Niko -- Ok, now your comments make more sense to me. I was unaware that you provided the list in another thread. I had seen that thread listed in one of the forums, but never read it since I'm anything but an expert when it comes to the needs of sea stars. Thank you for the clarification.
That said, I no longer feel like Skater is asking for us to do the shopping around for him, and will gladly toss in a few of my own comments to supplement what DarthGoby posted...
LR: can be found for less than $1 / lb. if you catch someone needing to tear down their tank in a hurry or as much as $12 / lb. at some LFS. Around where I live, the average is around $6 / lb. with people tearing down their tanks commonly selling the LR for $2 / lb. Some online sources have it for $3 - $4 / lb. including shipping.
Powerheads: Maxi-Jets can be bought for around $15 - $20 online (depending on the size), but you could easily spend >$500 on a Tunze if you really are looking for a way to blow a paycheck.
Hydrometer: Instead of spending $15 - $20 for one, I'd seriously recommend investing $40 - $50 into a refractometer. It's much more accurate at determining specific gravity and will last much longer.
RO or RO/DI unit: A good quality one will run about $150. They can be found more cheaply on places like eBay, but the quality isn't quite as good as buying from some of the more reputable online RO/DI unit merchants. You may want to browse these sites to see the range of what's available:
http://www.thefilterguys.biz/
http://www.purelyh2o.com/
http://buckeyefieldsupply.com/
http://www.spectrapure.com/
http://www.airwaterice.com/
If you contact any of the above retailers, they can help you choose a unit to suit your specific needs. Some will even test your water for you for free if you pay for the shipping to their facility. That might not sound like something worth doing, but it can be very useful in determining what type of unit will work best based upon the quality of the water coming out of your tap.
Saltwater mixing container: any clean (preferably new), well rinsed bucket and lid is good for mixing sw. I buy salt mix by the bucket, then use the empty buckets to mix and store sw.
The bulk of our set-up came together when we bought our tank used, so there's not much else for me to add regarding individual pieces of equipment. However, some commonly used online retailers for equipment and supplies are:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/
http://www.marinedepot.com/
http://www.bigalsonline.com/
I also buy from these sites on a fairly regular basis:
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/
http://www.hellolights.com/
Again, sorry for my misunderstanding. I hope that my comments regarding equipment and pricing prove useful despite the point of view I shared in my previous post.
That said, I no longer feel like Skater is asking for us to do the shopping around for him, and will gladly toss in a few of my own comments to supplement what DarthGoby posted...
LR: can be found for less than $1 / lb. if you catch someone needing to tear down their tank in a hurry or as much as $12 / lb. at some LFS. Around where I live, the average is around $6 / lb. with people tearing down their tanks commonly selling the LR for $2 / lb. Some online sources have it for $3 - $4 / lb. including shipping.
Powerheads: Maxi-Jets can be bought for around $15 - $20 online (depending on the size), but you could easily spend >$500 on a Tunze if you really are looking for a way to blow a paycheck.
Hydrometer: Instead of spending $15 - $20 for one, I'd seriously recommend investing $40 - $50 into a refractometer. It's much more accurate at determining specific gravity and will last much longer.
RO or RO/DI unit: A good quality one will run about $150. They can be found more cheaply on places like eBay, but the quality isn't quite as good as buying from some of the more reputable online RO/DI unit merchants. You may want to browse these sites to see the range of what's available:
http://www.thefilterguys.biz/
http://www.purelyh2o.com/
http://buckeyefieldsupply.com/
http://www.spectrapure.com/
http://www.airwaterice.com/
If you contact any of the above retailers, they can help you choose a unit to suit your specific needs. Some will even test your water for you for free if you pay for the shipping to their facility. That might not sound like something worth doing, but it can be very useful in determining what type of unit will work best based upon the quality of the water coming out of your tap.
Saltwater mixing container: any clean (preferably new), well rinsed bucket and lid is good for mixing sw. I buy salt mix by the bucket, then use the empty buckets to mix and store sw.
The bulk of our set-up came together when we bought our tank used, so there's not much else for me to add regarding individual pieces of equipment. However, some commonly used online retailers for equipment and supplies are:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/
http://www.marinedepot.com/
http://www.bigalsonline.com/
I also buy from these sites on a fairly regular basis:
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/
http://www.hellolights.com/
Again, sorry for my misunderstanding. I hope that my comments regarding equipment and pricing prove useful despite the point of view I shared in my previous post.
