Cheap Salt?

[LordsSoilder]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting ready to setup one of my 29g tanks for SW. I'm getting inpatient with the ammout of work its taking to redo my 75g... (besides its a good start since this will be my first SW)

Anyway, I'm lookn for good ways do do your tank, and some shortcuts that you can take on prices. I love the idea of using play sand... I picked up some today

One idea that I had was to use the salt from my water softener... I know it's a crazy idea but I don't know if its a bad one... One thing I know for sure is that I want to do this thing right, and I wouldnt make a gutsy move like without some proffesional guidance...

So what do you guys think? Culligan salt or no? after all it is what I drink... the question is, can the fish drink it too...

:shark:​

Thanks for your time

 

[Decz]

No, don't do it! Marine set-ups are expensive - it's a fact of life. Don't experiment or cut corners would crucial pieces of the system. Marine salt is marine salt. Culligans salt is not marine salt. There are plenty of other ways to save yourself some cash.
One of the easiest ways would be to slow the process down. Buy slightly more base rock and slightly less live rock and let the live rock seed the base rock (this takes time and work). Take an extra couple of months to set the system up - there's no maximum time limit here as long as you are maintaining the system properly, consistently and carefully. Shop on Ebay. Download yourself some plans from the internet and make your first protein skimmer out of parts you can find around the house. Ask a friend (or LFS) that has an established tank for a few cups of sand to help seed your own. Search AC for specific equipment names, you may find some existing threads that talk about good deals or alternatives.
All that being said, even though marine setups are expensive and a lot of work, it's the time and patience that you put into it that will make the difference between a disaster and a beautiful tank.

The most important thing to remember is that NOTHING happens overnight in a marine system. You may wake up one day and see something (good or bad) that wasn't there yesterday but it is very rare that the symptoms that lead to it weren't already there a week before. Much of what happens in a marine system (especially at the beginning) is invisible, so time, patience and consistent maintenance are the keys to a healthy reef (ask plenty of questions too!).....

You should start a new thread and journal your experience in buying equipment and setting this up. It's neat for us to follow along and it's always great to share the learning experience!

 

[kcmo lawman]

I would have to agree. When it comes to things you know work I would stick with them. Especially since they are key in setting up a system. I wouldn't use anything other than marine salt and ro/di water. I wanted to do things as cheap as possible too but those are two things that I never went cheap on. You may spend a little more, but it the long run you will be glad you did.

Bradd

 

[Unome]

While I haven't done SW tank yet, I can say that reading everything I can(on this forum & others), if you try to cut corners(to an extent) or do things cheaply(again, to an extent), you're just setting yourself up for a disaster.

Building your own skimmer(if you can) or seeding base rock with smaller amount of live rock are ways you can save money. I don't think they fall into the category about cutting corners.

IMO worst things you can do are:
1. Rush your setup.
2. Try to do things as cheap as you can.

There's nothing wrong with cheap(as this hobby can be costly) but in most cases, you get what you pay for. Lots of people on here will tell you from experience, that when you go the cheap route, most likely you will spend more money in long run when you have to replace your cheap setup because of problems. And the problems can also cause a loss of livestock(again, costly).

 

[thekid55]

i have had experince with taking short cuts it dosent pay of just bite the bullet and pay the price

 

[LordsSoilder]

Sounds Good,

I did'nt know about the salt, so I thought I would ask... It would have been great if it would have worked.... however I think what I'm gonna have to do is just take my time in this...
Setting up a journal sounds like a great idea. I think I'll do that...

On the topic of the salt, Is it ok that some of that salt is already in my water? I have a complete water softening setup at my other house that I haven't moved into this one yet. I have well water (with I think will be great for the tank growth) and the softener adds a small amount of salf to the water... In addition to the softener the system can with a 5gal R/O drinking water system... It was definitely a bonus add on now that I'm trying the salty side of life
It sounds like reverse osmosis is important to a marine tank, anyone know why?

thanks again...