Supplies for us large tank owners

DamonG said:
Just curious, as your in the US, why didn't you try bulk reef supply? I know their kalk is cheap.. They have 5 gallons for 55 dollars. According to my quick calculations, that's 18kg. Then, if you order it two day, that's not much at all.

My tank is only 180dt(210 total volume), but I've use BRS for the longest. Much cheaper than wages and the quality is still there. I buy a gallon of the BRS for half what a smaller wages would cost.
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BRS comes out to be super expensive when I compare. I looked a few years ago and it seemed like they were gouging, even compared to amazon and drs foster. I'll look again.

I found it - it is $55, but I don't know how to relate gallons to kg. It's a powder, so it could be dense or light. If they'd put a weight on it, we can compare better.
 
karimwassef said:
BRS comes out to be super expensive when I compare. I looked a few years ago and it seemed like they were gouging, even compared to amazon and drs foster. I'll look again.

I found it - it is $55, but I don't know how to relate gallons to kg. It's a powder, so it could be dense or light. If they'd put a weight on it, we can compare better.
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Gallons to kg is pretty easy. Just think about the weight of water and that's pretty approximate. So your talking about 40lbs of kalk. When you plug 40lbs into Google, that gives you 18.1kg. And that's for 55.00( Much cheaper than 150.00 your mentioning for 12kg of kalk). And they pack their stuff pretty tight to be honest.

It's just conversion of weights. Let Google be your friend.. Just go pound to kilogram..

But I'm not much of a cost cutter as long as it's reasonable. I "know" with my system, when I used wages, for a decent amount, it was pretty expensive. Not even thinking about the "aquarium company" re bottled stuff that is outrageous and a total rip(and imho and experience, some are less pure and effective).. I was shocked when I first saw the price of the BRS stuff, not even on sale.. For kalk, it's really a no brainer..
 
I know how to convert weight, but you're assuming that the density of kalk powder is the same as the density of water. Why would they be?

I can put sand in a 5 gal bucket or I can put packing peanuts in a 5 gal bucket... same bucket.
 
karimwassef said:
I know how to convert weight, but you're assuming that the density of kalk powder is the same as the density of water. Why would they be?

I can put sand in a 5 gal bucket or I can put packing peanuts in a 5 gal bucket... same bucket.
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Ok, lol.. I'm just trying to help save you some money. But, Imho, you should be able to do the conversion(not being worried about it being "easy" or "easier". And I'm not assuming anything. I have been using BRS for a while now. I have dealt with them long enough and their supplements to "know" how much the things "I" order weigh(a postal scale comes in handy sometimes, and I was trying to help you). And BRS, with their many faults are not like the big box companies.. I have never, ever had anything not full to the top. And honestly, dry and liquid weights of things, with this stuff we buy, are pretty interchangeable. Packing peanuts though, ridiculous and funny at the same time. So ha ha.. But what your adding up to what you've been paying, lol, you have been getting ripped off! "That" is knowing the conversion process(and we're not converting or comparing densities, we're talking about weights.. Liquid is less dense than solids, etc, etc. That's something totally different than weight if a solid or liquid)..

And lol, if you want, convert it all out on your own for dry weight. I'm not that anal for "exact", and I have experience once again knowing that it's close enough for the once again, because "I" converted and weighed myself.. And here's a news flash to you, just because a company says something on a box, doesn't mean that's what is in it for the big companies.

Your asking about supplies for a larger tank, and saying costs in a hobby in the same sentence. Many people have a saying "if you have to ask the cost, you can't afford it". And I would look for other sources also if I was getting raped for kalk in those costs..

I could go on and on, but hey, you've got your "thing" under control, and I'm backing out. I should have not tried to help. You have answers to all the questions you were asking in your post before you even made it.. Best of luck..
 
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I buy 3 part supplies for roughly 20 large tanks ~ 10,000 gal total, i buy mostly from amazon, bulk reef supply and pool supply companies. They are easy to work with and the cheapest as far as I have found, and that includes contacting several chemical suppliers that ended up not being less. Amazon prime is key, buy the minimum to get free shipping, this might be buying a 6 month or one year supply but the shipping cost is usually 1/3 the cost. And if you have a large tank that cost maybe 10k to build you really should be able to buy a few hundred worth of dosing chems at once and have it not kill your pocket book. I would definnitly not buy from LFS or most general online vendors brand name products, I have never had a contamination issue with generic chemicals but do so at your own risk. I obviously did my research to choose "reef safe" sources too.
 
Damon. I appreciate the help. That's why I asked BRS to provide the weight.

I buy from Amazon prime, Drs Foster's and pool supply houses online. I discounted BRS a long time ago, but I'm willing to look again.

If it's true then I have been getting ripped off on Amazon and I appreciate the heads up. I just like to get the answer from the vendor first.

Keep it coming! I need all the help I can get with my 700gal beast.
 
karimwassef said:
Damon. I appreciate the help. That's why I asked BRS to provide the weight.

I buy from Amazon prime, Drs Foster's and pool supply houses online. I discounted BRS a long time ago, but I'm willing to look again.

If it's true then I have been getting ripped off on Amazon and I appreciate the heads up. I just like to get the answer from the vendor first.

Keep it coming! I need all the help I can get with my 700gal beast.
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Zoom in on the bucket and they list it as 22.5 lb.
 

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Drs forster and smith again 25% off aquarium supplies, brings rc salt down to about 425$ for 10 boxes. delivered .;sale today only
 
Love the response here being in this hobby and having a large system it's always nice to be able to save a buck so we can put it back into the system via corals
 
Started buying Reef Crystals on Amazon Prime.

Can't beat second day 200 gallon boxes. Just order when I need it soon.
 
I have been having problems with the 200 gallon box arriving with leaking bags from amazon, LA and premium. Anyone else have this issue?
 
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