aquariumobsessed said:
Hey all,
Armando thanks for posting our recent specials.
RichConley- Thanks for your comments and I understand your frustration. Please let me assure you we do not have a 400% markup on our product. The cable may be expensive I really dont know I am buying it retail and am not making much on it. I let each customer know they may be able to find such a cable cheaper on the aftermarket and most times I simply throw it in for free
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Will
Will, I was not trying to insinuate that you guys are marking them up. I was just meerly frustrated at things like this. I think it is more the manufacturers knowing that they have a captive, small, and generally well off group, and taking them for everything its worth.
Its the same thing as IceCap selling their PC electronic ballasts for $100 and fullham selling theirs for $20. It seems that when a manufacturer decides to market something for aquarium use, they jack up the price.
MH bulbs for instance... you can get 4100K bulbs for like $4. They use them for growing plants, for street lights, etc... but when you go up to 6500K, you're looking at $60. There can't be $55 difference in the chemicals to cause a 2400K color temp shift. Its simply that the market isnt big enough yet that Sylvania wansts to join the fray.
I dont think the aquarium bulbs will ever come down to $4, but I think it will be like fluoros, sylvania is $6 for their aquaglow/plantgrow/etc/ and the aquarium guys are 12-15 bucks...they just can't get as cheap because of issues of scale.
As far as setting up a PC to do this stuff, $6 sensor, and about 10 dollars in parts to connect a relay to a usb port. BANG temp controller. You'd have to write some scripts to handle them, but dealing with USB isnt bad. You could probably use the software schools use for physics experiments... I'm pretty sure that stuff isnt too expensive. Maybe its not worth it for the temp controller thing, you're only saving about $50 over a Ranco, but you have to spend a good deal of time tweaking it.
I see wave makers selling for $100+. Go out and get yourself a Chauvet DJ Light controller...theyre $19.99, and EXACTLY the same thing as those strips that switch outlets (Red sea I think)
THe thing that pisses me off is you so often see people talking badly about products they've never used simply because theyre cheap. Look at hte Jebo 520XL skimmer. The body is $35 dollars, and is almost EXACTLY the same as a euroreef...I think the 5-3... These aquarium manufacturers are making HUGE profits on these things..and why? because we'll pay.
