why pay more?
Savings abound...
Products marketed for the reef keeping community are generally very overpriced when compared to similar items. There are also other products that can be used in place of expensive items.
| Reef tank marketed name brand kalkwasser supplements can cost from $19.99-39.99, and most come loaded with added trace elements that have not been proven to affect your tank in any way other than to flatten your wallet. | |
| Alkalinity | vs |
Mrs. Wage's Pickling Lime, available online and in the canning sections of Walmart and supermarkets, is pure food grade Calcium Hydroxide. Can be used as saturated kalkwasser for auto top-off's, and as an additive to keep alkalinity levels up. |
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| Professional SLR camera macro lenses can run in the neighborhood of $400-900, and are very good at what they do. | |
| Pictures | vs |
Attachable "close-up" or magnifying lens kits can cost about $10, and while they may not be as effective as a professional macro lens, they certainly are much less pricey. Type "macro lens" into ebay and look it up by lowest price first. |
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| A huge pump will set you back a few hundred dollars, but will push as much water as you need throughout your entire system. | |
| Flow | vs |
| Penductors/eductors can multiply the flow rate on outputs by about 300%, and run about $20-30, which will help if you have a smaller pump, or if you want to upgrade your current system without adding any additional pumps. | |
| Saltwater aquarium marketed magnesium supplements can drain a wallet faster than... Well, I can't think of anything appropriate to put there, so pretty fast. | |
| Magnesium | vs |
| Epsom salts can be used to supplement magnesium into your tank, being that they are pure magnesium sulfate heptahydrate. They can be found at any supermarket or drug store in the first aid section for pennies on the dollar. | |
| Like anything else meant for reef tanks, calcium supplements take expensive to a whole new level. | |
| Calcium | vs |
| Dowflake, available anywhere online, is nearly pure calcium chloride, and is unbelievably cheaper than reef blended calcium additives! | |