Is complaining about the cost of aquarium equipment fair when you do this?

[G Santana]

Some equipment you can build yourself for a fraction of the cost.
20 some odd years ago I built a venturi skimmer dirt cheap, and I will be using it again. Recently I built a calcium reactor for about $50 or so and I am almost complete with a dual stage regulator with help from folks on this site alot cheaper than advertised.

I feel hardware in alot of cases is too expensive, but if you don't need all the bells and whistles, you can save a pretty penny.

Corals on the other hand are like a commodity, you will pay what the market deems appropriate.

I am fortunate to be able to buy whatever I want but only choose to buy what I really need.

Choose wisely.

 

[LA Reef Addict]

I don't complain because it's a HOBBY. If i can't afford it, then i shouldn't be in it. That being said, it's everyones party and they can complain if they want to. lol

 

[lmm1967]

The quality being subpar - and cloud services you are forced to use that don't work very well - yes, that is worthy of very loud complaints.

Some equipment manufactures seem to be of the mindset that their only job is to get you to buy something and simply act like they don't care once they have your money.

 

[Zeedawg]

Complaining / not - It's really all about R&D - companies spend a lot of $$$ to get 'us' the right equipment for sustaining our livestock in more effective and efficient means. I see it as investing in ourselves in order to keep the hobby innovating....

 

[Aggro]

I feel like anyone complaining about the cost of equipment likely also complains about the cost of coral. I think the cost of coral is the bigger transgression because you can propagate it. Growth rate should set caps on coral prices.

Equipment-wise, the thirst for tech and automation combined with the lack of industry competition in those areas makes for exorbitant prices and sometimes not fully polished products/product support.

I slightly agree with you but I think people will tend to complain about the cost of equipment more because lets face it not very many people can afford this hobby or have the time or patience in it. so when they get equipment that really lets face it more than likely only ever going to be seen by you they have issues with the costs. on the other hand youre in the market for a beautiful fish and a couple new corals that are going to set you back 1000 dollars and ya you may complain a bit but then you start to justify to yourself why you need it. and lets face ultimately its because a fish and corals you can show off. that is my view on the whole thing. I know what this hobby costs and that's why I try and by used equipment so it doesn't break the bank. and thats why a lot of local reefers in Washington get a lot of their corals and fish from people breaking down their systems.

 

[Jenuvio]

Mentally $300 for a skimmer and $300 for a colar that may increase in value just makes more sense.. Again if your on a budget my opinion is to spend the money on equipment if it’s for the health of your tank. What good is $300 worth of coral if it dies!

 

[oceans garden aquaculture]

I chose other because expensive is subjective.

 

[littlebigreef]

Honestly I don't care. We have the option of going and doing a million other things with our time and money. To me the fetishism of aquarium tech has always been a put off. When you have brands releasing new generations of equipment faster than Sony and Xbox releases new consoles maybe you shouldn't be buying those brands. I have my system wired for redundancy in my home. I'll never own an apex or neptune for that reason. There's a lot of 'nice to haves' that turn out to be garbage over time. My father, who was an engineer, always said 'the more points of articulation the likely something is going to fail'. And I still believe that. So, all things being equal. Make good investments in your equipment. You pay for what you get. Buy pumps and LED's new (if you can) and buy them once. Take good care of them and they'll last year. Do regular maintenance on gyres, heaters and anything else in the water.

 

[tvan]

I used to complain that fuji live rock was to expensive(2002-2003). Coming back into the hobby 6 months ago, I found out, you can't even get it anymore. So I quit complaining............. for the next 10 seconds....... ask my wife.....

 

[frank10]

Much of the gear is way overpriced
$26 for a simple analog cable
$100 for an AFS that looks, sounds and operates like a child's toy

There are too many commercial YouTubers who have every latest gadget and product.
Complain away!

 

[ReefyTank]

I personally feel it has to do with how the individual percieves the value of the item they purchase. I dont think anyone would complain about lower prices in general but value of the product can justify the cost for someone.

I have complained about the price of a wavemaker but then seeing the reaction of my corals to the change in flow has made me appreciate it and buying the second one did not seem like a chore. I think that same sentiment carries over to corals as well. Some dont see why a coral would be worth a certain price but yet other will pay it and feel it was worth every penny.

 

[Conrad Noto]

Fair, but won't change price. Values are relative, what's it worth to you? When I was making 50-200 dollars an hour $1200 pop on a piece of equipment didn't phase me. Now with my heart meds, medical bills and making only 22k it's hard, I buy used.

 

[jmcdona6]

I buy the equipment because I want fish and coral and I need it for that purpose. There of course exists a large number of people where equipment is a big part of their enjoyment. For those people, sure spending as much on the equipment as fish and coral makes sense. For the rest of us, I think the majority, it can become obsessive. Also let's not pretend it's even equal. I recently upgraded to a 150G. It will be years before the cost of my fish and corals come to par with the $$$ I spent on equipment. Then again I don't buy $250 nub frags.

 

[Bradley C]

Equipment outlasts coral considerably. 9-10 years in, just replaced LED lights. Skimmer original to me. Recently bought new pump, previous one also came with tank. NO complaints about equipment. Balancing act with coral on the other hand, ...... $$$$$

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Of course it’s fair! A skimmer is nothing more than injection molded plastic! There is absolutely no way it cost that much to manufacture them.

and more importantl, how can you justify the cost of equipment based on how much I “might” be willing to pay for livestock?

I am sorry, but this is a stupid question.

 

[MightyMO]

I try to not complain. But, I still do... Happened to get myself in a hobby where nothing is cheap except your results if you go cheap route. As far as livestock prices, they have went up exponentially since I first got in the hobby, especially on coral... But as mentioned in a previous post on this thread, corals will pay for themselves if you can propagate them. But need good equipment and maintenance standards to get the growth you need to propogate... Complaining gets you nowhere though... Just a vent process...

 

[george51349]

I find it justified to complain about both. There is really only one option if you want to "succeed" in this hobby, and that is to spend a inordinate amount of money. People try to make it look cheap and easy, but the cheap and easy part lasts as long as your tank cycle.

 

[KrisReef]

I don't complain about the cost of equipment or coral, my wife does all of this for me. (Isn't that nice!)

When I do complain, I complain about the availability of things for the hobby. I try not to complain about the availability of stuff because my wife doesn't like me "complaining all of the time." She is such a blessing!

 

[Fishurama]

I feel more people complain about equipment cost as for a lot of it we know around how much it costs to make(give or take), and even with R and D, we are being ripped off a lot of the time, and im not speaking about making a profit, but literally making 2-4x what it costs to produce and get to market.

Corals/fish can be harder to find, can die in shipping, etc and thus I see less people complaining as they understand this especially with all the DOAs and guarantees, whoever sold you the coral has to eat the cost, thus increasing the price even if they don't die since it needs to be calculated in.

So in my opinion, unless your light, pump,etc can do something no piece of equipment can do, has a proven working patent, otherwise to me it's just overpriced equipment. When dealing with something living, i expect it to be expensive as it's actual life and can die.

 

[jace]

Absolutely fair. Complaining is part of being human. We complain about everything; wife, kids, car repairs, etc but we need and love them all so what makes complaining about cost of aquarium equipment any different. We may or may not complain about coral cost but I'm sure everybody is guilty of complaining about the money poured into coral(s) when they die!