more money....
My plan was to use my 6 outlets for the heater, light, canister, two power heads (I have a few ancient ones that still work, I just dont know the flow rate is fairly low) and run the UV sterilizer if not for anything but the extra flow it adds, and the sponge inside it for more filtration.
I found 20lbs of live rock for 50$ including shipping...they market it as precycled, which I know is just a gimmick because the also advertise it as dried out so you get more rock for your money, but they claim that it will 'recycle' faster than base rock or other dried out rock....is there any truth to this? I dont mind waiting longer if I have to, but I think 50$ even for 20lbs of dead rock still isnt too bad of a deal. There arent even any fish stores around here that even sell marine rocks.
I think I could work with 20lbs of dry rock so a 55g tank doesnt look too barren.
After its cycled, I was thinking maybe I could add just a lemon peel angel and two false percula's..but.I wont be able to setup a QT with my budget now. But I have seen these fish at the place I went to, and they look really healthy. I wouldn't really be able to afford a good cleanup crew, so I imagine I would have to break out the gravel vac on an 'as needed' basis.
I was just hoping someone can tell me this could work, because I've been having a pretty crappy day all around, and I dont want to give up now after I've made so much progress in comparison to my prior attempt several years ago before I ever even had a job.
Can anyone make any recommendations here on saving some money and alternatives to what I have? I think I have like $150ish dollars to spend over the next two months...and I really shouldn't even be spending that. And that will pretty much buy fish, a smallish amount of live rock and food to last a while. So I wont have money for more/better equipment.

 

[monsinour]

do this, cross the fish off your list, it will take a while for the tank to cycle and be ready for fish. Get a decent return pump for your sump and get that started. Just put the tank together and have water moving around in there. Then get your rock that you want to start with into the tank so it can start growing the good stuff on it. You wont need to worry about lighting or filtering at this point. For my tank it took about a month before it was ready for critters to be in it.
when setting up the tank, put the return on one side and a PH on the other to create your current. It should be ok with just the 20 lbs of rock in there. As you save $ and plan to get more rock, also plan for another PH to go into the tank for proper flow.
Once there is rock in there with water moving around, the cycle count down has begun. Save your api test kit for when you really need it. get some ammonia test strips to check for ammonia in the tank. If you are looking for having fish in there before the 1st, then that would be next to impossible without some kind of chemicals. Patience is key, and since you are low on funds, this is to your advantage.

 

[fishhugger]

My refractometer isnt supposed to arrive until about the first anyways, so I wasnt looking to be able to add any critters until well into February. But along with this car bill is just one of a few that I am paying on, I had it planned out so I would make payments and set aside 100ish bucks each paycheck for my tank, but now I've really gotta pump some money into my car.
Even in late next year I still wont have much money....so now its really time to start cutting cost. And I think if I get some live rock in there, I can make my own and add that slowly, but even to add that is going to be 20$ in materials...sure it will make A LOT, but I dont have that to spend at the moment.

 

[acrylic51]

That sucks....where did you break down at? I'm only 1/2 hr from That Fish Place. Are you referring to the Macro Rock?

 

[meowzer]

If I ever go on a trip I am getting everyones #'s that will be in the vicinity....haha...this way I have someone to call all thru-out the states
Fish hugger, you can get some base rock, and a little bit of live rock to seed it....that should save you some money...same with sand

 

[fishhugger]

lol meowzer, if you come up north your welcome to call me anytime =P
acrylic51, If you still live in PA, I dont think we are talking about the same place....but yeah, to be precise....I broke down in south Buffalo at the tops on the corner of South Park and Baily avenue =P. Its near HSBC arena.

 

[ibew41]

there are 3 other saltwater stores in the buffalo area 2 more in roc area and sad to say they are all cheaper that the fish place and 1 is 5 min away from there.one of the stores is going to have a frag swap on jan 22

 

[ibew41]

pm sent

 

[jstdv8]

you could go without the scrubber pump and just let your overflow flow down across the screen instead. many setups have been built this way. saves on the cost of a pump and the cost of electricity to run that pump.
I personally run a pump, but you cetainly don't have to.

 

[drewsbrews]

Sounds like you are almost there man. Seems to me the reason this hobby is expensive is mostly for convenience. Now's the time to get handy. you can DIY a wetdry sump out of a food safe tub, and use plastic dish scrubber pads instead of "bioballs". Add your eggcrate to hold it off the bottom, and a pump.. plumb it up with cheap tubing from the hw store you're done with filtration for now.
If you elevate the sump up near the DT water level you don't need as big/expensive a pump becuase there will be less head loss. I'm losing about 200GPH from my pump purely for the convenience of hiding it in the stand. If it was elevated, a mag 5 would do the same as my mag 7 in the current setup.
For stuff you can't build yourself there is always craigslist. There are always guys getting out of the hobby around me. Live rock can be found secondhand. You might be able to score on a box of used old pumps for a few bucks and use em for powerheads/sump pumps ect.
Or just search for good deals online. I picked up Hydor koralia 750s for $25 a piece. I saw those at my local Jacks for $69!!
Just get it set up and make sure it works for a while. pick up some multitest strips. They arn't precise, but enough to tell you if you have a big problem

 

[fishhugger]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/382617/need-to-start-cutting-some-costs#post_3340663
you could go without the scrubber pump and just let your overflow flow down across the screen instead. many setups have been built this way. saves on the cost of a pump and the cost of electricity to run that pump.
I personally run a pump, but you cetainly don't have to.
I dont understand this....If I dont have a pump how is the water going going back into the tank? >.<

 

[drewsbrews]

Sounds like he thought you were going to run a secondary pump out to the scrubber from an already existing sump setup.

 

[fishhugger]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewsBrews http:///forum/thread/382617/need-to-start-cutting-some-costs#post_3340999
Sounds like he thought you were going to run a secondary pump out to the scrubber from an already existing sump setup.
ahh, that thought crossed my mind fleetingly, by the time I had time to post a response I was back to square one.
I was thinking about getting a small RIO and just running the tubing over my tank into a bucket contained scrubber....
I know most people are generally very anti RIO, but even if it only lasts me a year, long before then ill be able to get a good mag pump and setup an actual sump.

 

[deejeff442]

the fish place store,is that the one thats been open for 15 years.if so i remember going there a few times when i still lived up there.seems like a long time ago.
there used to be a lfs by bob and johns barbershop.thats where i went 25 years ago.i know they arent around anymore.
i think the barbershop still is though.but hell if i remember where it is.

 

[drewsbrews]

Also factor in running costs... Salt, RO/DI water, and power
I did a quick calculation on my setup and it probaly costs me $30/mo just to power it.

 

[fishhugger]

Well my refractometer came today, much earlier then the estimated ship date of jan1st-jan10th....considering I ordered it on the 10th, it took quite some time to arrive.
So in lieu of creating another thread, I figured I could ask a few questions here.
It is the rhs 10atc
Despite the instructions being a very poor english translation it still seems pretty simple enough, but I don't have it all understood quite yet.
The directions say I need to point it towards 'natural light' for it to work. I have also read that it must not be read by looking through it towards fluorescent lighting. So does this mean that I have to look through it toward the sky?
I've seen a few people claim that ro/di water will not give you an accurate calibration. Well from my understanding of how this thing works shouldn't a water with 0 TDS register 0 on the brix scale? And if I try a few different 'fresh waters' such as RO water, tap water, distilled, collected steam....if they all register 0 on it, wouldn't that mean that it is most likely well calibrated? Even if one of them happens to register at all for one reason or another?

 

[fishhugger]

Well, giving myself some room for error, my 5 gallon bucket of salt should last me at about 3 months after setup, if I remain consistant. I plan on testing a few different water sources with my new TDS meter....after I get it....to find a suitable source of water. I don't have an RO/DI unit and will not be able to get one in the near future. I can fill a 5 gallon culligan jug of RO water for 40cents a gallon, which is on the high end of water prices. SO even if I change 30 gallons a a month ill have spent 12 dollars a month in water. I know Culligan water is not really a sure thing, but I do know what to look out for. Ill be keeping a close eye on the machine service date, and will have my TDS meter handy. I know even after all that its not guarunteed to be suitable, but I guarantee that it will be much better then my well water.
And I dont pay for electricity so I'm not overly concerned on that note.

 

[deejeff442]

i believe distilled water will work.i didnt know about the daylight thing.i always use my metal halide lights to look through.i will try it now and check with the mh then outside and see if it matters.

 

[fishhugger]

Cool, I would really like to know how that goes.
And try a few more light sources if possible.
I'd be more curious about a regular fluorescent bulb though.

 

[meowzer]

I always read my refractometer in the laundry room with the regular light on the ceiling
any light will work