VILLAIN Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hi guys, some of you might remembering helping me with some questions few weeks back. But anyone is welcome with open arms to offer your advice here. After spending the last few weeks reading here and there, I've actually even more confused than ever. Seems like even very experience reefers around the world have opinions that are very much in contrast with one another. My tank is now in the house but it's still dry and will be dry for quite sometime unless I can work out what kind of water do I want in the first place. I mean this the most fundamental issue isn't it? No one is gonna have an aquarium if they do not have water. Even though I only have 2 options here, NSW or saltmix. I now have no idea which direction I'm heading. Too many pros and cons. What is your opinion? Maybe I should state that a RO/DI is not within my means now as I've already blown all my money getting the tank, MH, skimmer and return pump.... Thanks in advance. Best Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Qxnviolet Posted January 11, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hrmz, there was a recent poll and the results indicated a majority of reefers prefer mixing their own saltwater. Do a search and i think u'll be able to find it. For me, i prefer mixing my own water. Give me more peace of mind though im sure alot of reefers experience success with NSW too. Quote My Newbie Tank Thread My Blog All pics taken with CanoN!~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member colinsoon Posted January 11, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 11, 2006 i got 2 tanks, 1 with NSW and the other with mixed water. i never have any problems with both, so i think i am gonna switch to NSW fully for both my tank, cos its cheaper in a sense and also easier to manage, except it takes up a lot of space in the house... if ya haf any queries or watsoever i can try to help u out.. juz pm me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member cdckjn Posted January 11, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 11, 2006 what I did when I was starting was this . . . not that you should follow me. I went to Punggol beach and collect a pail of sea water. Pour into tank, then run it through the filter, then check the specific gravity then add salt to te necessary s.g. It works, the fishes can survive for 2 months until the eventual crash due to the fact that it was only a 1ft tank - (it was my trial) now I have a 2ft tank and I now mix my own water using tap water and put in the anti-chlorine treatment (buy from LFS) and then add in the salt. It works also. I am also aware that most LFS sell the Natural Sea Water (NSW) as a pack. So the choice is yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member itchyhand Posted January 12, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 12, 2006 Hi guys, some of you might remembering helping me with some questions few weeks back. But anyone is welcome with open arms to offer your advice here. After spending the last few weeks reading here and there, I've actually even more confused than ever. Seems like even very experience reefers around the world have opinions that are very much in contrast with one another. My tank is now in the house but it's still dry and will be dry for quite sometime unless I can work out what kind of water do I want in the first place. I mean this the most fundamental issue isn't it? No one is gonna have an aquarium if they do not have water. Even though I only have 2 options here, NSW or saltmix. I now have no idea which direction I'm heading. Too many pros and cons. What is your opinion? Maybe I should state that a RO/DI is not within my means now as I've already blown all my money getting the tank, MH, skimmer and return pump.... Thanks in advance. Best Regards. My tank is abt 10mths old. Initial was using saltmix. Later buy from LFS. I feel that sometimes just don't take matters too seriously. I was so particular abt water cleanliness that i change 20% water every wk. But nothing spectacular really happens to my tank. Now I'm changing water every mth. I think either 1 of the choices are ok. So long as the water from LFS is gd, then I think it just boils down to a matter of convenience to top up water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member tineng Posted January 12, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 12, 2006 i was on NSW for a year before switch....2 main reason... 1) my new place got no lift.... 2) I realsie that SPS tank do best with undectable nitrate in the water, so no choice have to mix. IMO NSW is good for most kind of system provided you can get a reliable supplier. In fact, i dare stay the NSW is much cheaper then mixing....also my fill is if you are going to do saltmix, no point using tapwater, go for distill, DI or RO water - thus increasing the cost of saltmix further.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member jd_n Posted January 12, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 12, 2006 Hi guys, some of you might remembering helping me with some questions few weeks back. But anyone is welcome with open arms to offer your advice here. After spending the last few weeks reading here and there, I've actually even more confused than ever. Seems like even very experience reefers around the world have opinions that are very much in contrast with one another. My tank is now in the house but it's still dry and will be dry for quite sometime unless I can work out what kind of water do I want in the first place. I mean this the most fundamental issue isn't it? No one is gonna have an aquarium if they do not have water. Even though I only have 2 options here, NSW or saltmix. I now have no idea which direction I'm heading. Too many pros and cons. What is your opinion? Maybe I should state that a RO/DI is not within my means now as I've already blown all my money getting the tank, MH, skimmer and return pump.... Thanks in advance. Best Regards. Juz go with saltmix. Save the hassle of usin NSW. Run ample P04 media from start and replace when necessary. RO/DI unit, hav or dun hav, i will also run P04 media. This will keep ur P04 at check frm start. Do not worry abt other things as u hav not go thru the cycling process yet. Juz make sure ur LRs and sand(if u intend to hav a sandbed) are in before u start cycling ur tank. Make sure u hav at least 80% LRs in for cycling or better still all the LRs u need. This will prevent kickin off a mini cycling process in future. Go thru proper cyclin period and chk parameters with reputable testkits before stockin up. And do stock up slowly as ur system is new. Quote There are 2 types of person, those that chose learn n do it rite the first time and those tat chose to learn it the hard way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samchenz Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Hi, I started with salt mixed water since i began in this hobby. In my opinion, NSW seems troublesome..need to carry from the LFS to home...also may not be clean etc (maybe other reefers here may have reliable water source) suggest go for DI salt mixed water...just my personal opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member cornyfish Posted January 12, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 12, 2006 No difference between scooping the seawater off the beach yourself and buying NSW from the LFS.. Cos they all come from the same source -> the sea! So if you're gonna lug big packs of water back from the LFS, might as well collect yourself from the beach... free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Ah-lim Posted January 12, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 12, 2006 Juz go with saltmix. Save the hassle of usin NSW. Run ample P04 media from start and replace when necessary. RO/DI unit, hav or dun hav, i will also run P04 media. This will keep ur P04 at check frm start. Do not worry abt other things as u hav not go thru the cycling process yet. Juz make sure ur LRs and sand(if u intend to hav a sandbed) are in before u start cycling ur tank. Make sure u hav at least 80% LRs in for cycling or better still all the LRs u need. This will prevent kickin off a mini cycling process in future. Go thru proper cyclin period and chk parameters with reputable testkits before stockin up. And do stock up slowly as ur system is new. Agree. However, if budget is the Concern, then ya can go for NSW. Quarntined them, at least a day before pouring it into ya tank. How big is your tank? Make sure ya go throught the whole proper cyclin period.No shortcut. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammy Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 No difference between scooping the seawater off the beach yourself and buying NSW from the LFS.. Cos they all come from the same source -> the sea! So if you're gonna lug big packs of water back from the LFS, might as well collect yourself from the beach... free. hmm... then i will not use NSW after i see east coast's water haha... unless the water is pumped deep within ... but still unsure , still doubt.. that's why i always mix my own water . Quote 2x1.5x1.5 tank Lighting: AI hydra 52HD Skimmer: Deltec SC 1455 Reactor: Minimax; rowaphos Skimz  ; NP biopellets Wave Maker: MP 40 WQD Return pump: Eheim 1262 Chiller: Arctica 1/10 hp  A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel -- Proverbs 12:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member colinsoon Posted January 12, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 12, 2006 haha hammy bro, the difference with LFS NSW and the sea is dat the LFS filters through the NSW that they bring in, quarantine it for a week before they use it. which is why the water is always so clear, when u get it from the LFS. at least this is wat they told me, and i believe them, cos 1. they are reputable, 2. they showed me the process, how they QT the water and den filter it thru etc etc. if possible i will get water from LFS, easier to handle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member jd_n Posted January 13, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 13, 2006 If u enjoy luggin back hm bags or containers of water, by all means. Would be good if u hav ur own transport. And the lift better stop at ur level. Lastly do the maths, volume of ur tank will determine how much water u need to bring back. Lastly, if u have Osim massage chair.....u will need it! Quote There are 2 types of person, those that chose learn n do it rite the first time and those tat chose to learn it the hard way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augustine Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 It all simply lies down to how much effort and money you want to spend. I'll make it simple for you..... 1. Do you have transportation to regularly help with your water change? (guideline for you is 2 x 20 litres jerry can for a 3ft tank) 2. Are you staying close to any reliable LFS to supply NSW for you? 3. Is cost of water a factor? (NSW cheaper) 4. Is time and space a factor? (Saltwater Mix requires more effort for preparation) 5. What do you plan to keep in your tank? (sensitive or hardy livestock) Just to share with you, I've been using NSW for the last 6 years and never had any problems. PM me if you need to know good NSW source. I choose not to mix saltwater at home cos I find it too troublesome for long term hobby. We are not always as enthusiastic as when we first begin. Buying NSW saves me the trouble and water change takes me less than 30 mins. Most important of all, water change gives me an excuse to visit LFS. Most of our wife tend to nag after you spend too much time on the hobby. Ha.. Ha.. Be patient with your cycling and enjoy the hobby. Don't stress over it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAIN Posted January 14, 2006 Author Share Posted January 14, 2006 Hello all. Very happy to see so many of you helping me. Since there are quite a few of you giving me advices, I shalln't use the 'quote' feature otherwise the thread will be quite long winded (as if my post isn't, just one of my bad habit among many others). My tank is 50" x 24" x 24". As for what kinda tank it's gonna be.... Original plan is FOWLR (Slowly slowly gain experience), but after reading abit more and seeing some beautiful pictures in the Member's T&S, thought maybe can 'do' some LPS. But after even more reading and pictures (Japanese tanks & AT's & Danono's etc..) I thought "Hey, maybe I can pull that off too!" So it will be a graduel thing. FOWLR in the beginning then slowly add some LPS see how. The confusion part : Been reading about NSW which might contain some undesirable hitchhikers or what not. ( My knowledge in this subject is zero at this point, yet to find the time to read. ) The thing about this hobby is that there's always at least 2 different school of thoughts that can't seem to agree what works. e.g Wet/Dry skimmate, DSB/BB Another concern is that NSW is a bit of a russian roulette, at least to me, mainly due to reliability of sources from collection(location/depth) down to LFS (treatment/quarantine) and not forgeting Murphy's Law. So I guess buying from different batches probably will have quite different parameters and those microcospic organism blahblahblah (Too cheem for me, but will brush up) But after all the advices given above, I've made up my mind to purchase NSW. Which was what I wanted in the first place, just that the above reasons/factors made me quite wary and as mentioned above, feel that salt mix with tap water machiam sala like that. (Pointless IMHO, not directed at anyone using this combination but sorry, maybe I'm still too inexperience to be fearful of many things) Since my post is now getting too long, will continue in another post later. Btw, transportstion is not a problem(for NSW I mean, have a van). Staying in Pasir Ris, lift level. Very Limited budget. Am looking into the ZEOvit system, excellent results(colors) But wondering is it much more expensive to run as oppose to the 'standard' way? But like a bit wasteful in the beginning with no corals. Or is it more better for a virgin or semi-matured tank? More economical? Sorry for another long post... Too many things to ask. Will start other thread to avoid messy reading. Thanks all, Happy & Prosperous New Year. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member cornyfish Posted January 14, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 14, 2006 hmm... then i will not use NSW after i see east coast's water haha... unless the water is pumped deep within ... but still unsure , still doubt.. that's why i always mix my own water . I don't think the LFS would actually spend the money to pump water from deep under the water surface... They probably just drive their lorry with a big water tank at the back, and pump the water up from the beach with a hose. Maybe not East Coast... some ulu beach instead... like Pasir Ris Beach, Pulau Ubin or Sentosa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augustine Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I don't think the LFS would actually spend the money to pump water from deep under the water surface... They probably just drive their lorry with a big water tank at the back, and pump the water up from the beach with a hose. Maybe not East Coast... some ulu beach instead... like Pasir Ris Beach, Pulau Ubin or Sentosa. Hi.. Just to add on for this..... Most LFS buy the NSW from a regular supplier. This supplier goes out to pump the water from the sea and then transport them by lorry to them. Supplier would not want to spoil their rice bowl and pump dirty or unsafe water to sell. Further more, LFS uses these water for their own LS. Know which LFS is reliable (in terms of water supply) and stick to them. I been out with one of these water supplier before and they do not pump from the beach. In fact, we met other water suppliers pumping from the same location. its a jetty and its quite deep. Then again, filtration by the LFS is just as important. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member rogerboi Posted January 18, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 18, 2006 got one LFS tell me the water are air flown from aussie .. well .. it cost $1.50 and he told me i only need $3 to fill up my 33 by 34.3 by 43.5 tank. .. Roger's Believe It or Not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member laona Posted January 18, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 18, 2006 hrm...while dunno much abt that..but do the LFS state on its doors, "Water frm the Great Barrier Reef" ?? or "Air-H2O?? hahaha...but seriously...air-flow NSW frm aussie abit extreme...wat do u guys think?? hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Qxnviolet Posted January 18, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 18, 2006 got one LFS tell me the water are air flown from aussie .. well .. it cost $1.50 and he told me i only need $3 to fill up my 33 by 34.3 by 43.5 tank. .. Roger's Believe It or Not. LoL....that cant b true? Quote My Newbie Tank Thread My Blog All pics taken with CanoN!~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Elune Posted January 19, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted January 19, 2006 LoL....that cant b true? Agreed, I dun believe its true. Or else the water would have cost $15 per packet already, and not $1.50. Its most prob from local waters pump up from a ulu beach, then max max the LFS test the waters and readjust by a bit. just my 2 cents. anyone got any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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