I love Instant Ocean!

[Jedi1199]

I have ahem' ridden the 'night train' express. I was more of a T-Bird or Boones farm guy. It's all swill, lol.

Those poor fish, poor ornamental fish.

More of a mixed drink type here.. used to get the bottom shelf "Takka" vodka... No more.. I go middle shelf now. Not wasting money on the top shelf stuff since I mix it with soda.. but I will never again buy the cheap garbage.. too many "days after the night before" lol

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

More of a mixed drink type here.. used to get the bottom shelf "Takka" vodka... No more.. I go middle shelf now. Not wasting money on the top shelf stuff since I mix it with soda.. but I will never again buy the cheap garbage.. too many "days after the night before" lol

Good ol takka and some donald duck oj, the choice beverage for an 'ornamental fish'. Senior Airman's pay was crap almost 30 years ago and so was my taste buds.

 

[Jedi1199]

The DD OJ wasn't bad. The Takka was awful!! I had to switch to 7up for mixer.. the OJ was killing my stomach.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Cost is most certainly a factor for most I am sure.

That is a big reason I use it. Yes, there is a level of brown gunk that precipitates from it. Seems to be most prevalent in the mixing station and not the display tanks.

Just a couple days ago I dumped an entire batch of SW due to the fact that the brown gunk had gotten so bad. I cleaned everything in my mixing station, collection can, mixing can, pumps and heaters... Now it looks as clean and clear as if it was brand new. If a 6 or 12 month cleaning is the only drawback to using it, I will happily perform the maintenance

I get that same brown build up using Red Sea

 

[Jedi1199]

I get that same brown build up using Red Sea

So the higher priced stuff doesn't mean no precipitation.. interesting.

 

[ReefAddict16]

I’ve switched from regular instant ocean to reef crystals and have noticed better polyp extension.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

So the higher priced stuff doesn't mean no precipitation.. interesting.

Haha not unless you pay for top shelf like tsm or esv salt

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I've used like 5 different salts. I just use the purple io now. Lol.
YOU GO GIRL! Good for you right on. So happy for u. Lol.
The little ro buddy for like $69 isn't bad. Think it's a basic 3 stage but has an ro membrane. U could add a di stage cheap and a flush valve. Think u tube has a vid about adding the flush valve.

I'd have to think about where to add the di canister but just get a garden hose hook up and ur good.

I won mine in a raffle and figured I'd be doing this the rest of my.life so your water clarity from the get go is not a bad thing to invest in.
I recommend air water and ice out.of.flordia for all rodi needs. Even questions..they will answer a phone call.for crying out.louds. lol.

Again happy.for u.
-D

 

[Jedi1199]

Haha not unless you pay for top shelf like tsm or esv salt

Spending 4-5x as much to avoid cleaning a garbage can once or twice a year seems silly. With as many reefers that use IORC, I can't justify the price for the sake of what is an hour of work twice a year.

 

[Duncan62]

For me it was cost/convenience and what I started with not knowing anything about it. And that brand definitely had mixed reviews with mainly bad ones I learned at least in regards to a reef tank. You live and you learn.

You'd be surprised by the number of high quality growers use io salt. I switched to it mid 80s and never looked back. I'm pretty sure Algea barn uses it. I know they did in the past. Some of the great expert reefers here use it. There's a reason they were the standard for over 30 years. Good luck with it. Ohhh. It's still 39 bucks a bucket on chewy. 70 to 90 other places.

 

[Duncan62]

For my 20 gallon tank the around $200 cost of a good RODI unit is not justified for me right now. Of course it is if you have a huge tank or a dedicated tank room behind the scenes then it makes more sense.

RObuddy. 69 bucks. Makes 50 gallons a day. Easy cartridge change. You can use it then stow it in the cabinate till needed again.

 

[fishmonkey]

I wouldn’t cheap out on an rodi system if you are into this long term. 5 stage at least. I like spectrapure. Good quality and customer service but brs works too. Also out of curiosity what’s your mixing time for the reef crystals? Heater or no heater?

 

[Duncan62]

I've used like 5 different salts. I just use the purple io now. Lol.
YOU GO GIRL! Good for you right on. So happy for u. Lol.
The little ro buddy for like $69 isn't bad. Think it's a basic 3 stage but has an ro membrane. U could add a di stage cheap and a flush valve. Think u tube has a vid about adding the flush valve.

I'd have to think about where to add the di canister but just get a garden hose hook up and ur good.

I won mine in a raffle and figured I'd be doing this the rest of my.life so your water clarity from the get go is not a bad thing to invest in.
I recommend air water and ice out.of.flordia for all rodi needs. Even questions..they will answer a phone call.for crying out.louds. lol.

Again happy.for u.
-D

Ro buddy, the 69 buck one, comes with ro membrane and di cartridge. I added a second di. 0 tds. It's small bit effective. You don't need to spend a fortune to make your own water. Ro buddy works. No repacking loose resin. Just change cartridge. I make 15 gallons a week and it's easy. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Dburr1014]

I wouldn’t cheap out on an rodi system if you are into this long term. 5 stage at least. I like spectrapure. Good quality and customer service but brs works too. Also out of curiosity what’s your mixing time for the reef crystals? Heater or no heater?

You can always add filters as funds become available.
I bought a used system and added the brs di saver. One of my best purchases.

 

[alabella1]

I did see a $70 one but I read mixed reviews. I’ll probably end up buying the one from BRS.

I have a BRS 5 stage premium plus unit I'm selling. I have the booster pump and the electronic shutoff kit as well for it. It's in great shape. I recently upgraded my tank from 65 to 155 so I needed a bigger RODI so I grabbed the 7 stage with water saver and all that. Sent you a PM as well.

 

[alabella1]

ICYMI Petsmart is doing crazy deals on IO salt atm. I just bought 11 buckets of the purple and with 35% autoship and save, Honey gift card deal and a $5 petsmart bonus coupon thing I paid under $300 for 11 buckets. I should be good for awhile, lol.

 

[sfin52]

I did a bucket of the IO salt once (The purple bucket) it was cheaper but I didn't really see any difference. I stick with the Reef Crystals because I have a TON of corals. The cost difference is not worth the possibility of losing stock. Similar to running premium gas in my car... Is the $2 savings at the pump worth possibly destroying a $4000 turbocharger?

After I'm out of io I'm going to back to iorc too. I like it better not that there's anything wrong with io. I much prefer rc.

 

[alabella1]

After I'm out of io I'm going to back to iorc too. I like it better not that there's anything wrong with io. I much prefer rc.

I've gone back and forth. Honestly I hate the brown film the RC leaves in my bucket and the smell too. I don't seem to have these issues with the purple

 

[BZOFIQ]

... Is the $2 savings at the pump worth possibly destroying a $4000 turbocharger?

Gas must be cheap around your way.