Equipment Prices

[weezawoo]

Hey

went to my local marine shop and he was fantastic Never been in before but very impressed. he said he would match online prices but these are his prices for the following:

Reef test kit, Tropicamarine make - £43.50
D+D Refractor - £39.95
V2pure 50 RO unit - £91.99


He can supply a 25kg bag of fine grain sand for £22 so gunna go with that, it should hopefully be penty for my tank.
He will supply RO water £2.95 for 25l, £5.95 with salt.


Do the few above sound good prices? He said getting the sump opened again is much better and suggested a guy who would do it. I don't want to break the tank!!!

He said the price I have for a twin hagen ballast is good £35 from Ebay. Bulbs he said between £22-£30 each but I will probably use lampspecs.



Any online prices would be good!

Thanks!

 

[woody88]

Hey

went to my local marine shop and he was fantastic Never been in before but very impressed. he said he would match online prices but these are his prices for the following:

Reef test kit, Tropicamarine make - £43.50
D+D Refractor - £39.95
V2pure 50 RO unit - £91.99


He can supply a 25kg bag of fine grain sand for £22 so gunna go with that, it should hopefully be penty for my tank.
He will supply RO water £2.95 for 25l, £5.95 with salt.


Do the few above sound good prices? He said getting the sump opened again is much better and suggested a guy who would do it. I don't want to break the tank!!!

He said the price I have for a twin hagen ballast is good £35 from Ebay. Bulbs he said between £22-£30 each but I will probably use lampspecs.



Any online prices would be good!

Thanks!

They seem quite dear to me tbh. More expensive than my lfs.

Refractometers (good ones) can be found for under £20 on fleebay Inc delivery.

Same for RO units! Better ones on line possibly cheaper too.


Lfs aren't always the best option when buying for your tank. I always buy on line for anything aquatic.

Unless you know the guy!............really well! Wink wink! Lol

 

[lewiss]

Ha! Nice woody!!

 

[Uriel]

Honestly his prices aren't terrible. D + D refraco is about £35 on internet and V2pure 50 RO unit average about £85. You can generally search around the internet and save about 5%-15% on the price in LFS but i try and spread the love and spend about 50/50 with lfs and internet. My reasoning for this is that LFS offer a service i can't always get over the internet. The ability to view stock and coral before buying. Emergency Ro water if my unit was to pack up or equipment if i urgently need it today plus being part of a small local business I like to support local business. Just a personal preference thing. Also if you find a decent LFS with good people who know there stuff this is worth it's weight in gold. Just always bear in mind they are a business.

 

[weezawoo]

He said he would match online price if I showed him the prices. I would rather go and buy from him so he can tell me what I am doing and it has a guarantee if it goes wrong!
I am however looking at some 2nd hand things to try to save a little.

I forgot to ask the price for a skimmer as he said its best to get one.

TBH he was excellent, understood that I was looking online for cheaper, best guy in any lfs I have been to.

I am worried about getting ones I haven't been reccommended incase they are a rubbish brand. Im up for saving money all the way

I wanted to try to buy something from him purely as I am going to need some advise in future and he might be a handy asset to use haha I know how to use and abuse men lol!!!

 

[woody88]

He said he would match online price if I showed him the prices. I would rather go and buy from him so he can tell me what I am doing and it has a guarantee if it goes wrong!
I am however looking at some 2nd hand things to try to save a little.

I forgot to ask the price for a skimmer as he said its best to get one.

TBH he was excellent, understood that I was looking online for cheaper, best guy in any lfs I have been to.

I am worried about getting ones I haven't been reccommended incase they are a rubbish brand. Im up for saving money all the way

I wanted to try to buy something from him purely as I am going to need some advise in future and he might be a handy asset to use haha I know how to use and abuse men lol!!!

Skimmers are widely varied in price. They can range from anything to anything price wise.
ie I bought a replacement stock skimmer for my nano it was £20 delivered.
I had my eye on an upgrade also, a good make, and that was £140. Yet there wasn't much difference regarding the lph of both of them.

 

[sorgan]

LPH might not be different but the skimmers may be miles apart in performance.
LPH is only one part of the puzzle, bubble size and saturation are just as important. Usually (but not always) the more costly skimmers work on a needle wheel concept to create the bubbles, this produces uniform bubbles in mass amounts. Cheaper skimmers tend to use a wood/plastic bubble block which while still alright, isn't as good.

 

[woody88]

I agree mate but when people buy skimmers the first thing they usually look at is the flow rate the pump produces and don't always take into account needle wheel, Venturi etc.............and then the price, closely followed by putting it back on the shelf and walking away!

Or is that just me! Lol!

 

[weezawoo]

OK I am a little more confused now! I won't be getting a skimmer right away until I have livestock and more things in there. Plenty of research time!

 

[sorgan]

LOL woody, they are very rarely cheap are they
weezawoo like i have said a few times, there is very little equipment that is necessary and IMO a skimmer isnt one of them.

 

[weezawoo]

Im just worried if I don't have it I will have bad effects I am very much a worrier! haha!

I def wouldn't be getting it any time soon, only if after a while I think its needed!

Thanks

 

[woody88]

OK I am a little more confused now! I won't be getting a skimmer right away until I have livestock and more things in there. Plenty of research time!

Good call!....no need to worry about skimming just yet. Wait until you start stocking, but like sorgan said, you dont need one as long as you do good regular water changes.

Unfortunately IMHO nano's do need a skimmer, especially of your on your stocking limit.

 

[sorgan]

I have to say I disagree woody, if any thing I think nanos do better without a skimmer, this is because -
As a smaller system they have less chance to build up decent amounts of fauna and planktonic life, a skimmer (even a small one) will strip anything that may pop up out of the water

Nanos are stupidly easy to waterchange so why bother skimming if you can do one better?

As always it would seem I fall back on my own tanks, my nano (pico really) isn't skimmed and is well balanced tank I also would put money on it being fed more a day then most other tanks lol.

I suppose at the end of the day we all use the equipment think helps, there is no right nor wrong answer but there is always reason to have a debate

 

[woody88]

I don't like debates!......I'm sticking to my guns! lol!

 

[spadge]

I have to admit im a big fan of skimmers, some say they arent necessary, but having seen the amount of dirt in the waste chamber on a WEEKLY basis, regardless of water changes WEEKLY it still remains the same so it must be benefiting the Tank, i agree witht he nanos to be honest woody, they ar very unforgiving and a sudden build of waste can be catastrophic, i agree regular water changes will maintain parameters but with a small volume of water there is LITTLE room for error, and for the price i wouldnt risk my stock (Id lose far more than the skimmer cost me!)

I agree sorgan there is definately no right/wrong just personal preference and what works best for you, ive found my skimmer helps me but your tank sounds like its well maintained without, just shows both methods work i guess

Oh and back to the point of this thread, i think the prices are slightly high too, but if hes willing to match internet prices then i say buy local, you have some come back if necessary and i pressume you can get the equiptment quickly - i dont know about you but im impatient with this side and id pay more to have it NOW lol