cheap to free ways to do things with your tank

[Sk8r]

1. don't use live sand: use dry.
2. don't use all live rock, especially for the part of the rock that sits under the sand: get some base rock: takes twice as long to cycle, you don't get as many cool hitchhikers, and you don't dare 'push' it with too many fish too fast, but it will catch up within a year or less.
3. use lighting grid under your sand to prevent rockfalls: prevents glass breakage, and spreads out weight of sharp rock points.
4. respect your bristleworms as neat free cleaning crew: no, they don't eat algae, but they eat detritus.
5. use a knotted or screw-valved drip line from a bucket as an ATO for a very small tank.
6. use 2 tsp kalk powder per gallon as topoff for reef tanks, saving lots on hand-dosed supplements [not mentioning the bother]. Once you get the knack, you don't have the alk/cal bouncing all over, so your tests can be a little less than daily.
7. beg old salt buckets from your lfs. They may charge you a few dollars, but they're 7 gallons, and good and have a lid.
8. buy your salt in the big buckets: you have the bucket, and even if you live on the fifth floor, you can leave the salt in your car [tightly lidded! It hardens into a brick otherwise] and lug it up in smaller containers. Bulk salt is way cheaper per gallon.
9.don't get sold a cannister filter until you're dead sure you're going to have to have one. [big fish]. Wait til the fish grow. Smaller fish are cheaper anyway, and they'll grow up.
10. Raise corals and trade the frags for fish food.
11. Have a fuge and trade the cheato for fish food.
12. buy used equipment: a little white vinegar soak overnight can work wonders.
13. join a club: frag swaps and equipment trades are a savings; expert helping hands when you need it on a Sunday night---priceless.
14. never throw away a piece of hose. There are more uses than you can imagine.
15. build your tank slowly: start with small frags, smaller fish: skill will let them grow. You can't 'buy' the reef of your dreams...those good looking ones get there over time.
16. don't bother with any supplements except magnesium, alkalinity buffer, and calcium, and their tests. The trace elements are in your salt mix: just do your scheduled water changes.
17. research, research, research: one bad choice can eat a lot of fish. Don't go pie-eyed in the fish store. If they got one of it, they can order another.
18. Don't go too crazy feeding your corals: most do fine on light, good water chemistry, and whatever the fish ate.
19. Don't buy exotic anything in your first year: learn to walk before you attempt the Olympics.
20. Read the * notes at the top of any forum you find attractive. This will handle a lot of your questions and save you bundles.

[Ronny#66]

Great post got to go look at tanks .

[el Deutche]

nice list

[Misled]

Originally posted by Sk8r
even if you live on the fifth floor

[TheNewGuy1]

this is exactly what i needed, excellent post

[ReefWreak]

Great advice for the aspiring hobbiest Sk8r.

Another note would be that modest (10-20%) consistent (weekly-biweekly) waterchanges are the most important thing to keeping a reef tank healthy in its first year, and after, though some can get away with less than those time tables once their tanks are stable.

I would suggest no sooner than 1-1.5 years before it is a stable tank.

[rfdoc]

For #1, what is a good brand to use in a reef tank?

[rafa316]

Thank you for sharing

[CarmieJo]

rfdoc, a couple shops in our area are selling dry aragonite for 50 - 60 cents a pound. I don't think I have heard of anyone finding it at the hardware store for $5 for a 50# bag for a long time.

Here is a link to a free podcast with additional cost saving ideas. http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/po...sode-17-a.html

[seapug]

Once again, Sk8r speaks the truth.

And saves people a few bucks.

[jjkief86]

Good post.
If your fish load is uber small, like mine (0 fish), a circulation pump and water changes is all the filtering you need.

[Sk8r]

I use CaribSea sand, fine aragonite---friendly to the gills of sand-sifters. If you have a very small tank, certainly no sandsifters, so coarse is ok.

I'll tell you one thing you should look into as a matter of course: bulkhead connections. There are more uses for those. FYI, it's a special connector with a gasket [pad] meant to go THROUGH an otherwise solid wall. They come in all sorts of sizes, from 1/4 inch locline up---and they let you connect two tanks, your tank to a sump, all sorts of things. Drilling a glass tank is hyper scary, so get expert advice on that and don't blame me for the result!, but drilling plastic is much more forgiving. What bores a hole through wood or plastic is called a coring bit: big thing that looks like a doughnut cutter that fits on a drill. With minimal pressure, you can drill out a hole, slip in a bulkhead connector, screw in some pipe, and have anything from an externally mounted pump [for those that can] to a connection for a downflow box to a connection between two tanks or an external skimmer. Note: bulkhead connectors are notorious for drippy leaks until they 'settle in', so plan ahead.
And be very careful to plan 'how high' off the base the hole ought to be: it's very annoying to have holes of two slightly different heights when they're supposed to mate up.

You wonder how to get your ro/di cylinders off: you stand 5' 2" and don't have huge hands? Strap wrench. Ask at Lowe's. Adjusts to any size from a pickle jar lid to your ro/di, etc.

You need a carbon bag---bad? Ladies kneehigh nylons, beige.

You need anti-jump grid? Plastic needlepoint canvas [hobby store] or gutter guard [Lowe's]: cuts with scissors, goes on with duct tape.

And jjkief is right: small fish load means your tank will survive things that would crash other tanks...including even hours of power-outs. if you love your fishes, don't give them too many roommates. That's another money-saver, not to mention the grief.

Always have salt in the house, always have ro/di ready, always have buckets: a bucket can be a hospital tank if you suddenly have too many fish needing it at once.

Another money-saver: do not buy a flawed fish. If a fish has irregular fins, a wound, a sore, red spot, a bump, or is sharing a tank with a fish that looks sick, don't buy. There are many, many, many Saturdays in this hobby. There will always be more fish. And quarantine!

Do not use rock or sand in quarantine: use big elbows of pvc pipe for a hiding place.

[cardiffgiant]

Your threads are awesome. Easily would have saved me a small fortune if I had read them 3 years ago

[ksouers]

Lots of excellent tips as always, sk8r.

As you mentioned, buying salt by the bucket is very economical. And, yes, if you don't keep the lid TIGHTLY closed it WILL harden up on you. Fortunately when buying a bucket, the salt is in a couple of vacuum sealed bags. The only thing I would add is don't open up a bag until you need it. Keeping it in the bag will keep your salt fresh and dry until you are ready to use it. Also, stop by the paint department of Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a wrench-like tool to help open up a tightly closed salt bucket. They are only about a dollar and well worth it. It makes prying the lid off much easier, and for you ladies it will save your fingernails.