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Ok, I\’m cheep when it comes to certain things!!!
Just thought I\’d share some of the things I do to keep my checkbook in check when it comes to this rather expensive Hobby.
1. I buy used equipment. Tanks, light fixtures, power heads, you name it. The best way to do this is make freinds with you local reefers! Reefers are alway\’s upgrading, even tho there isn\’t anything wrong with the stuff they got. Being buddy\’s with the fella\’s at the local reef club has lot\’s of benifits, if something breaks in the middle of the night there is usually someone you can call that will \"loan you a back up. Also great for group order\’s, saves on shipping cost\’s for everyone. If there\’s a reef club in your area, it\’s deffinately worth looking into.
2. I have my Hubby built me stuff!! We can built a beatiful custom stand lot\’s cheaper than buying a nice one from the LFS.
3.Make you\’re own rock. It\’s actually easy and FUN! I\’ve got one tank I use for nothing else than to cure rock, add some of the home made stuff and in a couple months viola! LR at about half the price you purchase it from at your LFS. I like to built my base out of this stuff. (Also, if you can find some who\’s breaking down a reef tank, they usually sell the good stuff alot less than they paid for it)
4. Shop around! There is no rule saying you have to purchase something from a particular shop. With all the online retailers these day\’s you can almost allway\’s get \"it\" cheaper some place else. The only thing I buy locally is my mysis.
Things I won\’t skim on.. Meds, you got to have them!! Test kits, my SH depend on them being acurate. Live stock, I\’d rather pay twice the amout and get healthy stock, beside with the money I save buying everyone elses toss away\’s I can afford it;) , That\’s what I tell the hubby anyway.
What do you do if anything to keep from breaking the bank?
Kris
Great subject, Kris.
Supplements may not be a hugely important part of seahorse keeping, but many of us are keeping our SHs in modified reef gardens with corals, snails, calcerous macroalgaes, etc. and so need to supplement calcium and alkalinity on a regular basis. There are ways to save huge amounts of money on these supplements over buying standard aquarium brands.
First, here’s a good article on calcium, alkalinity, magnesium and how they interact and affect your aquarium…
[url]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php[/url]An article on the different supplementation schemes and their pros and cons…
[url]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm[/url]An article on homemade 2-part supplements…
[url]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php[/url]And finally, an article on kalkwasser, or limewater…
[url]http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php[/url]Personally, I drip kalkwasser through my auto top off system in my reef tank and use the homemade 2-part in my SH tank because I don’t have an auto top off for it yet and I find it’s easier and safer to dose the 2-part manually than it would be with kalk.
Hey Reverend,
Great info, If you can locate the stuff to make your own supplement you can save. Good stuff for those who keep corals in there Sh tanks. Your reef club is a great place to start looking to, and chances are someone there has already tried it, so they can help you locate those items you need.
Anymore ideas?
KrisThanks, Kris.
I found the calcium chloride snow melt and 10lb bags of baking soda at BJ’s. Serveral years worth of each for about the cost of one large set of commercial 2-part.
Pickling lime seems to be quite a bit harder to come by, but if worse comes to worse you can always order it online. Mrs. Wages has their own website where you can order it.
As you say, local reef clubs are great resources. Used equipment, inexpensive tank-raised frags. borrowing of infrequently used testing equipment, seeding material for sand beds and LR, and the sharing of knowledge with people who have been there, done that, amongst other things, all make it an invaluable resource.
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