do you mix your own salt???

[illal]

ive been using the pre mixed salt water most lfs' around here sell and it seems pretty popular since half the time i have to stand on line just to fill my juggs ......its come down to the fact that im lazy and with premixed sw i can do a 20 gal water change in less then 10 mins actually closer to 5 wich makes me do them way more frequent wich = barley any nitrates ..... im just wondering how many of you actually do this aswell ... and if you think its even a good idea or not...

 

[loyalrogue]

I use premixed as well.

#1 - I don't have an RO/DI unit yet.
#2 - Big Al's is less than 2 minutes from my house.
#3 - I have a pickup truck and about 15 - 5gal water jugs.

It's too easy to just spend 30mins and go pickup my SW & top-up water once a week.

I always go on wed night because it's double points and I'm almost up to 5000 points which will get me a free $200 giftcard.
Now once I get my 5000th point I may decide to purchase an RO/DI unit and start doing my own.
I'll have to do a cost/time analysis on that before I make my decision.

 

[illal]

ive thought about the ro/di unit aswell but i would think it would take more time just mixing all the salt and letting it disolve and everything... i mean maybe if big al's raises the price

 

[instrance]

I just got a ro/di unit and last night was the first time in a long time i mixed my own salt. Used I/O btw.

 

[CiroFuentes22]

yea rogue but if u go ahead and buy the ro unit then u cant get anymore points one wednesdays anymore. think about it. lol

 

[illal]

the only reason ive even considered mixing my own sw is because id like to switch to reef crystals.....

 

[jeffbrig]

What are you guys paying for premixed saltwater? With my RO/DI and IO, I can mix up 160g (in theory, probably a little less) for ~$35. In the store, it's probably costing you 50¢ or more for a gallon? The bigger the tank, or the more water changes you do, the less it makes sense. Over time, the RO/DI will pay for itself, and you get clean topoff water too (unless you're paying for that as well).

My water changes go pretty fast, too. All I have to do is pump out the old water, and flip a switch to refill.

I have a 30g tank in the stand for mixing saltwater, and it's pretty much always filled with new SW. It's filled by the RO/DI with a float valve shutoff (or in a hurry I can fill it from my RO/DI reservoir), then I add 5 scoops of salt. A powerhead mixes it overnight, and it's ready whenever I need it. Another powerhead pumps water from the mixing container to the sump at the flip of a switch. Laziness is the mother of all invention.

 

[ninjamini]

I plan to get a RO/DI from air water ice. But I still will buy natural sea water from the store.

 

[Bebo77]

make my own.. but i want to start using nsw from the local universities...

 

[illal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9407181#post9407181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jeffbrig
What are you guys paying for premixed saltwater?

i pay .50 a gallon for pre mixed sw it cost me $10 to do a 20g water change

nd you get clean topoff water too (unless you're paying for that as well).

i pay .25 a gallon for r/o :rollface: :eek2:

 

[nyvp]

No poll for buying Natural Salt Water?

 

[illal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9407189#post9407189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ninjamini
But I still will buy natural sea water from the store.

you should have seen my face the first time i bought water from exotic aquatic i asked rob what type of salt he uses and he said ocean water i said what kind is that he said from the ocean :eek2:

 

[illal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9407229#post9407229 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nyvp
No poll for buying Natural Salt Water?

i considered the natural seawater as pre mixed just cause it cost the same and you buy it ready to go

 

[Osteomata]

I live a couple of blocks from the beach. Once a week I stop on the way home from work and fill my jugs. Free water, plus I get a refreshing swim. Best possible situation.
- Jack

 

[Alicate]

jeffbrig
What salt u use?

 

[jeffbrig]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9408254#post9408254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rrigau
jeffbrig
What salt u use?

With my RO/DI and IO

Instant Ocean. You can get it cheap at Petsmart, print out the web page and get them to price match - usually $32-$33 for a 160g bucket. I also stocked up last year when Big Al's ran a $29 bucket special.

 

[Alicate]

Is Instant Ocean better than Tropic Marine money wise theirs a big difference

 

[jeffbrig]

Tropic Marin Pro is supposed to be a "better" salt. How much better that is, I'll leave up to you. Is it worth twice the price (o more)?

Frankly, I think the most important aspect of salt is consistency. Instant Ocean is the old standard, you can buy it anywhere, anytime. I can't say the same about Tropic Marin, or many other brands. For that reason alone, I stick with IO.

 

[Ding2daDong]

We use instant ocean at my work but we might be switching over to reef crystals. It's so easy when you have an ro/di unit filling everything up for you. We have like 6-8 float valves and the tubing for the ro unit goes everywhere, always filling something. My arms are about to fall off from all the trips back and forth getting 20g's at a time, then taking them up stairs...

Does anyone have a link or info on the basics in a good ro unit? I need to get one and those el cheapo units on ebay are pulling me in.

-Matthew

 

[ashrem]

I read a while back in some study of salts and sea urchin mortality(?), TMP got good scores. Took me a while to find a place that sold it but they only had one box, cost an arm and 2/3 of a leg. Didnt get enough to really examine if in the long term it was better for my tank than IO. I use LFS premixed now because i am lazy.