Any feedback on Catalina Ocean Water

[guardian angel]

Hi, I'm new to this site and wanted to see if anyone out there had experience with Catalina Ocean water. I went to Petco the other day and saw it. The packaging says it's the best stuff ever. Anyone try it or know anything about it?

http://www.catalinawater.com/

 

[MikeS]

Hi there, welcome to RF...

No experience with it myself...but I LOVE the link at the bottom of their main page...:lol:

Read the Report: "The Toxicity of Some Freshly Mixed Artificial Sea Water; A Bad Beginning for a Reef Aquarium." By: Ronald L. Shimek Ph.D.

I'm going to move this thread to the general forum, it will get more attention there...

MikeS

 

[MoFireFish]

I used that for my 6 gallon nano cube, never really had any problems with it. No weird algae blooms, ph was always good (8.1-8.3 range). Kinda spendy if you have a big tank though. 5 gallons would do about 2 to 3 water changes on my nano so it was worth it.

 

[class clown]

Hey Pam,

I'm sure it's good stuff, and what's nice as you can take it home and dump it in the tank pretty much right away (no heating needed, no powerheads to mix the water). But, how much is it per gallon? I imagine they charge a pretty penny for it. You have a 55 gallon tank right? are you doing about a 5 gallon water change each week?

I'd figure out when you'd break even with the store bought stuff vs. making it at home and go from there. Then, you have to figure out convenencience too.. conveneince is worth $$ and buying it prepackaged could be very convenient



If you did want to make water at home, here's a couple good tips:
RODI system= $130 frpm the filterguys (http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm)
IO Salt bucket = $33 (Paul from the salsa factory offering)

I'd even help you install an RODI system under your sink if you wanted

 

[Curtswearing]

I've never used it myself.

No experience with it myself...but I LOVE the link at the bottom of their main page...:lol:

 

[guardian angel]

Ben,
It costs $9.99 for 5 gallons. Lately, I have been doing about 10 gallon water changes a month. I may change to 5 gallons every 2 weeks, but I have been testing my water and everything is great!

I love this stuff. I took off the glass lids off the top of my tank, so more water evaporates than normal, but I have been adding distilled water every week to compensate.

And it is soooooo convenient!

 

[matts125]

that stuff seems like a huge waste of money to me, however I can see the convenience.
did you know you can buy saltwater from the seattle aquarium for 5 cents a gallon...
that catilina stuff is $2.00 a gallon
so 40 gallons of water for the aquarium cost the same as 5 gallons at petco..

Matt

 

[Curtswearing]

I've heard good and bad things about this product. Since I've never used nor tested it, I cannot confirm either side.

However, I can say this.....you definately want to heat it to tank temperature as opposed to just dumping it in. You also want to make sure the SG matches what your tank has. If it is off, you will want to use an artificial salt mix to increase SG or RO/DI water to lower SG.

FWIW, MikeS and I are joking about one of Dr. Shimek's (non-peer-reviewed) studies that was completely destroyed by other scientists and hobbyists nonetheless.

 

[mad921]

I use it for my nano and really like it. It's super convenient and I feel it keeps the chemistry in my water more consistant than salt mixes. The PH is also stable at 8.3 generally which is nice. I still pour it in a bucket to heat it and adjust the salinity before adding it to the tank though.

Cost is an issue to a degree (as stated before, it's fairly cost effective for a nano, not for anything larger). I've also noticed that the calcium level is generally low (in the 350 ppm range) and the salinity is usually fairly high (1.029 or so). Zero phosphates or nitrates though.

 

[class clown]

that stuff seems like a huge waste of money to me, however I can see the convenience.
did you know you can buy saltwater from the seattle aquarium for 5 cents a gallon...
that catilina stuff is $2.00 a gallon
so 40 gallons of water for the aquarium cost the same as 5 gallons at petco..

Matt

Matt -Are you serious? $.05 a gallon? wow!!! that sounds too good to be true. is it they're wast water? is it fresh stuff right out of the ocean? details, details, I want details. Do you just go up to the ticket person and tell them you want water? how does that work?

 

[matts125]

Ben Yeah 5 cents a gallon!!!
it is sea water pumped from deep in the sound that is then ran through their uv sterilizers and filters. It is the water they use for the aquarium. this is also where aquarium paradise gets their water.
I will send a link the the page that has all the info...

Matt

 

[matts125]

here is the link
http://www.seattleaquarium.org/about/sales/

 

[Brenden]

Thats cool. $.05 is a deal.

 

[class clown]

Still amazed - Pam - you got to try this and then tell me about it. I've got a bunch of extra 5 gallon buckets you can borrow, Jesse B probably has a bunch you can have (last I heard he was giving them away at the last PSAS event)

Matt- thanks for sharing - great tip!

 

[guardian angel]

I may try it, but it is really inconvenient to drive to Seattle, park, get water, then drive home....for sea water.....especially when i can get sea water for a little bit more down the street. I am all for convenience, but again.....I may try it. Matt-Thanks for the tip and link. Ben-I have plenty of buckets. If I try it, I will call you to let you know.

 

[matts125]

No No No, no buckets, (BARRELS!)
I take 4 55 gallon barrels all at once in the back of my truck, parking is a breeze and free for that matter just drive up over the sidewalk and park right in front the the aquarium, no kidding, just check it out before you go with the barrels so you know the process..

Put it this way I leave with 220 gallons of salt water in one trip and it costs me 11 bucks..

Matt