Sea Water v. RO/DI + salt to taste

I am setting up a fish only aquarium in a 55 gallon tank I have, with some crazy custom decor. The decor guidelines do not allow the addition of LR or corals, etc. So it'll be fish and my live sand and some water, lil' bit of decor and some filtration (wet/dry until I can build my own coil denitrator, skimmer, and some air stones on a pump). That's about it.

I've got everything figured out (at least in my head..) except for the water. Having never done this before, I assumed taking a few buckets of water from the Great Barrier Reef back home to my tank would be the best way to do things. Living in Arizona, I don't even have a body of Salt Water close to one of the state's borders..

So I figured the old, RO/DI filter on the tap and mix in salt in 5 gallon bucket. Let mix for 24 hours and repeat 11 more time until I have 55 gallons...

But then I saw "Real Ocean Water" available for sale on clearance at a PetCo. It's by catalina, Catalina Water Company, real ocean saltwater for home and commercial aquarium tanks
It'd cost me about $60 to fill up my 55 gallon with their product.

Here's what they claim their water tests at Catalina Water Company, real ocean saltwater for home and commercial aquarium tanks
It's all in µg/L by the way..

Anybody ever used a product like this? It seems like an "easy way out" to setting up your Saltwater Aquarium with the proper quality of water, and I know there aren't many (if any at all) "easy way out's" when it comes to this hobby.

What do you think of this "Real Ocean Water"?

 

Guess it will work if you can afford it.

$60 will buy allot of salt for mixing your own.

I used to buy processed sea water from local aquarium for $.05 a gal. Now for day to day needs I mix my own using regular tap water. (using water conditioner of course).

Think in long term you would be better served by getting a RO/DI unit and mixing yourself.

 

$60 isn't much more (if not less) than I'd be spending on salt, water, an RO/DI filter, and a 5 gallon bucket. Plus the fact it'd only take me 1 hour to fill my 55 gallon tank instead of 11 days.

I just have a healthy distrust of the employees and products at my 3 LFS. I have to drive 250miles round trip to Phoenix to get good quality fish and somewhat knowledgeable employees.

So no one's done it this way? I guess it would normally be more expensive (reg. price is $12.00/5gal.)

I just hope what they advertise is true, since it's not exactly returnable...

 

Will they allow you to check the water parameters before you buy it, the salt level, nitrates, phos, Ph, etc. Since you won't be adding fish right away, I would just keep a check on your water quality then all should be okay. Just go slow.

 

that's what I'd prefer to do, and I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem if the water was in a tank or something..

But it comes in 5 gallon bags inside of a box.
Seen Here

So I don't know how well that would turn out..

 

another myth I was curious about was adding a raw, uncooked shrimp or two from your LGS (Local Grocery Store, lol) to your new tank's water to speed up a cycle. busted?

 

This method is hotly debated. While many people use this method to kick start a tank cycle, many others prefer to use live fish (which some hobbyists find to be cruel treatment). So, that being said, I prefer to use one yellow tailed damsel to cycle a tank but if you don't want to do that, using a raw shrimp will work (to an certain extent) as well.

About the Catalina water, I have never used it mysef but it seems to have a good reputation. If you plan on doing regular/frequent water changes in your tank, you might want to invest in an r.o. unit after all as it will cost you much much less in the long run.

 

the real ocean water works great its in my frag tank and all the levels are spot on since if first out it in