Advise needed please - A heavy heart

[Oceanwave45]

I have met some great people on here - Thank you everyone who has helped me with my new tank. However, I come to you with a heavy heart today.

My partner's company shut down, its moving over seas. So he was laid off today, he did receive a small severance I guess something is better than nothing. I know he'll find another job, when I do not know and unemployment will help a little.

But this brings me to my questions, since we are now on a limited budget we find ourselves scraping the bank account and we need to cut unnecessary expenses.

So here are my questions:

1) We do not have an RODI unit, so its about a 1.00 per gallon from my LFS. Is there anyway, we can get away with using tap water for now? I know its not that much, but every dollar counts right now.

2) Fish food - we were using frozen food about 10.00 per pack, is there anyway to get something cheaper that will work for a limited time?

3) Salt - 19.99 per bag is the cheapest we have found for 25 gallons, does anyone know of a cheaper brand and where to purchase this from?

If anyone has any other suggestions it would be greatly appreciated, we are not the type to expect help or handouts and this isn't the purpose for this post. We just trying to get by right know, I hope you understand.

Thanks for just reading this.

Andrew

 

[rlman41299]

Where are you located? If you are close to me I'll be more than happy to help you out with your ro/di issue and more than welcome to get a few gallons anytime. As for fish food I have a few of PE mysis 16oz flat pack that will last you a while.
I can't comment on the tap water since I never tried it. As for the rest, I'm sure someone can chime in. If you are by bay area Ca. I will be more than happy to help you out.

 

[Fishfinder]

Where are you located?

 

[sfin52]

You can find io on line for decent price. Live aquaria. I don't know about tap. It really depends on how your local government handles the water. I used tap water when first starting had some algae issues. Others on here can give some better help

Food can go to flakes and mix it in to stretch the food budget. I have skipped a day here and there on feeding fish. They never seam worse for ware. They do beg a little more on days I've skipped. Just can't figure out why the food god didn't feed them.

If your in my area I can help with some food as well

Good luck

 

[Whipples]

If you are in San Diego, PM me, would love to help out with water. If not local to SD shoot me your email via PM and I would be happy to send money for more frozen, no hungry fish allowed on our watch!

 

[Oceanwave45]

Thank you everyone - I am so overwhelmed right now, you are all too kind and thank you!!! I'm crying as I write this... Right now we are going to try and figure this out ourselves, we have been on our own for years now since our families aren't in the picture due to our life choices. But everyone THANK soooooooooooooooooooo much - everything will be okay right?

 

[Whipples]

It will be okay and get better before you know it!

 

[sfin52]

Everything in life is temporary

 

[rlman41299]

Everything that happens in life has a reason that we sometimes don't understand. When one door closes another one opens up. Everything will be okay.

 

[DSC reef]

Just hang in there oceanwave, things will smooth over. Just a temporary speed bump in life, this too shall pass. I'd rather see you do less water changes then use tap water, you just never know what's in it. Temporary I'm sure it's fine but overtime I believe you'll see issues. Maybe lighten the bio load and keep things stable with monthly water changes. I'm happy to see other members step up in your area, well done everyone. I believe you'll persevere in this situation oceanwave.

 

[HeulittSalmi]

So if you call around to some LFS near you, there should be at least one willing to give free RODI. The LFS I go to gives out free RODI to regulars since it onlys costs pennies on the dollar to produce. Unless your tank absolutely needs it, then I would go as long as possible between WC's, but that all depends on your filtration and your tank. Usually if you have an LFS that makes premix with the salt you use, it should only be about $1 per gallon, so a 10% WC every two weeks shouldnt be too bad. Food wise, try to stretch between meals. I used to feed my corals twice a week, and fish maybe three times a week, which wasnt good from the start but still worked.

Of course post to your local groups on Facebook and on here, I am more than certain some people will help you out. All in all the reefing community is a great one to be a part of. Time after Time ive seen locals help locals, and reefers across the nation help others when they can, and like others have said, this is just a bump in the road/ a temporary challenge. Just take it one day at a time and kick some butt!

 

[sfin52]

So if you call around to some LFS near you, there should be at least one willing to give free RODI. The LFS I go to gives out free RODI to regulars since it onlys costs pennies on the dollar to produce. Unless your tank absolutely needs it, then I would go as long as possible between WC's, but that all depends on your filtration and your tank. Usually if you have an LFS that makes premix with the salt you use, it should only be about $1 per gallon, so a 10% WC every two weeks shouldnt be too bad. Food wise, try to stretch between meals. I used to feed my corals twice a week, and fish maybe three times a week, which wasnt good from the start but still worked.

Of course post to your local groups on Facebook and on here, I am more than certain some people will help you out. All in all the reefing community is a great one to be a part of. Time after Time ive seen locals help locals, and reefers across the nation help others when they can, and like others have said, this is just a bump in the road/ a temporary challenge. Just take it one day at a time and kick some butt!

Many LFS will help out a valued customer because they know it's about relationships and not just the Benjamins

 

[Oceanwave45]

Thank you all if you've made Mike feel better... I guess it's up to me to keep everything together - he is so stressed out. Denver is a good market right know so I hope he'll land a job by 2018!

 

[4FordFamily]

First of all, keep your head up -- these types of things can define you, but HOW they define you is your choice!

Be careful with tap water -- mine was very salty! Also, fluoride, chlorone, and other things are not so great for your fish.

Maybe trade something you have for a RO unit on Craigslist? I still buy the cheap stuff on eBay.

Keep your head up, friend!

 

[4FordFamily]

What does Mike do? What is he good at? Maybe some of us can help with job placement via referrals.

If you were here in Indy I have a lot of connections!

 

[leahfiish]

You could use dechlorinated tap water, or look for RO or even distilled water from a grocery store. Could also do half tap half RO.

For food, flake is usually the cheapest, along with brine shrimp. Buy the big flat packs of frozen food, not the cubes.

For salt instant ocean is the cheapest but again, buying in bulk will reduce costs. Lfs may also sell sw for cheaper. You can also usually cut back on water change amounts or frequency. Maybe look into other methods of nutrient reduction like Vodka, vinegar, macro algae.

 

[Maritimer]

Ouch.

I don't know about your area, but I generally find 200 gallon boxes of salt for between 50 and 75. It's a bigger initial outlay than the 25 gallon bags (the box contains four of those), but the end price is half to 2/3 of what you're paying now.

Frozen is awesome - my fish love it - but it can be a budget-buster. Could you chop your own, using ingredients from your local seafood counter? The other possibility would be using pellets to help stretch it out. I feed frozen, pellets, nori, flake, sometimes littleneck clams on the half-shell.

~Bruce, hoping Mike has already met - and impressed - his new employer

 

[fishybizzness]

For my frozen food I buy the seafood mixes from my local bulk store (cosco, Sam's). Make sure it's the fresh mix and not the parboiled one. It has squid, octopus, clams, mussels,etc... I chop it up with a slap chop chopper and freeze it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it. When I'm ready to feed I just break off a little piece and defrost it in tank Water.

 

[Oceanwave45]

What does Mike do? What is he good at? Maybe some of us can help with job placement via referrals.

If you were here in Indy I have a lot of connections!

He has a Master degree in organizational behavior and management - he has been a buyer, account manager, in aerospace and medical device

 

[Confuse]

Having gone through two years of graduate school with a 150g tank, I would say it's doable if you have few corals or at least, easy corals that don't require heavy maintenance. Going fish only or softies has allowed me to keep costs down. I don't have to do water changes all that often. The only thing I need to keep up with is making RO/DI water for top off every other week. As far as food is concerned, if you're strapped for cash, pellets go a long way, with frozen food feedings every so often. In my two years of being a poor graduate student, I learned to appreciate the fish that I had in my possession, and allow the tank to just run on its own with minimal maintenance. I know times are tough, but an RO/DI will save you a lot of money in the long run. And if you're running some kind of reasonably/budget priced LEDs, you can hopefully reduce some of the electricity costs. Winters are tougher because the heater tends to run a lot more often. If your signature is up to date and that is the size of your tank (without sump and decent skimmer), you may be OK, but perhaps need more frequent water changes. But like I said, if you keep your stocking choices simple and minimal, you should doing alright.

Good luck to you and your partner! I feel for you because when I started school, I went through the same dilema and considered breaking down my tank, but I could not. It was my baby and it got me through tough times in life and school. Hang in there! You will both bounce back!