premade water is expensive!
- Thread starter rbby228
- Start date
geoj
Active Member
Originally Posted by rbby228
http:///forum/post/2930229
i was checking how much premade SW is and boy is it expensive $11.99 for 5 gallons i wanna start sw but thatll be expensive!! is tap really THAT bad??
You can use RO/DI or distilled. Most tap water promotes algae and some tap have high heavy metals.
http:///forum/post/2930229
i was checking how much premade SW is and boy is it expensive $11.99 for 5 gallons i wanna start sw but thatll be expensive!! is tap really THAT bad??
You can use RO/DI or distilled. Most tap water promotes algae and some tap have high heavy metals.
bigal0221
Member
Hi,
You may have a couple of options. You can purchase an R/O filter for a little over $100 and then you can mix your own water or you may check your LFS because the one I use sells R/O water for $.030 per gallon and pre-mixed saltwater for $.075 per gallon. Just some thoughts. Good luck!
You may have a couple of options. You can purchase an R/O filter for a little over $100 and then you can mix your own water or you may check your LFS because the one I use sells R/O water for $.030 per gallon and pre-mixed saltwater for $.075 per gallon. Just some thoughts. Good luck!
my obsession
Member
We have an R/O unit. We use it for our discus and saltwater. It's just so handy and takes alot of hassle out of water changes. I couldn't live without one!
nordy
Active Member
Originally Posted by rbby228
http:///forum/post/2930229
i was checking how much premade SW is and boy is it expensive $11.99 for 5 gallons i wanna start sw but thatll be expensive!! is tap really THAT bad??
I started in SW fishkeeping with tap water, and my tank did OK for a number of years. All I had was a lot of algae
Agree w/bigal-buy your ro/di from your lfs and mix your SW up by yourself. In the long run though, getting a ro/di unit will pay huge dividends, especially if you might keep corals or even go fully reef.
At least you haven't gotten into an expensive hobby!
rbby228
New Member
Originally Posted by Nordy
http:///forum/post/2930303
I started in SW fishkeeping with tap water, and my tank did OK for a number of years. All I had was a lot of algae
, and I also kept a tang
in my 55 gal tank. You can use tap water, but several things to consider are: the quality of the water supplied to your home, and the type of livestock that you will be keeping.
Agree w/bigal-buy your ro/di from your lfs and mix your SW up by yourself. In the long run though, getting a ro/di unit will pay huge dividends, especially if you might keep corals or even go fully reef.
At least you haven't gotten into an expensive hobby!
do you think easy soft corals would do ok with tap??
http:///forum/post/2930303
I started in SW fishkeeping with tap water, and my tank did OK for a number of years. All I had was a lot of algae
Agree w/bigal-buy your ro/di from your lfs and mix your SW up by yourself. In the long run though, getting a ro/di unit will pay huge dividends, especially if you might keep corals or even go fully reef.
At least you haven't gotten into an expensive hobby!
do you think easy soft corals would do ok with tap??
9supratt4
Active Member
You will save more money in the long run if you buy an RO Unit for your house. You can get a real nice RO Unit from this online site, that shall remain nameless, for just over $100. At your prices....it will be paid for in a few water changes.
You may or may not be able to house any corals. You'd have to figure out what is in your tap. Also, what is in it now, can change at any time when the water companies add chemicals.
You may or may not be able to house any corals. You'd have to figure out what is in your tap. Also, what is in it now, can change at any time when the water companies add chemicals.
shyfish
Member
Hi,
My house has such bad well water a RO unit wont even work.
I bought myself a 30g plastic garbage can. I fill it with Wal-Mart water. Use a small heater and powerhead to warm the water then add my salt and let it churn for a day. I keep the lid on to stop evaporation.
The jugs are so perfect. I just count how many I used and mix the salt accordingly. When I measure my salinity, its almost always right on.
In an emergancy I once purchased premixed. I paid $1.50 a gallon, so for a 5 gallon jug thats only $7.50 a jug. I had three 5s and one 3g. I paid between $26.00 - $27.00 for the water all together. The LFS you went to charged you an awful lot.
To fill a 5g jug at Wal-Mart runs $1.65 so I pay a little over $5.00 for enough water to mix myself. The biggest expence are the jugs themselves.
City tap water has chlorine which is a poison to fish. I didn't use it for my freshwater tanks, let alone the saltwater one.
My house has such bad well water a RO unit wont even work.
I bought myself a 30g plastic garbage can. I fill it with Wal-Mart water. Use a small heater and powerhead to warm the water then add my salt and let it churn for a day. I keep the lid on to stop evaporation.
The jugs are so perfect. I just count how many I used and mix the salt accordingly. When I measure my salinity, its almost always right on.
In an emergancy I once purchased premixed. I paid $1.50 a gallon, so for a 5 gallon jug thats only $7.50 a jug. I had three 5s and one 3g. I paid between $26.00 - $27.00 for the water all together. The LFS you went to charged you an awful lot.
To fill a 5g jug at Wal-Mart runs $1.65 so I pay a little over $5.00 for enough water to mix myself. The biggest expence are the jugs themselves.
City tap water has chlorine which is a poison to fish. I didn't use it for my freshwater tanks, let alone the saltwater one.
stevedave08
Member
I just filled my tank for the first time last Sunday. My LFS charged me .99 a gallon. I got 62 gallons premixed SW and 3 gallons RO as the salinity was a little high on the premixed when tested at the store. I have a 75 gallon and with just 22 lbs of live rock and 40 lbs live sand the 65 gallons filled the tank perfectly.
pbnj
Member
I'm planning on installing an RO/DI unit, but I'm not in a rush because the water is so inexpensive at my LFS. They only charge $1 for 5 gallons of RO/DI water, which is pretty cheap compared to other prices I've heard quoted. Pretty smart, if you ask me, because it gets people in the store on a regular basis. I rarely walk out of there with just water.
the_hadleys
Member
We pay 25 cents/gallon for RO. We can't use our tap at all, it's got arsenic in it.
(Lots of peach and apple orchards in our area). I would suggest checking with your city water department on the chemicals found in your area's tap before trying it. We don't even give our dogs the tap water. Just my opinion.