How do you save money in this hobby?

[G Santana]

Over the last 2 yrs I have tried to save where I can, for no other reason than I feel some things in the hobby are way over priced.

The 3 ways that I apply daily are:
I make my own fish food, on most occasions it's just shrimp, scallops and clams.
Today I didn't have any clams but the fish enjoy it just the same. This got me thinking, what other ways do people save?!!!

Next I buy Nori made for people, I get 100 sheets for less than $15 on Amazon. I cut those in quarters and it lasts 400 days.

Lastly I bought a roll of filter material, I think it was less than $25. My wife sewed 9 socks and that was almost 18 months ago. The socks are still going strong giving me at least 4 days before I have to change them out.

What do you folks do to save a buck. I'm sure there are many great ideas.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Batter those up and send to me, you will make a profit lol.

 

[MnFish1]

Excellent comments!!!!!!

 

[reef_1]

What do you folks do to save a buck.

Keep downsizing tanks.

 

[Tonycass12]

Ask your wife permission before buying anything lol

 

[G Santana]

Ask your wife permission before buying anything lol

I ask for forgiveness after it's bought lol

 

[gbroadbridge]

Over the last 2 yrs I have tried to save where I can, for no other reason than I feel some things in the hobby are way over priced.

The 3 ways that I apply daily are:
I make my own fish food, on most occasions it's just shrimp, scallops and clams.
Today I didn't have any clams but the fish enjoy it just the same. This got me thinking, what other ways do people save?!!!

Next I buy Nori made for people, I get 100 sheets for less than $15 on Amazon. I cut those in quarters and it lasts 400 days.

Lastly I bought a roll of filter material, I think it was less than $25. My wife sewed 9 socks and that was almost 18 months ago. The socks are still going strong giving me at least 4 days before I have to change them out.

What do you folks do to save a buck. I'm sure there are many great ideas.

I don't even try.

Time is more valuable to me.

 

[homer1475]

IO purple box, DIY 2 part.

 

[i cant think]

I don’t save… I just threaten the corals with fragging. I get my money back (Hopefully will be getting it back from my yumas soon).

 

[Dilan Patel]

Dollar Store=Reefers paradise for savings. Glue, containers, absorbent towels, turkey basters, razor blades, etc.

 

[LeftyReefer]

I turn frags into my LFS for store credit.

 

[CoralB]

Been resisting setting up a larger tank . It gets tough especially when I go to lfs and they have them set up with their empty new clones for sale sitting next to them . Great marketing !! . But I’m resisting and saving $$$$$

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

Buy in bulk when things go on sale. Use human grade seafood for big fish in fowlr (Cheaper than hobby grade). Exercise patience by not dosing a bunch of stuff when things go wrong.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Budget for the hobby like I do . . . . . .

 

[vetteguy53081]

I actually applied much of my overtime pay for the hobby not that salary would have not supported it.

 

[CoralB]

Budget for the hobby like I do . . . . . .

You must go through girlfriends lol !! . 10 bucks , That’s funny !!!

 

[Dkmoo]

Learn to DIY on hardware. 8020 extrude aluminum and pvc pipes are your friends.

 

[hockeyhead019]

I try and buy fish at my small local LFS, they always beat market prices and I don't have to pay for shipping.

Corals, I wait for the live sales because it's always a good bang for your buck. For daily things, making your own food is a great one! Other than that I don't have a ton of regular expenses that cost money. Switching to LEDs over other options was a good power conservation move, but other than that I've noticed there isn't too much to do for start up costs aside from DIY work (drilling your own tank, building your own sump etc)

 

[doubleshot00]

Feeding my fish is the last area im trying to save money.

I buy coral from reef shows. Especially att he end of the show where they want to get rid of stuff. I wait for sales on salt. And fish is the hardest to save at. Wait till July 4th and Black Friday for fish deals.

 

[DHill6]

I ask for forgiveness after it's bought lol

Hubby knows not to ask, he’d rather not know.
And…I’m not saying