What can you "skimp" on in the hobby? Is there such a thing?

[Tankkeepers]

I have had both Pom Pom Xenia & GSP cover the back of 75G & 120Gtanks. On this this picture, I thinned out a lot from on top of artificial Tonga Tree that had cantilevered out.

Thats pretty and I love the tree thats fantastic also I love the sponges

 

[92Miata]

Jeabo powerheads that are regular replaced are still cheaper than higher end.

Jebao is a bit like harbor freight - sometimes their stuff is trash - but often even if it is, it gets the job done. Othertimes - its perfectly fine, and works great.

I'm not a big fan of my Jebao doser - it works fine but the interface and controls feel like they were designed by a bunch of internet trolls. There are times where I wish I had a Kamoer instead, but then I remember I would have spent $300 on the Kamoer one instead of $59. And then I'm like "This one works, its fine"

My Jebao return pump and powerheads though? Dead silent, a couple years old now, and absolutely no problems. As far as user experience - they've been indistinguishable from the higher end.



Buying used is a big thing for me - the Radion G5s are great - but they're $1000 a piece. So I'm running an Xr30 G3 that I paid $250 for - that's basically the same price as the Prime I have on the other tank - and its a way better light (and it won't fall into the tank, because it has a mount designed by engineers - not a mount that seems like it was designed by accountants like the AI)

There's a huge trend of upgrade-itis in this hobby - and there's a ton of good functional equipment available for very cheap.

 

[Eric Miller]

i've used smart plugs instead of my apex for running dosers ,lights and other devices.

 

[zoous]

There are led lights out there that you don't have to spend a fortune on. For sure a protein skimmer is nice but you can get away without having one. I have a 50 gallon tank without one for a number of years.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

I skimped big time on my tank. I don't have 1200 dollars for a nice tank with an overflow. I bought a 75g from Petco for 90 and threw an Eshopps HOB overflow on it.

 

[Tankkeepers]

I skimped big time on my tank. I don't have 1200 dollars for a nice tank with an overflow. I bought a 75g from Petco for 90 and threw an Eshopps HOB overflow on it.

How is your tank doing I did pretty much the same thing with my first tank and honestly it did pretty well untill I had to leave for 3 months and wife was in charge of it(she killed everything but the clowngish) this was back when power comoacks were the new hottest thing lol

 

[sagedrake690]

Im doing experiments on a 55gal to use commercial inexpensive minerals to do this as naturally as I can with as little cost as possible. Magnesium campfire starting sticks add mag over time. Eggshells dissolved in a small amount of vinegar add calc. Tap can be treated without a rodi using tannic acid. Urine is amazing plant food and helps growth! A rusty iron nail in your filter can help control phosphates.

 

[Tamberav]

Can skimp on controllers or the newest lights or high end wavemakers or rimless pricey tanks

Honestly you can skimp on pretty much everything. People have reefs in jars with a air stone.

Maybe the only thing you should not skimp on is a backup heater controller since heaters can fail catastrophically.

 

[borillion]

:/

Im doing experiments on a 55gal to use commercial inexpensive minerals to do this as naturally as I can with as little cost as possible. Magnesium campfire starting sticks add mag over time. Eggshells dissolved in a small amount of vinegar add calc. Tap can be treated without a rodi using tannic acid. Urine is amazing plant food and helps growth! A rusty iron nail in your filter can help control phosphates.

 

[jeffchapok]

Amazon product hehe pls no judgment

This is basically what I did, but instead of buying it, I got a broken one from a buddy for free, removed the pump and put a limewood airstone in the bottom. It works great, and with an airvalve I can tune it to exactly how I want it.

 

[blooper01]

DIY is a budget reefers best friend. There are so many DIY projects you can do that will cost a fraction of the cost to build.

 

[Stackrat]

I "skimp" on salt. Instead of paying the rip off $86 for DD H2Ocean 23kg, I buy Aquaforest Reef Salt at $69 for 25Kg. Not seen any difference so far apart from on my wallet

 

[sagedrake690]

:/

Lol don't judge. Take 1/4 urine and water with some plant and carbon. Add some oxygen and keep it moving and you get mineral water eventually. Its gross but its also chemistry and science. If you compost your own poo for over 3 days and get it up to 180 you render all human born pathogens dead. At 5 days the protozoa and resistant ones even die. Live green guys lol.

 

[Chessmanmark]

Sure, you can “skimp” on everything and have a so-so tank.

This is not a hobby for “skimping.” It’s a hobby that needs precision and punishes those who are neglectful.

I’ve never seen a high level tank or TOTM that has the word “skimp” in their vocabulary.

That being said I can’t stop staring at my pulsating Pom Pom Xenia that I got for free. It’s sitting less than two feet away from a $150 acro and I’m mesmerized by the Xenia. Go figure.

 

[firechild]

There are plenty of opportunities in this hobby for DIY that is as good as many commercial options. Dosing containers, ATO, frag racks, light units. In addition there are some cheaper commercial options for things like Ca/alk/Mg additives.

I made a DIY ATO 9 years ago that's now been in production as a commercial unit for the last 8 years. It worked as well as a DIY unit as the commercial one, so no reason they can't be as good.

 

[blooper01]

I have seen some pretty good DIY skimmers before. I would just say get a little at a time and build your setup when you have everything you need. That is what I did, took a little time, but in the end I have everything I want for the setup.

 

[Paul B]

I think people waste way to much money on this hobby and I don't find it expensive at all.
I have no controllers, no dosers, no hospital or quarantine tank, no medications, no UV sterilizer.
no reactors, no carbon, no GAF (whatever that is), no wavemakers, etc.

I do have a DIY algae scrubber (practically free) a 5' DIY skimmer (Maybe $20.00) A diy ATO. (almost free) A reverse undergravel filter. (very cheap) I raise white worms, almost free.

The fish die of old age so they are almost free. Corals grow big enough to stop me from cleaning the glass so I have to continually break and re glue parts of them.

and I think I have a pretty nice tank

 

[Canadareefer666]

That's a fantastic idea wish I would of thought of that live and learn

you guys are all so scientific.... I just drink a little of the water to test for salinity...... most things survive....

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I think it is possible to "skimp" on the newest technology especially if your current setup is working just fine.

 

[vlangel]

A lot of us old school reef keepers look like we are skimping because when we got in the hobby, there was not the controllers, dosers, reactors, ATS, ATOs, and we learned to get by without those. We did have skimmers and my first skimmer was a wood airstone driven skimmer. With macroalgae and All For Reef and choosing to run a high nutrient system I don't even need a skimmer, RODI unit, filter socks or media bags. It's not that I am conceding to have a subpar reef. I love the lush lushness and all the life that is in my reef, not to mention the ease of keeping it.