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Re: [APD] Re: DIY (and ferts. supplier)
WOW! Some excellent suggestions, especially www.litemanu.com for the
individual and quite extensive selection of chems. Thanks so much!
-Dave
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rex Grigg" <rex at dsl-only_net>
To: "aquatic plants digest" <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 10:09 PM
Subject: Re: [APD] Re: DIY (and ferts. supplier)
> At 06:52 PM 12/6/2003, you wrote:
>
> The supplier you mentioned is in Canada. So the shipping is rather
> high. I suggest that you look at www.litemanu.com or go to
> www.plantgeek.net and look in their store. I think you will find that the
> prices and shipping are much cheaper.
>
> >Bill,
> >
> >As someone entering (for the past two years) into the aquarium market, I
> >have to thank you exceedingly for the offhanded last comment you made
about
> >DIY lights. I almost did it myself, my lighting, but living in an apt. I
> >didn't have the space or tools to make my own canopy. I bought two
> >SmartLamps which @$140 ea. was an excellent price. I hear all the time
> >about MH lights and their benefits, although the bulbs themselves are
> >expensive, the upfront costs can be completely inhibiting. It never
occured
> >to me that such lights might exist outside the aquarium realm, go figure!
I
> >was hoping to have another tank someday, and this is just what I'm going
to
> >do...take a nice trot on down to the local hardware store and have one of
> >those guys help me out putting together my very own MH lights ;-)
THANKS!
> >
> >
> >On other thoughts, I need a good supplier for fertilizer components, has
> >anyone tried: http://www.hydroponics.com/info/aquatics/pmdd.htm
> >
> >Fertilizer is the last piece of my puzzle, here having excellent PC
lighting
> >and compressed CO2 into the tank my plants are growing nicely, but not as
> >quickly or as strong as I would like. And most recently I had a
wonderful
> >foothold of Green Water, which is still plaguing me, I think light
> >starvation along with a soon-to-come x-mas present (diatom filter) should
> >help.
> >
> >Thanks again,
> >
> >-Dave
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Bill Wichers" <billw at waveform_net>
> >To: <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
> >Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 8:27 PM
> >Subject: [APD] Re: DIY
> >
> >
> > >
> > > >I want walmart prices. If sterilite manufactured a
> > > >bunch of this stuff it could be dirt cheap. its just
> > > >plastic boxes and stuff they could pump out by the
> > > >trillions. pumps and powerheads are cheap enough. but
> > > >when you see $250-300 for a device that does nothing
> > > >but control the on and off of powerheads to cycle
> > > >through them thats ridiculous. The same goes for
> > > >acrylic things like sumps and skimmers and calcium
> > > >reactors which could be made for pennies.
> > >
> > > It's simple: the market is not big enough for these devices to allow
them
> > > to be manufactured in sufficient quantities to result in low prices.
For
> > > example, a mold for a skimmer might cost $50,000. Yes, complex molds
for
> > > plastics are *expensive* since they require a lot of very complex
> > > machining. If you sell 1000 skimmers, that's $50 per skimmer just to
cover
> > > the cost of the mold. I don't know how big a market there is for
skimmers,
> > > but I would be surprised if it's more than a total of maybe 10,000
units
> > > per year, and that would have to be split among the many different
types
> >of
> > > skimmers out there. There isn't a market for trillions skimmers or
> > > trillions of power head controllers so each unit has to carry a higher
> > > percentage of the total cost to design and manufacture each unit and
these
> > > are not insignificant costs.
> > >
> > > DIY can often be cheaper because you are doing your own research and
> > > development, and you don't have a manufacturing facility to support.
You
> > > don't have to contract for labor and pay wages and benefits, nor do
you
> > > have to deal with utility costs for your factory and warehouse(s) and
the
> > > taxes associated with the facilities.
> > >
> > > There is a lot of price gouging on aquarium stuff which is probably
the
> > > biggest reason to DIY -- especially on lighting which seems to be the
most
> > > overpriced. Ballasts, for example, *are* manufactured in huge
quantities
> > > since they don't go only into the aquarium hobby. Why it should be
$400+
> > > for a MH ballast when I can get one at the local electrical supply
house
> > > for $29 (and maybe $20 more for an enclosure) is a bit of a mystery.
> > >
> > > -Bill
> > >
> > >
> > > *****************************
> > > Waveform Technology
> > > UNIX Systems Administrator
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > > Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
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> > >
> >
> >
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