Ways to be frugal

[whosurcaddie]

Originally Posted by brianr24

Save money? Don't own a reef.

Not an option.

[gone fishin]

I have usually done pretty well at frag swaps. In my area there are 2 large ones every year. So if some one has the patience to wait for the swaps they can do pretty well.

[Outlaw843]

Research (coupled with patience) has proven the most useful tool for me as far as saving money. Finding the best bang for your buck equipment to get the job done. Once you have your mind set on what you want/need, don't rush into buying the first one you see, scour around, forums, craigslist, various auction sites, what you want is bound to come up for sale at some point, pick it up that way if its not an emergency, and don't be afraid to post a 'WTB', you'd be surprised how many people upgrade their equipment and have a closet/room full of old equipment thats still in good shape.

[ColinAbi]

Build your own sump.

[Sk8r]

It's not just where you can get it cheapest---it's who's going to be there to open the store for your emergency on their maintenance day. Who's going to take back that fish that turns out to eat your zoas. Who's going to get a product for you. Cheap is good. But a good lfs can do things for their good customers. Mine, bless 'em, took in my critters for 2 weeks, using several of their store tanks, while I was in a house move. Traded goods and salt for my excess hammer frags. Had decent used equipment as well as first-run stuff. If you've got a store that fits that description, treasure and support them any way you can.

[JammyBirch]

Originally Posted by ColinAbi

Build your own sump.

Yup, build as much as you can yourself.

I built my temp controller which run my heaters and cooling fan for ~$30.

Sump is $75 of acrylic.

I have several kinda expensive frags, red dragon, red planet, myagi tort I got all of them for under $25 each from guys on here.

Speaking of frags, frag swaps are great for cheap prices but, going to the LFS treat it like you're buying a car. They negotiate like that. I have a hammer coral that was the size of a golf ball, $15, deep water acro advertised for $50, got it for $35.

Buy salt in 5g buckets.

[ColinAbi]

Originally Posted by JammyBirch

Yup, build as much as you can yourself.

I built my temp controller which run my heaters and cooling fan for ~$30.

Sump is $75 of acrylic.

I have several kinda expensive frags, red dragon, red planet, myagi tort I got all of them for under $25 each from guys on here.

Speaking of frags, frag swaps are great for cheap prices but, going to the LFS treat it like you're buying a car. They negotiate like that. I have a hammer coral that was the size of a golf ball, $15, deep water acro advertised for $50, got it for $35.

Buy salt in 5g buckets.

Yea, I bought a 60 gallon tank on clist for like 50 bucks and bought some glass baffles for 5 bucks each.

[Sk8r]

I don't have a controller. This saves me some money. And it's not that much extra work. I set my temperature seasonally to ride about the same no matter what the house does; I have an inexpensive autotopoff, and I put Mrs. Wages in the 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brute topoff barrel, 2 pounds at a go. I set my params at 1.025/420/8.3/1300 and with Mrs. Wages going on, those readings don't fluctuate at all so long as the water holds out, and I add more before it runs out. My fuge light is a 6500k CFL, and my fish are mostly damsels, which are colorful, active, and hardy, minimum fuss. I'm also automated enough to leave my tank for 3 days or so on autofeeder with no advance warning, and to go off for a month if I just have someone come in and put ro/di barrel A into ro/di barrel B before it empties.

[m0nkie]

salt is expensive.. specially if you use reef crystal or better brands..

I wait for Amazon sale and buy their 200gal box.. Amazon sometimes sell them for $40-45 a box with free shipping. salt for yearsssss.

[ColinAbi]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

I don't have a controller. This saves me some money. And it's not that much extra work. I set my temperature seasonally to ride about the same no matter what the house does; I have an inexpensive autotopoff, and I put Mrs. Wages in the 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brute topoff barrel, 2 pounds at a go. I set my params at 1.025/420/8.3/1300 and with Mrs. Wages going on, those readings don't fluctuate at all so long as the water holds out, and I add more before it runs out. My fuge light is a 6500k CFL, and my fish are mostly damsels, which are colorful, active, and hardy, minimum fuss. I'm also automated enough to leave my tank for 3 days or so on autofeeder with no advance warning, and to go off for a month if I just have someone come in and put ro/di barrel A into ro/di barrel B before it empties.

What auto top off do you have?

[Sk8r]

Avast. Pretty easy to set. Has one fault, if you've got inquisitive kids below a certain age. But outside of that, no problems. There are a variety of types.

[whosurcaddie]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Avast. Pretty easy to set. Has one fault, if you've got inquisitive kids below a certain age. But outside of that, no problems. There are a variety of types.

Avast also has great reactors at a low price.

[ColinAbi]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Avast. Pretty easy to set. Has one fault, if you've got inquisitive kids below a certain age. But outside of that, no problems. There are a variety of types.

Sorry but is this it? http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/pr...ng/Top-off-Kit

[Sk8r]

It's not the same. They've changed it, which wouldn't be the first time. It would work, however.

[ColinAbi]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

It's not the same. They've changed it, which wouldn't be the first time. It would work, however.

Ok thanks.

[EvenFurther]

How often does salt go on sale?

I took advantage of the $32 per bucket Reef Crystals sale, and bought 3. That's 50% off. I won't have water in the tank for a few months, but this seemed like an awesome deal.

[Martini5788]

My store only had one bucket or I would have gotten more. So everyone, where is the cheapest place to get reef crystals on a regular basis?

[JammyBirch]

Originally Posted by EvenFurther

How often does salt go on sale?

I took advantage of the $32 per bucket Reef Crystals sale, and bought 3. That's 50% off. I won't have water in the tank for a few months, but this seemed like an awesome deal.

That's a good score but be aware that as the salt sits it can have some settling that goes on....in other words your calcium and magnesium may be different for each batch after a while.

For reef crystals and other high end salt mixes I think it's better to get the 200g box, which contains bags of salt mix. You can shake it up before each batch.

If you have buckets just roll them on the floor before mixing...found this to be better.

[gone fishin]

I usually go with Dr's F&S 200g box $55 out the door. Living in Wisconsin I usually get it next day.

[EvenFurther]

Amazon prime has the 200 box for $50 right now. Its not a smoke'n deal but can't beat the convenience.

[CuzzA]

I'll add a bit of contradiction to this discussion. Mostly in regard to buying salt mix and other common consumable products online or from a big corp. If you have a good local fish store... Support them. Pay the extra $5 for salt or a couple bucks more for filter bags, etc. While you may think you're getting a good deal you're actually hurting yourself. Because I'll tell you right now, the margins on aquarium products are pretty terrible. They make maybe 25% on most products. Some products they may only make a couple bucks, like salt mix for example. So, if that LFS disappears because everyone wants to save a few dollars, think about how that effects the hobby and you specifically. Who can you call at 10pm when you're in a bind? Petco? Establish a relationship with your LFS and support them.

That said, Here's some frugal tips. Build your own sump, build your stand, learn to solvent weld acrylic, seed dry rock with live rock, do not buy/use a mag float (will "cost" you lots of pain and depression "when" you blemish your tank), and join your local reef club. Being a part of a reef club will save you a ton.

[Davileet]

I think getting dry rock and dry sand is the best way to not spend uselessly. I use baking soda for alkalinity and a liquid calcium supplement for my supplements. If things go ary, I have always done large water changes to stabilize the system. I think purchasing good testing equipment keeps you from guessing what is wrong and adding junk to the system.

Like others have stated, lighting is your most important purchase so don't cheap out. Protein skimmers have had an iffy history with me, and I feel that siphoning sand periodically does more than any skimmer I have had. However, the skimmer would still be the second most important purchase so don't go cheap.

Very little else is needed to have a successful reef tank in my opinion.

[mmittlesteadt]

Originally Posted by CuzzA

I'll add a bit of contradiction to this discussion. Mostly in regard to buying salt mix and other common consumable products online or from a big corp. If you have a good local fish store... Support them. Pay the extra $5 for salt or a couple bucks more for filter bags, etc. While you may think you're getting a good deal you're actually hurting yourself. Because I'll tell you right now, the margins on aquarium products are pretty terrible. They make maybe 25% on most products. Some products they may only make a couple bucks, like salt mix for example. So, if that LFS disappears because everyone wants to save a few dollars, think about how that effects the hobby and you specifically. Who can you call at 10pm when you're in a bind? Petco? Establish a relationship with your LFS and support them.

That said, Here's some frugal tips. Build your own sump, build your stand, learn to solvent weld acrylic, seed dry rock with live rock, do not buy/use a mag float (will "cost" you lots of pain and depression "when" you blemish your tank), and join your local reef club. Being a part of a reef club will save you a ton.

I managed two independently owned LFS's a long time ago. I cared a lot about the livestock and my customers. They knew I cared and despite some people thinking all LFS's care about is money, they do have to make a profit to stay in business.

Were it not for stocking dog and cat food and supplies, I doubt they would have made it. There just is not the profit margin there on aquatics to rely solely on that. Saving a few bucks on some supplies, but losing a local LFS may be more costly in the long run. Most realize they have to compete with online sales and some will try to price match if they can just to keep customers. But storefronts have an inherent cost associated with them just to be open that online warehouses do not.

[Martini5788]

The only fish store in my town is..... A nightmare. The building is actually being torn down. The smell that comes from it is something that is truly indescribable. The first time I went in there was a couple days after I moved here. Everything is dead. Dead parakeets, dead fish in every single tank, dead lizards. It was something out of a horror movie. The next closests place is petco which is 45 minutes. If I drive an hr and a half I have some options, but one is insanely overpriced and their tanks are dirty with minimal livestock to choose from. The other store has good prices, but all the stuff recently has been diseased. I found a guy that operates an online business out of his house and will be purchasing most stuff from him. But when a lfs isn't really an option and you have to choose from the big box stores, I might as well get the best price for everything all things considered.

[CuzzA]

In that case, of course. I live in an area that has an abundance of quality LFS's, but still see so many threads about this and that online. Meanwhile they usually can get the same price from the community owned LFS, especially since most products have strict MAP rules.