Where to buy Saltwater????

[lisahermes]

I'm new to the area and desperately need to find a place that sells saltwater. Could someone please advise?
Thanks,
Lisa

 

[woodymdt]

Lisa,
It's much better to mix your own. You can get sea salt from your LFS, mix it and put it in your tank instead of having to find a dealer that sells pre-mixed water.

 

[lisahermes]

I was told that it was best to buy saltwater from the store because it's reverse osmosis, de-ionized, pre-mixed to perfection, saltwater.
How in the world do you mix saltwater with seasalt? Use distilled? But how much do I use for my tank? Help!
IM me at lisahermesblue if anyone wants to chat about this realtime.
Thanks!
Lisa

 

[arkey.d]

Yes, use distilled instead of Tap water. If your just setting your tank up, fill it with water, keep track of how many gallons you use and then add your salt mix....usually a half a cup/gallon of water. Then add your LiveRock and Sand.
If this is for a pre-existing SW Tank, then add water to a bucket and then the mix and circulate the water and leave it go for a day before adding it to the tank. That way your sure all the salt is dissolved.
I believe ***** carries premixed saltwater....

 

[cowfishrule]

*****? try Pet:nope:

 

[julius]

your LFS should carry it, premixed water should be around .50cent to a $1 a gal

 

[lisahermes]

I don't know of any local fish stores, that's why I was posting. Can anyone tell me of a lfs in the Tyson's area? The Marine Scene in Reston is too far.
Thanks,
Lisa

 

[malounsbury]

Yahoo shows in the yellow pages:
Vienna Aquarium & Pets
Address: 303 Mill St NE # C, Vienna, VA 22180
Phone: (703) 242-0553
2.1 miles from the center of Tysons Corner.

 

[lisahermes]

They only sell special saltwater with some sort of bacteria. $16.00 per 4 gallons. I'll check the yellow pages and call around.

 

[mana_man19]

I would just go buy yourself a 3-5 gal. bucket. Invest the 10-20 dollars on a hydrometer, and buy some salt from the previously mentioned store, and pick up the required number of gallons of RO water from your local grocery store. If you learn to mix your own water you will save yourself money and time in the long run. You dont want to be running to the store every time you need to top off your tank or do a water change. Not to mention, your tank will rarely need more saltwater added to it after it gets started. You need to own and learn to use a hydrometer so you can keep your salt balance correct once your water starts evaporating etc. If you plan on keeping anything like starfish or sea urchins this is especially important.

 

[malounsbury]

Mana makes a good point. But I would suggest buying a refractometer. The one on this site is $50 plus shipping for about a total of $55. Under the dry goods in the misc section.