Aquarium Setup and Cleaning

[buggsmarinetank]

I am in the process of starting up an aquarium setup and maintanence service. I am interested to know if anyone has dealt with such companies, and if so.... what they charge. Thanks a lot

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I've heard of a place in STL MO that does that. It is actually a lfs that goes to business and maintains their tanks. I'm not sure how much they charge, but it seems like a great idea if there is a demand in your area for it. I am assuming that's what you mean. If not, oops.

 

[Meredith]

Well, my lfs charges 60$ an hour for maintainance.

 

[RoK]

Wow, that's a lot of dough!

 

[buggsmarinetank]

holy cow, where do you live at?
Thats incredible.. im starting the company, and Im only going for around 20-25 an hour.

 

[Felf]

what if you made a monthly flat fee for different tank sizes? you wouldnt make as much money but at least your customers would feel like they're getting a deal and you'd have their business for that much longer or maybe you could have multiple plans to accommodate individual clients. that's what i would do but i didnt really think about the logistics of it.

 

[Mazdaman]

I like felfs idea but you could personalize it even more. Have some typical monthly rates but give each client a "deal". You could have a maintenance program just for there setup and then go with that. Problem with a flat rate is some setups would take more maintenance thenm others. Fw to sw are different so should the prices. Same for planted vs non-planted.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

Ask Darin from captive reefs. I think I remember him answering this question to someone else a while back.

 

[buggsmarinetank]

oh of course, I mean flat rates for individual people. Yeah Yeah I totally agree... I promise you that if you clean my 20 gallon high, it owuld tank you atleast 2 hours..... i have so many decorations it is not even funny. Thanks for the posts guys, keep any suggestions coming this way :0)

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I know this may sound weird, but you could do kind of like our copier company does. They come out once a month (of course you would probably go out every two weeks or weekly) and they charge us per month. For example, say if someone had a 250 gal tank, you would figure how much time it typically takes to maintain that tank. Then, charge them each month for what it typically takes. They sign a contract for maintanence. That way, if you ever go out and only spent an hour on the tank and the next week you spend 3 hours, it evens itself out. It's just a thought. Because then you know exactly how much money you will have coming in and your customers will know exactly how much they will have to pay each month.

 

[buggsmarinetank]

good ideas, good ideas. Its pretty fun starting a hobby like this... I call it a hobby because Im not getting into it for the money, I only wish to make enough to finance the biggest tank in the universe... lol, but I enjoy aquariums so I probably will end up giving people an awesome deal. Enough to please my hobbie ya know

 

[Guest]

Great idea, but I think its sad that people won't even spend the time to work on their own tanks. Its part of the fun.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yes but if you gear towards commercial businesses, they just have it for the look. Plus, it calms employees. I wish I could talk my boss into getting a tank. How much fun that would be to setup. Personally, I love maintenance day on our tanks. I know, I'm odd.