Turbo Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Hi, Does anyone know where to buy premixed saltwater other than from seahorse or petco? Thanks Turbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Upscales for sure, and I think Cuttlefish and Corals too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Jeff for sure not sure about Woody's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 (edited) Cuttlefish in Portland and Ocean in a Box in Vancouver Edited December 22, 2014 by XrayGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumberland Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Pets on Broadway has it, though I'm not convinced on their quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Pets on Broadway has it, though I'm not convinced on their quality. Uh oh, one of the schools in TFT gets water from there. What problems have you had? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumberland Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Uh oh, one of the schools in TFT gets water from there. What problems have you had? Mostly just irregular gravity, ranging from 1.018-1.028 (through usually around 1.024). I did have a couple of instances of minor phophate level increases, but it's possible that's not related. Nothing that would really cause any problems, but it kind of encouraged me to go the home RO route. I pretty much only ever bought saltwater there since it was on my way home from work, so it might be within the regular margin of error. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thank you everyone! Turbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I am pretty sure that Ocean In A Box in Vancouver sells it premixed also, if you are in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 (edited) Turbo, welcome to pnwmas. This is where we will teach you all about how to make your own saltwater and save you soooo much time money and headaches. These items are all MUST haves, so save your pennies and thank me later. RODI unit- can usually be bought for $100. Watch classifieds, or post in the wtb section. Some of these guys probably have a half dozen unused to units collecting dust. *reefer MUST have. Refractometer- buy one locally at a LFS, or online for about $35. Skip the cheap plastic hydrometers. *reefer MUST have Bag of salt. Cuttlefish or TPA in Salem both have great deals on quality salt. *reefer MUST have 5 to 40gal bucket/cans Depending on the size of your tank...for my 150 I have 2 brute 35 gallon containers to mix salt in. *reefer MUST have An old powerhead. Optional An old heater. Optional Salt can be mixed by hand if your tank isn't too big. It can also be brought to room temperature, which should suffice as long as your water changes aren't huge(I recommend no more than 10%, unless if emergency). Measure(1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water), mix for a couple hours with a powerhead and bring water to tank temp. Some people mix for a day, some mix for a short time. Both methods can work, I have mixed overnight and I have mixed for 10 minutes. Modern salt is great...many years ago we really had to stir it to get it to mix. sometimes holding water for long periods of time in plastic containers can cause phosphate leeching...most stores have great mixing systems, yet I still feel it's best to mix when needed. Edited December 24, 2014 by Mandinga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitrillion Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Jeff has good quality and is a buck a gal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) Jeff has good quality and is a buck a galI can understand why a LFS would charge $1/gallon...and I hope you can understand why I would not in a million years pay anywhere close to that price for mixed saltwater...see my previous post on the simplicity of mixing quality salts. I think it will benefit LFS more if people make their own water...it's just not a long term hobby for people who buy premixed saltwater. On the other hand, it is a GReAT short term solution for new hobbyists who haven't quite committed and bought a quality RODI unit. Edited December 31, 2014 by Mandinga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitrillion Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I can understand why a LFS would charge $1/gallon...and I hope you can understand why I would not in a million years pay anywhere close to that price for mixed saltwater...see my previous post on the simplicity of mixing quality salts. I think it will benefit LFS more if people make their own water...it's just not a long term hobby for people who buy premixed saltwater. On the other hand, it is a GReAT short term solution for new hobbyists who haven't quite committed and bought a quality RODI unit. Ya I haven't committed to buying a rodi unit! Cost about 180 total if u add everything up! Got to buy light and other stuff before I go for rodi! How much is premixed salt and how much does it make? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Box of kent salt is about $40, and makes 200 gallons. There is a place that sells cheap rodi units for around $100...I forget name of place...like air water something or other...dang I forget. Maybe someone will chime in. Save your pennies, it'll be well worth it...then when you go to cuttlefish you can buy corals and fish and avoid lugging water around town! Edited January 7, 2015 by Mandinga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Air Water and Ice. They are still a sponsor I just ordered some harder to find plumbing parts from them. I got my RODI from them too. Love that place. There has been a very very long debate on which salt is best. IMO you get what you pay for. Kent is the cheapest but after having a bad experience with them I am sticking to Reef Crystals or Red Sea Coral Pro for the immediate future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I got a attach to sink rodi unit; 100gpd, 5 filters with replacements from purewaterclub.com for $124 shipped. Been using 6 months now and still 0 tds on my first set of filters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitrillion Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Pm me feather blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Heres a link to the one I went with http://www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=95&products_id=494 Theres several options for "portable" units other than the one i picked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteRock Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I've tried making my own RO/DI and found it to be a big pain. Maybe I just had a crappy unit (One of those pure water club 6 stage units). Found I was pouring so much water down the drain to what I was keeping. Plus it took FOREVER!! Now I buy my water from the Glacier dispensers at Safeway. $7 for 20 gallons. Fills up in about 10 mins. Bring the jugs home mix them with Kent in a plastic garbage bin and pump it into the tank. Super easy, only thing that is a pain is carrying the jugs up my front porch, but that's just coz I'm lazy. Sometimes the water is really cold, but I have a heater and a pump in garbage can to mix/pump the salt while it heats up. For those of you who make your water don't you find the amount of waste water adds up? Especially with sewer rates as high as they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Pete - one reason you may have had higher waste rates is not enough pressure. If your plumbing can't keep up a booster pump should be used to increase efficiency. As far as sewer rates go, I have mine in the garage and it dumps waste water into my pond out front. Have also used it to water the lawn. In general if your spending about $180 on a RODI and $40 on Kent salt the break even price is going to happen at around 300 gals depending on water cost where you live (and not counting filter costs). For people with nanos and smaller tanks, this probably doesn't make sense. For me with a 210 chugging through topoff water I like the convenience and piece of mind that I can have water ready in my garage for anything that happens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I've tried making my own RO/DI and found it to be a big pain. Maybe I just had a crappy unit (One of those pure water club 6 stage units). Found I was pouring so much water down the drain to what I was keeping. Plus it took FOREVER!! Now I buy my water from the Glacier dispensers at Safeway. $7 for 20 gallons. Fills up in about 10 mins. Bring the jugs home mix them with Kent in a plastic garbage bin and pump it into the tank. Super easy, only thing that is a pain is carrying the jugs up my front porch, but that's just coz I'm lazy. Sometimes the water is really cold, but I have a heater and a pump in garbage can to mix/pump the salt while it heats up. For those of you who make your water don't you find the amount of waste water adds up? Especially with sewer rates as high as they are? Or you can be like me and live in an apartment where I can freely dump as much waste water down the drain without any consequences. Unless of course you consider the huge implication about wasted water and it's effect on the environment. That's a different story. I have no idea how efficient my unit is, probably not very, it's pretty cheap. I have the waste line going into the same place as the water drain for the washing machine so I never see or hear it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 First RODI unit I had didn't have an auto shut off switch...so when the bucket filled up, it kept pumping water down the drain unless I turned the faucet off. Took me a couple years to find the auto shut off kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icepikbiker Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I rent my place so my only cost is filter replacement. My tap water quality is actually pretty good here and pressure is 80-90psi from tap, TDS into my RODI unit is 19-21 same filters for around a year (DI is running out finally) with 0 TDS output. Haven't measured it out yet but I'm thinking I'm getting about a 2:3 good to bad ratio, my 50 gpd unit will fill my 44 gal brute can over night. My unit has a floot auto shut off on it so I just start it before bed and its usually filled when I get up in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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