Tricks to save money!

TimReef · Mar 17, 2017

So, since this hobby is extremely expensive and I was wondering how do/can we save money in this Saltwater aquarium life?

(Someone at the store the other day told me that you can buy cheap $1.00 super glue at the dollar store to glue down the corals However he could not remember the name of the brand. Does anyone know what brand this is??)

Post all of the easy safest tips to save money!

badd · Mar 17, 2017

TimReef said:
So, since this hobby is extremely expensive and I was wondering how do/can we save money in this Saltwater aquarium life?

(Someone at the store the other day told me that you can buy cheap $1.00 super glue at the dollar store to glue down the corals However he could not remember the name of the brand. Does anyone know what brand this is??)

Post all of the easy safest tips to save money!

Just good ole gel super glue... 3 pack for dollar.. at DG..

lambchops · Mar 17, 2017

I use Loctite Gel Control.

re76 · Mar 17, 2017

Anything that is

TimReef said:
So, since this hobby is extremely expensive and I was wondering how do/can we save money in this Saltwater aquarium life?

(Someone at the store the other day told me that you can buy cheap $1.00 super glue at the dollar store to glue down the corals However he could not remember the name of the brand. Does anyone know what brand this is??)

Post all of the easy safest tips to save money!

Anything that is cyanoacrylate based should be good. Although make sure it is a gel kind. Some of the non-gel ones are just too runny to be of any use.

Jofiel · Mar 17, 2017

I like the 10 piece from harbor freight for $3.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-super-glue-gel-68349.html

Freakyyfort · Mar 17, 2017

What I use. Cheap and last a while.. no ill effects

ahiggins · Mar 17, 2017

when I frag coral off plugs, I nip off the long plug part and keep it for the use of attachment for mushrooms and leathers when I frag those.

mdlc805 · Mar 17, 2017

I gwt glue from the 99 cent store it's a 2 pack of gel style super glue

rich nyc · Mar 17, 2017

I find that from the local forums, if you troll the market section you can always find cheap items. Sometimes even free stuff.

hart24601 · Mar 17, 2017

Freakyyfort said:
What I use. Cheap and last a while.. no ill effects

My favorite right there! I swear my reef is made of that stuff. 15g and it really does reseal well with that cap.

Sabellafella · Mar 17, 2017

TimReef said:
So, since this hobby is extremely expensive and I was wondering how do/can we save money in this Saltwater aquarium life?

(Someone at the store the other day told me that you can buy cheap $1.00 super glue at the dollar store to glue down the corals However he could not remember the name of the brand. Does anyone know what brand this is??)

Post all of the easy safest tips to save money!

Any type of cyanoacrylite. But its almost the same amount of glue as just buying a 5 dollar ic gel lol

Paullawr · Mar 17, 2017

Old plastic cards ( ie credit/store cards) are good as make shift algae scrapers for both glass and acrylic tanks. For most algae they will suffice.

Purchase of wadding used in quilts etc by the roll works out far cheaper (by a country mile) over aquarium branded filter floss.

Make your own filter socks as well with felt. DIY tutorial on here.

Egg crate. Stuff is a god send in this hobby. I have an aquamedic blenny tank. One of those all in ones. The only issue with it was the back filtration compartment.
It wouldnt take a filter sock without sacrificing something else. So i built with egg crate a small filter box. Cable tied together. Using some of the floss mentioned earlier it captures a lot of particulate waste and reduces skimmer bubbles (see picture).

Save money with smart purchases and try to avoid the bug if buying because it's meant to be good.

GFO I only buy generic stuff. Keeps cost down. Works well enough for me.

Activated carbon. I have two types in store. One cheap grade lager pellet (bought in 5 litre tubs). I use a handful with GFO in reactor and change weekly.
Rox 0.8 in filter bag (roughly 300ml), passive usage. Change monthly.

This way the good stuff isn't refreshed as often especially as it has a higher absorbtion capability. Whilst the cheaper can be tossed out weekly but does have a higher contact time with water passing around it thanks to the reactor.

Algae scrubbers good addition. Cheaper than running a bunch of chemicals if the rock ain't up to it.

Basically try not to get caught in the whole chemical cleaning process too much. You end up paying a fortune and dablling all to often. That in itself can run risks of causing water quality issues.

Though one addition which is liquid gold in my opinion is the reef prodibio biokit reef. 30 vials which will last just over a year at 60 weeks. Keeps nutrients low with bacteria and adds iodine and strontium.
The difference with this is that the water looks crystal. It's not exepensive either in my book and bi weekly dosing is not labour intensive.

Buy the equipment you want sooner than later instead of cheap then upgrading.
I can testify to this myself. Went through a number of jebao rw4 and 8 pumps, a jebao cross flow and WiFi controllers before buying an MP10. I'd of saved a couple of hundred quid just buying the MP10.

Happy reefing.

Jofiel · Mar 17, 2017

Has anyone mentioned Asian markets yet? I buy nori and other seaweeds there for just a couple bucks a package. I also get these herb bags that I use for carbon. A package of 16 was like 1.50.

I also buy fish seafood for homemade fish food. Cost is about 1/10th of prepared frozen foods and I feel like I add more variety! They always have some nice roe, clams, mussels, squid, etc...