Times Are Tough

I guess everybody assumes you could "afford" the solution in due time, maybe not right away but in the near future. For example, if the OP posts about a crack in the tank, the community would "assume" you could purchase a new tank or have a buffer tank to repair the cracked one. I wouldn't take it the wrong way buddy, times are tough for us all. I live in southern california near the beach, 90% of my income is eaten away throughout the month so I can get by on buying water once a month

I don't think anybody takes you as a bad person or anything, you're 15 and broke! Who actually had money when they were 15

 

+3. P you said it very well!

 

For the sake of the livestock & your pocketbook, maybe this hobby is not right for you? Most of the hobbyists on here all have that one Dream Tank with all the bells & whistles, but most in my experience, tend to follow sound standard proven protocol & advice.

Freshwater is cheaper....................

 

Congrats! There are to many variables in this hobby to suggest all of these things would work for everyone. A few key factors would be the TDS of your water supply in your region, flow, the amount of biological filtration in the tank, if your running a fuge and so on. I think it's awesome that you're having success without these things though, don't get me wrong.

As stated before many times I try and give the best advice based off of my personal experience and knowledge. I don't feel like when someone is having a problem that they should have to list there income on top of their water params for me to give a viable response.

 

As with all web advice.... take it with a grain of sea salt. Sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't. It is still the owner's responsibility to figure out what advice will work best for his/her situation.

 

whenever I ask for advice I want to know what is best. I may not be able to afford the best, but i want to know what the best is. what I choose to do is based on the advice given and what I can afford.

A lexus may be best but if all you can afford is a toyota go for it.

 

Agree with Peredhil and others....

One thing I would add is that "inexpensive" advice can end up costing the person a lot of money in the long run. Let's say you cut corners on buying an RO/DI and use tap water for example. In some places in the country, that might be just fine. But in other places, there might be high particulates in the water that cause all kinds of problems. Different water districts and cities do different things. Also, there are international on 3reef as well. If you have traveled abroad, you know there are VERY different water standards around the world for "tap" water.

The decision on using tap water MIGHT lead to chasing all kinds of other problems and spending additional money on solutions for those. Did cutting that corner really save the person any money??? or cause them a big head ache.

I feel it is best to give the best answer FIRST and then help them understand the consequences of doing a "lesser" solution.

Just my opinion,
M

 

Very well put,no disrespect swampman kid,i'm on a tight budget myself,but when i ask for advise,first off,you get some of the best info on the net right here.I can't always afford the best of the best,and you don't have to either,but i follow these experts advise the best i can for what my wallet will allow.Like an ro/di filter-i still don't have one,i buy water from walmart,is that best?I doubt it,but i'm having good results so far,and in time,i'll get one.I also get more and better test kits as i go,this hobby is expensive,and there are corners that can be cut.The savings kick in when you learn where you can and can't cut those corners.But your tank is built around it's water quality,and thats absolutly the first corner that shouldn't be cut.All advice givin,allthough it may not be what you want to hear,is in the best interest of your tank and investment so far.But hey,I still like ya too.

 

I use tap about 50% of the time. My tank is fine

Times are tough though he is right. Right now I will do things for a ro/di system; things that I would not normaly do otherwise... I would do things for a nice fuge sump as well. PM me if you want things done for the things that I listed above. Any kind of things

 

Thats scary sounding!!LOL