FarmerTy Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Ever wonder what other reefers use, such as simple household items, to maintain or tweak their tanks? Well, I do. So I'm asking... what crafty little gadgets or tricks have people used in their tanks that may be beneficial to others? For instance: 1) buying nori sheets at the asian supermarket for $5 a gigantic bag vs. $4 for 6 strips at the LFS. Make sure you get the dried, non-flavored kind. 2) Plastic drywall tape knife set - $4 for 3 different sized blades to scrape your glass in no time flat. 3) Buying random seafood at the asian market and blending it all together to make your own fish food. Then scooping it into a ziplock bag and flattening it out in sheets for nice breakable pieces to feed. 4) Buying a clip-on bulb from Home Depot ($9.99) to use as a refugium light instead of buying a $40 one from JBJ. 5) Buying plusrite metal halide bulbs from 1000bulbs.com for $13.33/bulb to light my tank and swapping out every 6 months. 6) Using spaflex tubing at home depot instead of those expensive vacuum hoses 7) Running your "dirty" water line from your RO out to your garden/lawn to water plants/grass. 8) Modding your skimmer cup by drilling a hole and hooking up a drain line from it to a milk jug so you don't have to empty your cup all the time. 9) Bayer Advanced Total Insect Killer - tried and tested. Works great as coral dip. 10) paint shield - best glass algae scraper ever for $4! Works perfect with an aqua glove. Perfectly clean glass without getting your entire arm wet. http://www.homedepot...d&storeId=10051 That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Please share your tricks of the trade for us all to benefit from! -Ty 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 epsom salt for magnesium, just discovered that gem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 $1 pickling lime from walmart for Kalk $7 clamp work light plus $60 14k LED bulb = frag tank Dremel with a Flex Shaft and Diamond cutting wheel is great to cut through just about anything for fragging. $1 Turkey baster is a cheap way to slowly acclimate fish 2 $4 magnets plus 1 BRS $2.32 eco rock = Aqua-Mag http://www.gaussboys.com/ndfeb-magnets/B2506E-N42.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 When I first got in my boyfriend challenged me not to pay full price for anything because there are so many good deals to be had on all the various forums. And to date I've bought every one of my tanks as well as all the accessories (skimmer, fuge light, media racks, etc.) used thanks to fellow hobbyists here, MAAST, DFWMAS, and Nano-Reef. I think the only stuff I've ever paid full price for are fish, frozen food, supplements, and one or two "have to have" corals. A lot of the little stuff is most cheaply found at the Dollar Store - Super Glue Gel 3/$1, cheap tupperware, turkey basters, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Can you share the item number for this one in HD? 4) Buying a clip-on bulb from Home Depot ($9.99) to use as a refugium light instead of buying a $40 one from JBJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I use the $1 turkey baster to feed the fish and/or acclimate, use baking soda to adjust alk, and pool phosphate remover to get rid of problem algae if the need arises. Great thread btw! I'm always looking for cheaper stuff to use on my tank that works just as good or better than expensive store bought stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Lenver, This is the clip-on light I used when I had a refugium. http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans-Indoor-Lighting-Specialty-Lighting-Clip-Lights/h_d1/N-bvmgZ5yc1v/R-202351658/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkiiCircus Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 pH buffer, DIY sodium carbonate: Bake Arm&Hammer baking soda (1lb) on cookie sheet (spread out) for 30mins at 350. Store in airtight container. Dissolve some in RO/DI water for a quick, cheap, buffer. We make our own fish food :] Be sure to add garlic extract (or something like garlic extreme!), any old flakes, Zoe, vitamins to make it completely balanced! Made a legitimate 6 month supply for only about $10! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Panty hose makes great filter bags to hold carbon or gfo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifuentes31 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 The panty hose are great idea for GFO and Carbon. Maybe even cheese cloth would do the trick. Also Lowes for all the plumbing stuff. Did all my supply and return for $14. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hydrogen peroxide for algae control and coral dips. Mix 50/50 3% H2O2, with tank water and dip for 3 - 5 minutes. Kills just about any algae including bryopsis and caulerpa recemosa after 1 or 2 dips, and will kill most hitch hikers that I've seen in a single shot. Do not dip xenia or other tree-like soft coral. You can also get a spray bottle and directly spray undiluted H2O2 on algae on a rock and then rinse and put it back in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Two cheap must have tools. A baby bottle brush for cleaning out skimmer and a baby aspirator (snot sucker) for blasting detritus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Two cheap must have tools. A baby bottle brush for cleaning out skimmer and a baby aspirator (snot sucker) for blasting detritus. Cheap turkey baster also works for said blasting ... but I do have a dedicated bottle brush for cleaning skimmer cups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 baby snot sucker has more umph to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Shop Vac makes a 10 gallon water change time from 30 - 40 minutes to 5. Plus helps you clean other oops. Shamwow dries it up once most of its vacuumed. Buy individual timers for your lights at $15 a timer and use 2 extension cords, one for the power strip and one for the timer to the light so you can have more control over whats on when plus be able to display them and not have bulky timers hooked up to your power strip. This also allows you to mount them inside your stand so you can label them and manually turn stuff off and on easier. I'll post a pic tonight of what I'm talking about. Update: I have attached the pic. I have one more timer that I still have to mount which is for my sump but as you can see one timer controls blues and the other white but this allows me to easily know which one is which and turn them on and off manually easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 toothbrush used fro everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Adding: -Bayer Advanced Total Insect Killer - tried and tested. Works great as coral dip. -paint shield - best glass algae scraper ever for $3! Works perfect with an aqua glove. Perfectly clean glass without getting your entire arm wet. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202284231/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=paint%20shield&storeId=10051 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 These magnets are perfect for making mag rocks at a total cost of $4.00 for the pair and epoxy coated. I'm also using the cheaper magnets which are $2.00 as frag plugs for my monti caps on the back wall. http://www.gaussboys.com/ndfeb-magnets/B2506E-N42.html - For Mag Rocks (34lb pull) http://www.gaussboys.com/ndfeb-magnets/D1803E.html - For just Frags (20lb pull) Here's an updated picture of my timers in case anyone wanted to know what the finished product looked like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I buy a plastic paint scraper at Lowes that uses safety razor blades (replaceable). Cost a dollar. That 12 inch jobbie doesn't work very well on bow-front tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I bought a case of grade A sushi nori from a restaurant supplier in Calif. I still have 2 pkgs of 100 sheets left and that was 3 years ago. Best 38 bucks I ever spent. I also bulit my own calcium reactor using a whole house filter from Lowes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Yeah, I saw that calcium reactor build. Pretty sweet Dave. You want to build me a pellet reactor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Next in line for a reactor and remember I pay in cupcakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Yeah, I saw that calcium reactor build. Pretty sweet Dave. You want to build me a pellet reactor? Not sure what you are running now, but wouldn't a 2 little fishies reactor with a maxijet 1200 work. The pellets just need to tumble right? Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Next in line for a reactor and remember I pay in cupcakes. Brian, being diabetic I'd have to pass on the cupcakes. But if you want to spend a Saturday at the house I can help build one. I have most of the plumbing parts and HD or Lowes is just down the road. Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 For those of who wondering how to use epsom salt & baked baking soda as reef supplements check out the Resources forum (tabs across the top of the home page). Here is a link to the dosing section: DOSING Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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