You didn't really need this at all for your reef.....

[Mrsjesrobertson]

I have crap everywhere in the basement from gear to meds etc. Enough pickling lime for a few years of kalk and enough DE powder for several lifetimes. Hey its cheaper if you buy in bulk right? I'm just glad it's an unfinished basement and my GF doesn't complain. I also have plumbing leftovers in the shed and in my shop cuz you never know when you my need a piece of pvc or 10.

You’ve got me curious- I’ve not heard of using DE (assuming diatomaceous earth) in a reef aquarium?
And I’m sure your pvc stockpile is nothing compared to ours… hubby does HVAC and is self employed. So there’s always “I can use that on…”

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

I have a 5 gallon bucket of brightwell clarifi sw. it was given to me. Why i dont just dump it out and use the bucket for gardening is beyond me.

 

[Mrsjesrobertson]

great thread and question!
We started in the hobby almost 2 years ago with a 75 gal display with a 20 gal diy sump.
We didn’t know anything about qt or observation until a couple months later, and set up a 10 gal qt.
all the fish needed to come out for ich treatment so then we upgraded to 20. Then one was doing really bad, so we bought a 30(bc why not go bigger) to isolate him and use as a future obsv or qt…
2 years later:
We now have 2 100 gal sumps in our basement that we are plumbing into the 75 gal display. YAY no more hauling buckets up the stairs! And have plans to hook it to a future office tank, a drag grow out tank, and upgrade the display…
Oh and the 10 gal, 20gal tanks are empty in my office. The 30 is running but nothing in it right now. We keep it as an obsv when we get new livestock and then run it fishless in between.

 

[speedfreek1210]

Mostly additives for me, and used equipment that I’ve kept after an upgrade. Oh and buckets of rock.

 

[gibec]

I have some stuff i dont use anymore... but was never useless. I needed aiptasia x at one point... and now i dont need it...
brightwell's microbacteria... prazipro for flukes... polylab for ichs and velvet....
they are all useful, but I just dont need them anymore so it piles up... Of course they can be handy in the future though

 

[codenfx]

Yes tons of stuff I had bought I either end up not using or they don't work as well as I thought and some stuff I had upgraded, along with a bunch of old tanks. Most of the things are what if I need it later? And the hoard keeps going...

 

[oldmonk]

I'm having hard time to buy things i really need, let alone to buy anything that is not absolutely crucial and needed...

Donations welcome!

+1
and if at all it becomes available the prices are unnecessarily hiked...

 

[ComfortRacing]

Mostly stuff that came with my 120 gal reef setup i bought used but came with everything under the sun from apex to additives to a $900 Aqua UV sterilizer. However stuff i bought sunce then was only stuff i needed haha.

 

[UGASealDawg]

My biggest money waster isn't so much buying things I don't need, but rather things that either didn't work as advertised or most often - buying something for cheaper, but then I ended up upgrading shortly after, making the previous purchase worthless.

For example, when I did my QT on my current fish, I should have just bought the hannah tester from the start for copper. Instead, I bought a cheaper test, couldn't read it well. Bought a 2nd test, couldn't read it well either. Then I finally bought the Hannah.

That's like me. I am new reefer - long story but inherited a 120gal reef tank with the business I purchased in 2019. I was constantly being told to buy this, buy that by the couple of employees that I had that new reefing and took care of the tank. Then hurricane wiped out the 120 and I decided I wanted to learn and upgraded to a 180 system that I wanted to "do right" from the ground up. I learned a lot - a whole lot and a lot of it the painful way. I wanted full automation but also tried to be frugal when purchasing equipment. WRONG! I've learned to invest in the best equipment, period. Buying cheaper versions almost always ends up costing more in the end with a lot of frustration on the side. So I have about $2,000 worth of Hydros automation stuff - anybody want to buy it at a real discount? Barely used or still in original packaging.

Then I went through two skimmers that one, died after 2 months and two, was DOA. I ended up buying a Nyos and wish I would have done that from the beginning. Shipping costs to return, redoing plumbing, time wasted - ugh.

Same with the sump - 55 gal with $230 baffle kit. Just replaced it with the trigger 44. Another example of trying to save money that ended up costing me more in the end. And that was not a small effort to swap sumps on a "living" reef tank in a single day.

I also have backups on site for almost everything but that also includes several things that didn't perform as expected - so I have not one but two sitting not used. Hydros gyres anyone...

 

[Wasabiroot]

Definitely. Been keeping freshwater since 1997 - I have several large storage bins of old pumps/airstones/heaters/fittings and tons of extra crap i bought when i first started reefing that I ended up going in a different direction on.

You just...never know when you're gonna need something...especially with prices up. The smallest aquaclear filter is around 34 bucks now

 

[exnisstech]

You’ve got me curious- I’ve not heard of using DE (assuming diatomaceous earth) in a reef aquarium?
And I’m sure your pvc stockpile is nothing compared to ours… hubby does HVAC and is self employed. So there’s always “I can use that on…”

Yes on the DE. I use it in a polishing filter tho not often so. It will last many lifetimes. 30lb bags goes a long way since we don't use it in a pool filter. My pvc stock pile is probably more garbage than usable parts. Should probably start pitching some stuff. I always tell my gal the kids are gonna go nuts if we pass unexpectedly and they have to go through my stuff. Half of it they'll wonder why I kept it the other half they'll wonder what it is

 

[ReefRondo]

I have sooooo much stuff from upgrades, backups, things I bought and changed my mind…honestly sooo much gear it’s embarrassing. I hit gumtree earlier this year and had a clear out but I still have pretty much and entire room of stuff I’m not currently using.

 

[BuddyBonButt]

I bought a PH booster when I was new, learned it basically just increased alk

dang I did too, does it not boost ph levels? I was worried I might have a dip so I picked up a buffer

 

[dvgyfresh]

dang I did too, does it not boost ph levels? I was worried I might have a dip so I picked up a buffer

It does boost PH , but the issue is it raises alkalinity. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/content/post/md-2020-11-how-to-raise-ph-in-your-marine-aquarium
You want to achieve high PH through other means and figure out why yr PH is low (too much CO2?) ect

 

[Nano New]

I have several wavemakers that never were just right as I started with a really small nano tank and now have moved up to a bigger nano tank! Flow is a real challenge in a small environment. Also some Seachems Fusion 1 and 2 that I don't need to use as I do a weekly water change with NSW which keeps all my parameters good. Most of my spare equipment is from freshwater tanks and the small nano which I've shut down for now (but contemplating setting up again, I'm into suffering clearly).

 

[DarkReefer]

I think everything I've bought so far I've used at least once and was bought for a purpose.
Still means I've got a bunch of stuff sitting around though.
Ie. Fish acclimator/separator. I think it was a 3 chamber one and I've used it probably three times in the last 18 months.
Twice to stop fighting, and once in a naïve attempt to nurse a fish on it's deathbed (to keep the others from picking on it).

I also have a doser that's not currently being put to use since setting up my tank again a couple months ago.
It's on the cards to have it set back up this weekend however.

I think the missus has a tiny nano tank she bought on impulse that we put together and had running for a week in the bedroom before she got sick of the sound and we had to relocate it next to the fresh water tank.
Had it going a month or two using recycled water from my main tank, however we never got anything to put in there. (think it was originally going to be a nem tank).

 

[vetteguy53081]

I replied earlier. This is an example of what I was referring to;

 

[Nanojoe]

Dang, this hits home for all of us LOL.

Personally... its alot of DIY scraps as i like to build and plan building equipment... that also sometimes doesnt get built.
Wires, power adapters,PVC, small components like nozzles airline tubing, airstones, glue/epoxy. BUCKETS.. the list goes on!

 

[Brian-222]

The stuff I trip over until I box it up to send to friends that need it or can put it to use. Don’t dwell on what it is but helping others
The biggest thing now is box’s of Marco rock. Any takers lol

How big is your Macro rock? Do you have base and shelf?

 

[BuddyBonButt]

It does boost PH , but the issue is it raises alkalinity. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/content/post/md-2020-11-how-to-raise-ph-in-your-marine-aquarium
You want to achieve high PH through other means and figure out why yr PH is low (too much CO2?) ect

Think my bottle is garbage? Really don't want to hurt my fish