kane720
da madd reefer
Sorry if a similar thread has been posted already, i searched first and didn't find one. I was thinking it would be a nice to thread for people to share their ways they save a little $ in this hobby.
here's a list (not all my ideas just a list of suggestions people posted. posted this on my local forum also i hope ppl don't mind, i will bring ideas from over there if thats ok):
I buy white dollar store panty hose for putting carbon in to throw in tank. Leave extra length so once carbon is exhasted i cut rinse the stocking refill and tieback up.
i only run my MH for 6 hours a day, 7 if I feel generous, to save electricity. I also feed only once a day
I also try to find equipment that is used and in good condition.
I save money by buying things in bulk. Instead of paying $10 for a tiny thing of kalk, I buy a few gallons for the same price from BRS. Same with GFO, Carbon, Calcium, Magnesium.
I also feel I save money on things by spending money on the better stuff up front. Instead of buying a crappy skimmer for $100, and then turn around and upgrade for $200, I just buy the $200 up front. I've found I've wasted a lot of money upgrading that could have been avoided.
I also feel I save money by spending money on replacing my RO filters very often. $30 replacement kit for 4 stage saves me from having to buy other chemicals to fight phosphates, red slime, etc that can come from bad water.
If you dose, DIY 2-part:
Alk $6 for 12lbs
Ca $16 for 50lbs
LEDs. I cut my usage from 1500 watts/hr to 480 watts/hr. That was adding another LED light to my frag tank as well. I went from 6 hrs a day MH to 11 hrs a day, LED.
Buy superglue gel at the dollar story, 3 tubes for .99
I would start participating in group buys
You can get some really nice super glue at michaels for cheap, their jewelry and metal glue.
Lots of ways to save money.. Do it yourself. Buy energy efficient pumps, skimmers, lights like led or t-5. Down size to a smaller tank.
Look for deals and have patients. Join a reef club and trade frags or meet other people in the hobby through the discussions board.
Buy stuff from people getting out of the hobby like thier live rock and recycle it.
Also dont buy cheap stuff, it ends up costing you more in the long run.
high efficiency pumps bought used at half the price
frag swaps - save tons of money over buying from vendors and on the subject of corals in general i don't buy the so called high end or LE stuff - there are a lot of very nice corals that don't have the collector status price tag
also on the subject of corals avoid the hype and fad corals - those truely worth owning will grow fast enough to flood the market so you don't have to be the first on the block to own the nice stuff - soon enough it will be affordable
fish - i don't buy those with a rep for being difficult - losing fish drives me crazy so i only buy known tank hardy species
salt - buy in bulk when on sale
skip the snake oil treatments and chemicals - don't need any of them
patience - let your corals grow, don't try to fill it in a day, in the end a tank full of colonies will look better then frag filled tank anyway
put everything on timers, it really reduces the "I forgot to..." factor, and it also gets your reef on a daily set schedule, and if you do the moon lighting right with the timing you can promote spawning in fish and corals.
I saved money by researching the products I wanted and compared them to other equipment of the same quality. I then chose the one that used the least wattage. I also bought quality products that way I'm not tempted to upgrade lol. It also helps to be patient and look for deals to pop up if it's possible.
here's a list (not all my ideas just a list of suggestions people posted. posted this on my local forum also i hope ppl don't mind, i will bring ideas from over there if thats ok):
I buy white dollar store panty hose for putting carbon in to throw in tank. Leave extra length so once carbon is exhasted i cut rinse the stocking refill and tieback up.
i only run my MH for 6 hours a day, 7 if I feel generous, to save electricity. I also feed only once a day
I also try to find equipment that is used and in good condition.
I save money by buying things in bulk. Instead of paying $10 for a tiny thing of kalk, I buy a few gallons for the same price from BRS. Same with GFO, Carbon, Calcium, Magnesium.
I also feel I save money on things by spending money on the better stuff up front. Instead of buying a crappy skimmer for $100, and then turn around and upgrade for $200, I just buy the $200 up front. I've found I've wasted a lot of money upgrading that could have been avoided.
I also feel I save money by spending money on replacing my RO filters very often. $30 replacement kit for 4 stage saves me from having to buy other chemicals to fight phosphates, red slime, etc that can come from bad water.
If you dose, DIY 2-part:
Alk $6 for 12lbs
Ca $16 for 50lbs
LEDs. I cut my usage from 1500 watts/hr to 480 watts/hr. That was adding another LED light to my frag tank as well. I went from 6 hrs a day MH to 11 hrs a day, LED.
Buy superglue gel at the dollar story, 3 tubes for .99
I would start participating in group buys
You can get some really nice super glue at michaels for cheap, their jewelry and metal glue.
Lots of ways to save money.. Do it yourself. Buy energy efficient pumps, skimmers, lights like led or t-5. Down size to a smaller tank.
Look for deals and have patients. Join a reef club and trade frags or meet other people in the hobby through the discussions board.
Buy stuff from people getting out of the hobby like thier live rock and recycle it.
Also dont buy cheap stuff, it ends up costing you more in the long run.
high efficiency pumps bought used at half the price
frag swaps - save tons of money over buying from vendors and on the subject of corals in general i don't buy the so called high end or LE stuff - there are a lot of very nice corals that don't have the collector status price tag
also on the subject of corals avoid the hype and fad corals - those truely worth owning will grow fast enough to flood the market so you don't have to be the first on the block to own the nice stuff - soon enough it will be affordable
fish - i don't buy those with a rep for being difficult - losing fish drives me crazy so i only buy known tank hardy species
salt - buy in bulk when on sale
skip the snake oil treatments and chemicals - don't need any of them
patience - let your corals grow, don't try to fill it in a day, in the end a tank full of colonies will look better then frag filled tank anyway
put everything on timers, it really reduces the "I forgot to..." factor, and it also gets your reef on a daily set schedule, and if you do the moon lighting right with the timing you can promote spawning in fish and corals.
I saved money by researching the products I wanted and compared them to other equipment of the same quality. I then chose the one that used the least wattage. I also bought quality products that way I'm not tempted to upgrade lol. It also helps to be patient and look for deals to pop up if it's possible.
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