Rant: Can we make this less expensive without sacrificing quality?

[Kjames]

There is a guy that sells rolls, I forget the name but he is much cheaper. I haven't bought from him because certain mods you have to make for inlet pipe diameter. Also his micron is lower which would essentially go quicker and strip more.

Seems like I saw an ad for custom cut coolant filter rolls on Ebay once but can't find it anymore.

 

[Kjames]

Don’t buy into the salt hype. IO is good salt. Making your own fish food will literally save hundreds annually if you buy expensive food like LRS Reef Frenzy, Rod’s, etc. Even the foil packs are stupid expensive if you calculate cost per pound . Typical foil pack is 6 oz and usually at least $6/$7. So that’s $7/.375 lbs= $18.84 per pound. LRS is closer to $45/lb. You can buy a lot more than a pound of seafood for $45 (Asian grocery stores are great for cheap frozen seafood). I’ve found raw frozen seafood mixes for $3-$5 per pound.

You could easily reduce your water changes by 25-50%. Just try it and monitor if you are concerned. You can reduce by 10%, if all is still good, reduce by another 10%, etc.

Have you looked for ‘generic’ fleece rolls? I’d almost guarantee they exist, check eBay.

All good suggestions, thanks!

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Imagine washing a roll of toilet paper that didn't fall apart - you'd still have a heck of a time rolling all 50ft back up tight to reuse.

I will never look at TP the same way again.

 

[ConsummatePro]

I saw those, how you managed the inner core diameter. Also his paper has no chemicals or things like that correct?

I used some 2” flexible desk grommets from Amazon meant for allowing cables etc through a hole in a desk. Worked well with a bit of electrical tape wrapped around the stem to mate up better with his cores which were just a hair over 2”.

I definitely found it was taking out too many nitrates so I’ll likely bypass some of the inflow to my Reefmat next time (I’m back to the Red Sea one right now as I had one to use up).

I love not having to maintain and wash filter socks.

 

[arafas]

That is exactly why I got rid of mine. It absolutely killed my nitrate, to the point where it was lower than I wanted and I had to feed a lot. Plus my skimmer was basically useless with it. Maybe if they made one with 200 micron filter paper instead of 50 like most of them have it would be better. But in the end I was spending money on rolls, only to have to also feed more and my skimmer was more of an aerator. Like most people I hate spending money on consumables and pulled it off.

I think if OP switched to blue bucket and reduced water change by maybe 1/3 he would notice a good difference right there.

Red sea is 200 micron

 

[Devaji]

IDK if cheaper BUT you could stop doing water changes all together ( for the most part) and do the reef moon shiners methoid.
there is a large up front cost to get the elements + month ICP test sooo prob not cheaper but might be worth adding it all up.

I have been using IO/RC for years. of course I have never had full SPS takes but there ate tons of ppl that do.
if you want to still do heavy in heavy out and do AWC I would start there.

 

[flagg37]

Yeah, once I hit 120 gallons I stopped doing water changes. I only use mechanical filtration (socks) during any maintenance, and even took out my skimmer and went with a refugium instead. The fuge is my only source of nutrient export and I struggle to keep my nitrates above zero (my po4 is at 0.01 ppm too). Honestly, I think biological filtration does the vast majority of the work of reducing nutrients.

Nutrient export is just part of the equation when you stop doing water changes. I choose to dose kalkwasser (ATO is separate) for my alk and calcium needs. I also dose iron because my chaeto sucks up a bunch.

 

[Potatohead]

Red sea is 200 micron

does it actually last longer?

 

[BeanAnimal]

LoL salt is salt is salt… it is all the same… exactly the same.
You are paying extra for what they add… but then you go add ca/all/mag/trace anyway. Buy the cheapest nitrate/phosphate free mix you can get your hands on…. Insant ocean (not Reef crystals).

Buy in bulk with the club or a group buy. Save a fortune.

 

[mike550]

Just curious, as I've never used the fleece rollers, and sometimes use the socks (often nothing at all) why can't the fleece roll be washed? I was thinking it could be put in a net bag and washed...

@whybenormal the fleece is more like a strong toilet paper than fabric. I doubt it would hold up to any strong washing and then despoiling it would be challenging

 

[Roatan Reef]

I personally have never noticed a difference in my corals based off the salt mix I use. I have tried most of them and keep trying the new ones, but am now at the point I buy whatever is cheapest(which is usually specials on IO from Petco or Chewy). Usually can get it there cheaper than I can buy salt through my wholesalers. However I very rarely do water changes because the cost of dosing in my situation is much less than the cost of water changes. Obviously this only works if you do not need frequent water changes as part of controlling nutrients.

The fleece roller obviously you can save a lot of money using socks instead and cleaning them and reusing, but the extra cost is convenience.

Yep..IO Reef Crystals...if you look you will find...the bucket for $40.00 instead of $89.00 when on sale online...petco employees don't even know it's more than half off online, so just show them a live web page with the sale price, and they take care of you....huge savings!!!

 

[BeanAnimal]

Yep..IO Reef Crystals...if you look you will find...the bucket for $40.00 instead of $89.00 when on sale online...petco employees don't even know it's more than half off online, so just show them a live web page with the sale price, and they take care of you....huge savings!!!

Buy regular instant ocean. It is more consistent than Reef crystals. It is (regular IO) made in huge well mixed batches,

 

[arafas]

does it actually last longer?

Well it all depends in the size of the tank and bioload. I have a red sea 750xxl. I feed heavy with 18 fish. It lasts 25-30 days. I pump around 2500 gph

 

[Kjames]

IDK if cheaper BUT you could stop doing water changes all together ( for the most part) and do the reef moon shiners methoid.
there is a large up front cost to get the elements + month ICP test sooo prob not cheaper but might be worth adding it all up.

I have been using IO/RC for years. of course I have never had full SPS takes but there ate tons of ppl that do.
if you want to still do heavy in heavy out and do AWC I would start there.

I'm not familiar with this. Will have to look it up.

 

[Kjames]

Changing to the Red Sea Blue bucket seems like a no-brainer.

For all you Instant Ocean users, are there some generally accepted additions of trace elements for this salt mix in SPS dominant systems? Just curious since it's been around for so long. I'm in the "if you don't test for it, don't add it" camp here.

 

[Devaji]

I'm not familiar with this. Will have to look it up.

here is a FB pages lots of info to get you started.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1755992217822887

here is his webpage:

reefmoonshiners.com

Reef Moonshiner's

www.reefmoonshiners.com

 

[Kjames]

here is a FB pages lots of info to get you started.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1755992217822887

here is his webpage:

reefmoonshiners.com

Reef Moonshiner's

www.reefmoonshiners.com

Thanks! Just requested membership.

 

[Devaji]

Thanks! Just requested membership.

to fully understand the method you should read the handbook. ( witch I have not ) but the FB group and get you heading in the right direction to see if its something you want to invest time into.
good luck!