ToxicPoison

The market is not good for a hobby startup' date=' especially if you plan on living off it. I would start by going to a few of the shops and doing some wholesale business through them. they can hook you up with clients and let the word of mouth build up from there. There is a market, but it is very small and extremely picky right now so it is not ideal. you may do better in retrofitting existing tanks. im sure you can find a lot of people who want an overflow built in or some customization to make their tank run better.[/quote']

 

I meant to address this before, but obviously did not.

In your (collective your, not twitterbait directly) experience, do people generally have tanks lying around they want to retrofit? It seems that most tanks that people wish to have retrofitted are already in use. In that case, I think it's more stress than I'm willing to take on. If I'm mistaken, that's definitely an intriguing route...

 

I am in the custom home / remodel business and I can tell you that word of mouth / recommendations and a good solid portfolio with examples of actual work speak the world. I've shown several customers examples on a website' date=' but the best method is a referral or recommendation hands down, so it pays to know people that know you. [/quote']

 

Can we be friends?

Seriously, that's great advice. Guess I'm going to have to figure out some way to build tanks in my "spare" time with my "spare" cash.. (scratch)

 

Dude' date=' are you nuts? That'll never work! [/quote']

 

Dude. Thank you for validating me!

I'm sorry, but I just find those red eyes incredibly creepy...

It looks like a tank of zombie fish from a B-grade movie.

and if you do' date=' there are probably 5-6 of us within walking distance. LOL[/quote']

 

Good point.

 

Time to start making new friends!

All these quotes are making me hungry for a nice MLT: a mutton' date=' lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.[/quote']

 

I don't know, I think you're blaving..and as we all know, to blave means to bluff..

Yeah its inconceivable that I missed that.

You keep using that word. I do not think it means, what you think it means.

Eye Candy??

 

these will be in the shop tomorrow. 11-7

 

PM's going out tonight

I have nothing to frag, yet I am still jealous...(drooler)

THANKS!

Wow! That was a lot more and well written feedback than I was expecting.

There's lots of great advice and tips in here..I'm a little overwhelmed by all of it to be honest. I was expecting a lot more "Dude, are you nuts? That'll never work!" kind of responses..I guess I'm more pessimistic than I thought.

Quick generic responses since there's no way I can respond to everyone directly (as much as I'd like to.)

1 - I'll be taking more detailed pictures of my setup tonight. I've been meaning to do that anyways. I don't think it's fair to add it to my demos/portfolio/etc though, since I didn't build it (just designed) and I'm no longer on good terms with the builder (who is out of business).

2 - Regarding cost, I've already considered some sort of payment plan with down payment system. I know "sticker shock" is a big drawback for a lot of people. It may be tough to do though since, how do you repossess a tank? I've also considered doing small "artsy" tanks (30ish gallons) to try and keep costs down and draw people in.

3 - I did consider the LFS route as well. I think that would be a great place to start too, but I'll probably have to have some finished products first as well.

4 - This definitely is not something I plan on starting immediately or even in the very near future. I plan to spend at least the next 6 months in a "normal" job, possibly not quite full-time, while getting whatever the hell it is I plan on doing long-term off the ground.

I think that hits the major points..If you have any more comments, feel free to keep them coming =)

Again, thanks for all your feedback. It's appreciated!

I don't know the specifics. She got them from a mechanic' date=' they were purple w/ a white powdery film on them. She uses them cause she hates the gooey feel of the corals. I'll tell here to look at Walgreens. Thanks.[/quote']

 

What you want are the powder-free Nitrile gloves. They are usually blue in color. My mother works in a dental office and has developed a latex allergy. They switched to the blue nitrile gloves since a lot more people seem to be developing latex allergies..

The purple nitrile gloves are usually powdered (like you said) to help people grip greasy objects better, which is probably why the mechanic had that kind.

 

You can usually find nitrile gloves in the painting section of Fred Meyer too...

 

Good luck!

So I'm currently on vacation debating a career change.

My current tank/stand seems to elicit a lot of "I've never seen a tank like that before" responses. Due to this, a bunch of friends of mine last night, were trying to convince me to go into the custom tank design business.

However, I'm having a hard time believing there's a large enough market to try starting a business in that area. In my head, there is essentially zero repeat business, since most people don't generally buy more than 1 custom tank. There's also the fact there is already a great acrylic designer in the area..

On the flip side, it is tempting since 98% of the tanks I see are the "wooden box" style, which I don't really care for. (No offense to any tank owners...to each their own.)

So, ignoring the logistics, the money involved and the idiocy of thinking of starting a new business in this economy, does the peanut gallery think there's much interest in custom tanks? How often do you hear someone say "I would get into the hobby if there was only a way to build a tank the way I want it?"

Probably a pipe dream, but can't hurt to ask I suppose...

Thanks in advance all!

Good job being born!!

(party)

Personally, I use "reef sleeves"

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/reef_sleeves.htm

It's more so for my sake than the tank's though. My job entails working with lots of tiny and sharp electrical components, which leads to lots of little cuts on my hands and arms. Mix that with saltwater and it burns.. (Yeah, I'm a wuss :( )

It also keeps your shirt sleeves dry if you're wearing long sleeves and gotta get to the bottom of the tank.

Just another option to look into I suppose

Not really sure what you're having issues with but it is exceedingly easy (Unless I'm mis-reading your post)

Just follow this and you should be good to go:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2276981_safely-jailbreak-ipod-touch.html

Welcome back! (even though I don't know you)

Where exactly is "Back there" for you?

It's definitley not in a 55.

That was my assumption but hey, a man can dream!

It makes me sad this might wind up on Craigslist but most likely my tank isn't the best spot for it either...

That was me.....what makes that worse is I was told by quite a few that it was there only for holding the glass lids....purely cosmetic I believe was the saying.....WRONG!

Soo...you win?

Man, I'm really tempted, but I have no idea how you would move something that size!

Is that picture from it in the 55 gallon? I'm not sure my 100 would be big enough....

It really depends on the size of your tank.

I have a 100gallon open top with the older MP40W. I have the pump set at 75% (approximately) of full power. When I had it on 100% power, the sandbed was completely destroyed and I had water splashing over the top due to the strength of the waves.

Unless you have a very long tank, or it's oddly shaped, I really don't think theres much to gain from 2 MP40's.

no....but call when you are here.....

It'll likely be a text message since I don't think my wife is coming with, but will do.

In the spirit of the PNW:

"You see this one? This one right here? This was my dream, my wish...and it didn't come true. So I'm taking it back. I'm taking em all back."

I'll be seeing you tomorrow Eric..do you have a preferred time?

My setup needs some labels. I should order some from Algae's label shop

I have a labeler you're welcome to borrow....

I ran out of room on my dc8 and bought another. On things like skimmers, sump pumps, and some powerheads, I find it much easier just to use a rocker switched outlet strip instead of a controller. Much quicker. So easy to run out of outlets!

Ah, that's fair. That's the setup I have in the basement but my switches were labeled from the beginning... (whistle)

Another vote for Vortech...I have the older model and it rocks. The new line makes me drooly though..

The customer service is top-notch. I was shocked at how helpful they are and how quickly replacement parts got here.

Wow that sucks. But what do you expect, it's goverment run.

Actually, it's not. The USPS is an independently run organization and does not receive any federal funds or tax payer money. It does receive occasional subsidies and whatnot, but so do most giant corporations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service

I have no idea what happened in this thread, but if anyone needs a hug...let me know.