LFS Selling boxed water???

[SpiderCrab2]

Has anyone seen or used the LFS boxed saltwater? It says all the parameters are already complete, just add and heat. I think it was by instant ocean.... at petco...

[lat0403]

Drs. Foster & Smith sell it, but I haven't ever used it. I thought about setting up a pico and using it, but I never got around to it.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...6&pcatid=16766

[papagimp]

waste of money IMO. i've heard plenty of good stories of it working just fine, but why spend the extra cash for boxed natural sea water when it's been proven over and over that using saltmixes will do just as good and cost alot less in the long run.

[SpiderCrab2]

I hear ya there.. The LFS has it on sale 5gal. for $6. Before xmas it was about $17 a box. The mixing process has never been kind to me. Even a small adjustment seems to make my hydrometer swing wildly.

[papagimp]

That's because hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate. Get a refractometer and the mixing process will go much smoother. Also, mix the water well ahead of time, don't wait until 10 minutes prior to water change time to do it. Get it mixed a day or two in advance and let it "age' and mix thoroughly. $6 for 5g is about typical for pre-mixed water i see here at LFS's, so for natural sea water, not too bad a price, but horrid when you consider how much cheaper it is to mix your own.

[scott45acp]

I set up my 24gal aquapod using natures ocean boxed sea water. I was said to contain live bacteria. Of course so did the live rock and live sand, so how important was this? Just the same the tank cycled much quicker than I would have expected. As for water changes I will be using redsea coral pro with RO/DI water. Worst case I wasted $100 on water. Other than that it caused no harm

But I am very new to salt water, so what do I know

[swims withthe fishes]

I wouldn't use it..
All the parameters are correct when it is boxed, not necessarily after it has sat stagnant in the dark on a truck to a warehouse, on a truck to a warehouse, on a truck to a store, on a store shelf, to your door.... it's at minimum a month old before you get it. I would assume all that bacteria is useless by then anyway, dead and decomposed in your water along with any other micro-critter that snuck in the jug.

conduct a test for yourself, next time you do a water change put 5 gals in a jug and leave it in the shed or a closet.... on day 31 ask yourself if you want to put it back in your tank?

if that same store mixes their own SW it is probably a much better option for $1 a gallon, or mix your own for about .33cents per gal.