Opinions on a new toy

[homer1475]

You buy one then just exchage for a filled one.
That way you always are running a tank that has been certified. $30 to exchange for a 10lb im my area.

For a 5 pound cylinder filled is 45$ without exchange. To exchange a cylinder it's $20. new cylinder on BRS is 70$.

Of course prices are different around the country, I just can't see buying a shiny new cylinder only to have it exchanged for 25$ more.

I'm just going to leave those quotes there. Apparently people have a reading comprehension issue lately.

Not only that, but your brand new 70$ shiny cylinder, just got traded in for a dirty one, thats been around the block more then a few times.

In an exchange program like this, I would never have bought a brand new one. I would have just gone to airgas and purchased one of theirs for 25$ less then an empty new one, then just kept trading it in.

Of course if you can get them filled, then by all means buy the brand new shiny one.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I'm just going to leave those quotes there. Apparently people have a reading comprehension issue lately.

Not only that, but your brand new 70$ shiny cylinder, just got traded in for a dirty one, thats been around the block more then a few times.

In an exchange program like this, I would never have bought a brand new one. I would have just gone to airgas and purchased one of theirs for 25$ less then an empty new one, then just kept trading it in.

Of course if you can get them filled, then by all means buy the brand new shiny one.

My comprehension is just fine thank you. ...you seem quite upset about this topic : (

I’ve never gotten a tank “filled” in my life... all I have ever accomplished is trading an empty for a full, so.. yeah, I get it. Yes, I probably should have bought some individual pieces instead of buying a kit. I actually called BRS to try and stop them from shipping this too me.. it looks like I called to late. I still have not decided if I will return it all without unboxing anything. Finding equipment these days is almost impossible (Covid sux). If I keep everything, I already have to replace the pump.

I don’t know... hell I drank $75 worth of Scotch last night. Lol

 

[X-37B]

My comprehension is just fine thank you. ...you seem quite upset about this topic : (

I’ve never gotten a tank “filled” in my life... all I have ever accomplished is trading an empty for a full, so.. yeah, I get it. Yes, I probably should have bought some individual pieces instead of buying a kit. I actually called BRS to try and stop them from shipping this too me.. it looks like I called to late. I still have not decided if I will return it all without unboxing anything. Finding equipment these days is almost impossible (Covid sux). If I keep everything, I already have to replace the pump.

I don’t know... hell I drank $75 worth of Scotch last night. Lol

Mine is fine too lol.
My wife is a welder.
Due to osha regs, at least in ca, you just exchange your cylinder for a refilled one.
You can have the same one refilled but it takes at least 24hrs, sometimes longer.
Its not like a propane cylinder and the tank and valve must be inspected prior to filling.
If a "shiny new one" is a must have then get 2. Then you will always have a shiny new one to look at lol.
And yea its been around the block because they get used much quicker in industry than we use ours.
I know a beer guy that has a shiny red one and gets it filled when empty.
But he is not in a hurry and is very ocd lol.

 

[BrandonS]

Mine is fine too lol.
My wife is a welder.
Due to osha regs, at least in ca, you just exchange your cylinder for a refilled one.
You can have the same one refilled but it takes at least 24hrs, sometimes longer.
Its not like a propane cylinder and the tank and valve must be inspected prior to filling.
If a "shiny new one" is a must have then get 2. Then you will always have a shiny new one to look at lol.
And yea its been around the block because they get used much quicker in industry than we use ours.
I know a beer guy that has a shiny red one and gets it filled when empty.
But he is not in a hurry and is very ocd lol.

Not at all how it works at the place near me. Filling only takes 10minutes and he only fills. No exchange. But he is a independent shop and not a large corporation like airgas. He is in watsonville, CA.

That would be frustrating to wait 24hrs to fill or exchange a nice cylinder for something someone dropped a half a dozen times. I feel for you. Where in CA?

 

[BrandonS]

I don't know if anyone asked yet. What is the size of your tank? Any pictures? How long was your break from the hobby? Is your plan wall to wall SPS eventually? Mixed reef? What did you used to do, dosing or never worried about it?

 

[X-37B]

Not at all how it works at the place near me. Filling only takes 10minutes and he only fills. No exchange. But he is a independent shop and not a large corporation like airgas. He is in watsonville, CA.

That would be frustrating to wait 24hrs to fill or exchange a nice cylinder for something someone dropped a half a dozen times. I feel for you. Where in CA?

Redding, good old Norcal.
4 years till retirement then goodby Ca lol.
Grew up in San Jose.
Maybe your guy does the inspection if he is a small shop.
Wife just told me that the shops here are not setup to refill as they are large industrial shops.
Makes sense.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I don't know if anyone asked yet. What is the size of your tank? Any pictures? How long was your break from the hobby? Is your plan wall to wall SPS eventually? Mixed reef? What did you used to do, dosing or never worried about it?

Everything I have done n my tank is on my build thread.

Wall to wall SPS? No... it will end up being a mixed reef still. SPS dominant.... I have a 200 gallon tank. I took a 15 year break from the hobby. Back then, I really couldn’t afford this hobby. I never really graduated above softies. I never made it to dosing the first time in this hobby.

I can see me having to top part of my tank all SPS, a few LPS and a some clams down low.

Does that answer your question? : )

 

[X-37B]

Everything I have done n my tank is on my build thread.

Wall to wall SPS? No... it will end up being a mixed reef still. SPS dominant.... I have a 200 gallon tank. I took a 15 year break from the hobby. Back then, I really couldn’t afford this hobby. I never really graduated above softies. I never made it to dosing the first time in this hobby.

I can see me having to top part of my tank all SPS, a few LPS and a some clams down low.

Does that answer your question? : )

I took a 20 year break.
Now I feel old lol.

 

[BrandonS]

Everything I have done n my tank is on my build thread.

Wall to wall SPS? No... it will end up being a mixed reef still. SPS dominant.... I have a 200 gallon tank. I took a 15 year break from the hobby. Back then, I really couldn’t afford this hobby. I never really graduated above softies. I never made it to dosing the first time in this hobby.

I can see me having to top part of my tank all SPS, a few LPS and a some clams down low.

Does that answer your question? : )

That answers the question with a 200 gallon tank a calcium reactor will be nice when you get some good colonies as the uptake I would imagine would start to be to much for 2 part dosing. Outpacing evaporation. Would be curious if anyone has experience with that. Just trying to fill in the information gap and thought it'd be fun to talk about the build. That's the fun part for me. I will have to check out your build thread!

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

That answers the question with a 200 gallon tank a calcium reactor will be nice when you get some good colonies as the uptake I would imagine would start to be to much for 2 part dosing. Outpacing evaporation. Would be curious if anyone has experience with that. Just trying to fill in the information gap and thought it'd be fun to talk about the build. That's the fun part for me. I will have to check out your build thread!

That is one of the reasons I decided to get a calcium reactor... from what I’ve learned, purely dosing calcium would get more and more expensive over time. The phase I am in right now is filling in gaps in my equipment while my tank matures so that on the day I bring home that first coral, I’ll already be in the right place. Laying a solid foundation right now.

I just got a neptune.... mostly up and running... if I could get a Trident system, I’d already have it. If I could get the DOS dosing system... I’d already have it. I knew I would end up going down the calcium reactor path eventually, so..., I just did it.

 

[BrandonS]

Redding, good old Norcal.
4 years till retirement then goodby Ca lol.
Grew up in San Jose.
Maybe your guy does the inspection if he is a small shop.
Wife just told me that the shops here are not setup to refill as they are large industrial shops.
Makes sense.

Yeah my guy inspects everything himself. I hand him the tank and looks for certification as well. Which he happily charges for when due. Lol. Central coast is still a lot of small shops. They keep the big guys out. I used to drive past Redding a lot on my way to Oregon. Pretty country. Hot in the summer though.

 

[SVTour]

From what I've seen in the past 15 years on this (including my own CO2 bottles)

- Most welding shops have CO2, and will fill your bottle provided it's not expired (5 years on test or from new date). Cost is typically $15 to $20. If you're expired, you're out of luck.

- Most beer distributors will request an exchange for a fill, providing your bottle is not expired. They typically keep a few in for those of us with kegorators. Cost is typically $20 to $25. Same gas, same bottle.

- Most gas specialty places will offer to fill your bottle, or exchange if you are expired. Exchanged typically run $25 to $35 + cost of the fill (additional $10 to $15). I've never had an issue getting them to fill my bottles...but your bottle must be in good condition, and note that you should not accept a steel bottle or handle in your exchange, or it can rust quickly. While mine is in an open fishroom, I'm sure it would be hard to isolate from your tank/sump.

- If you're in love with your bottle (which, from new you may be), a fire and safety location will test your bottle. Plan to be without it for 2 to 4 weeks while getting tested. Cost will run you $40 to $50 and comes filled upon return. Obviously, it makes the exchange places nice...

My job requires me to find some pretty rare gasses (namely SF6 and nitrogen) in some pretty remote areas. I have a hard time believing that CO2 is not readily available in most locations at one of the 4 types of places I've listed above. Plumbers and bars would have a hard time without...

 

[BrandonS]

That is one of the reasons I decided to get a calcium reactor... from what I’ve learned, purely dosing calcium would get more and more expensive over time. The phase I am in right now is filling in gaps in my equipment while my tank matures so that on the day I bring home that first coral, I’ll already be in the right place. Laying a solid foundation right now.

I just got a neptune.... mostly up and running... if I could get a Trident system, I’d already have it. If I could get the DOS dosing system... I’d already have it. I knew I would end up going down the calcium reactor path eventually, so..., I just did it.

Mr. Saltwatertank on YouTube just did a good video about 13 years in the hobby and he was a big proponent of laying a good foundation and not cheaping out on the important stuff. Sounds like you are on track