10 gallon clownfish kits

[Genix]

i work for an LFS. we only do freshwater but i suggested an idea to my boss and he liked it. i want to put together 10 gallon saltwater kits. the aquariums will already be full and cycled. containing 2 false perculas and 5-10lbs of live rock. the aquariums include an aquaclear power filter, heater, crushed coral substrate, a hydrometer and a bag of salt mix.

this idea is designed for the freshwater aquarist who is nervous about saltwater. we're also trying to capitalize on the whole finding nemo craze. i am going to write out full maintainence instructions to make care simple and easy. we are planning to use tank raised perculas and aquacultured live rock for ethical reasons.

what do you think of my idea? how much water do you think should be changed weekly to keep nitrates at a safe level? could we get away with only 5 pounds of LR? any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Jermz79]

The tanks are going to be full and cycled? This might cause problems, because now the customer is going to have to transport a full SW tank home with all that rock and water sloshing around in there (the poor fishies). I guesstimate a 10gal tank to weigh about 80-90lbs and that is pretty heavy for your average person to be lifting! I don't think it would work out to the benefit of the customer to have everything established prior to buying. JMO though!

I think you would be better off doing a type of sale where the customer would buy the tank, the equipment and 5lbs of LR ... set everything up and cycle the tank .... then come back and get the other 5lbs of rock and the fish ... of course after proper water tests were completed by your store to insure the survival of the fish! You could take it one step further and provide the services of setting up, cycling and maintaining the tanks.

My LFS does this type of thing with NanoCubes. I personally think it's a bad idea to get someone who has never had experience with SW into a tank less than 29gal. IMO 29gal is still tough to maintain and anything smaller requires more dedication and maintenance! I jumped head first into SW with a 29gal FOWLR tank, and then a 12gal Nanocube and have to say it's been the most fun ever, but ALSO hasd been a lot of work!

As far as the water changes go .... in my 12gal I do about a gallon every week right now ... as things start to maintain I may be able to go 2 weeks, but I may be pushing it. Usually 10% is the norm for water changes, but in a small tank a LITTLE change may bring BIG problems!


Good luck and when you guys start racking in the money remeber my screenname!!!

 

[localhost]

My other suggestion for your store is to start selling RO/DI and premixed saltwater. That way if you start selling these, the customer will have an easy source. If somebody just wants a 10G SW for a starter tank, they might try using tap water, not mixing the salts correctly and messing up the salinity, etc.

Also, isn't 2 percs in a 10 pushing it for a new tank (or even an established tank)? A tank will look nicer IMO if it had 1 perc, a couple shrimp(peppermints), a couple turbo snails, and a couple nassarius snails. A lot more interesting life in there.

 

[Jermz79]

you could do 2 percs in a 10gal. You would have to have a nice amount of LR in there as well as an additional mechanical filter. But it has been and can be done!

 

[Hara]

I do not think it is a good idea, sorry. Only experienced saltwater enthusiasts should attempt tanks that small. In saltwater, smaller does not equat to easier. They are very difficult to mainitain.

 

[revhtree]

I agree with Hara. Too much to go wrong in such a small environment, not to mention the stress and potential problems moving the tank....

 

[AndyH5512]

I agree that it's a bad idea. I wonder how many perculas have perished because of that Nemo movie. People see that the fish is cute, and decide to rush into things without knowing what the are getting into. It reminds me of the dalmation craze after "101 Dalmations."

 

[Genix]

thanks for all the input, guys. i have a 15 gallon and i have no problem keeping the water properties stable as a rock. i replace water very slowly (about 45 minutes) when i do water changes and was going to instruct the customers to do the same.

oh and about the selling full tanks, i was planning on emptying the tank to about 30%, making it less than 50 lbs. and bagging the water and possibly the fish.

so here's a quick revamp of my idea; 20 gallon tanks, 10lbs of LR, 2 percs, a cleaner shrimp, and some snails. unfortunately there is a large price jump from the hagen econo 10 gallon to their 20 gallon. and live rock will be the most expensive part. our cost on the 10 gallon kits would have been about $170CAD, retailing for $300. cost on the 20s is gonna be more like $250 or more. i do agree that 20 gallons would be easier, it's just the cost of the LR (7.50/lb) that makes it a bit less feasible.

the customer would buy the aquarium kit, set it up, come back for LR, add about 4 oz of Cycle, and then come back 2-3 weeks later with a water sample and hopefully goes home with a clownfish.

 

[Phyl]

I think if you're set on doing this you should stock them with 20# of live rock. Insufficient bio filter + newbie + no filter + no skimmer = disaster. To save on the live rock culture your own. Seed base with a little bit of purple rock (or some purple up). Even giving them 5# of live with 15# of cycled base rock with enough bio capacity to handle a little misfeeding in the beginning and you'll have a more likely success ratio.

Rather than sending them with "cycle" have them use 1/4 of a coctail shrimp to get their tank going and have them come back in 3 weeks or when the brown stuff comes and goes.

 

[HoopsGuru]

The other worry I have is that many new aquarists tend to overfeed, regardless of what you tell them. IMO, with a tank that is just barely past the initial cycle, there would be a good chance of large algae blooms for months (hair algae, etc.).

If I were you, I would start hosting a monthly day at the store where you gave people and up close look and info on keeping saltwater tanks....and hope this increases your business. Kits are setup for failure and angry customers with dead fish/ugy tanks are not the most fun repeat customers.

 

[Sati]

My advice (regardless of if I think this is a good idea) is that before you launch a big promotional idea like this, you test it. See if a complete novice like your brother, mother, etc can manage the tank without trouble and without hand-holding. After all, the average customer wouldn't have your cell phone number to ring over every little thing Address questions on the fact sheet and change the setup if it doesn't seem to be manageable for whatever reasons.

 

[Bhunsucker]

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen IMO but like you stated LFS are trying to make a dollar on the Nemo craz. Its not right or fair to the animal but thats the LFS for you.

It also sounds like you have made up your mind to do it or bust so what does it matter what we think?

 

[greenmaji]

I like the idea of culturing base rock on your site to save the store money to bring down costs.. I can only see one problem with that though.. would the store have enough room to set up the culutring vats (or maybe Im overthinking this, but I would think that the demand for this cultured base rock might be high and need extra space, and time to get started well before going ahead with the deal)

 

[Genix]

we try to convince customers not to buy animals we don't think they can sustain. this idea is designed for experienced freshwater aquarists.

unfortunately the store is not large enough for a rock culturing tank or anything like that. i am thinking about culturing the filter sponges and biological media to go home with the kit.

sati, i definitely intend to test the idea and my instructions on a novice aquarist.

 

[Genix]

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen IMO but like you stated LFS are trying to make a dollar on the Nemo craz. Its not right or fair to the animal but thats the LFS for you.

It also sounds like you have made up your mind to do it or bust so what does it matter what we think?

yes i have made up my mind to go through with this but i need help to ensure the most success. i do care about animals and the reefs which is why the kit is for experienced aquarists and that's also the reason we will be using tank-bred percs and aquacultured live rock.

 

[lando]

Not sure I like the idea. As mentioned, a 10gal is a bit small to start with. I am concerned about the support issue. Not in terms of you or the advice you can give to aquarists, but in terms of all of the different SW hard good products that go along with SW tanks. If you are unable to support the customer's needs as far as product goes they will find a different store. SW is addicting and I am afraid your customers will be wanting more they the store can offer. If you d not have the space and time to devote to the SW industry I suggest skipping it. Pick one thing and do it well.

 

[Genix]

we have another store in town that deals with saltwater. should they need something we don't have, they can always go there. also i've changed the plan to use a 20 gallon tank.

 

[revhtree]

What about water changes? Do they get salt with the deal, or they getting water from your store? Do they have RO/DI units at home, or do they have really good tap water?

 

[localhost]

A lot of experienced freshwater people that go into salt would probably not be in the market for a premade kit. They wouldn't mind getting bargain on tank, stand, lighting, skimmer, heater, etc. combination. But they wouldn't want to buy a complete kit with water and fish already though. I think those are for people new to aquariums. FOr a new person, don't forget to include a gravel vac for water changes and an algae scraper. We all know you can't do salt for cheap.

If your going to do it, just go with a 29G kit with all the necessary supplies and run a special on that and offer $30 in free fish.

 

[flamingonhot]

You can do a 10 gallon. That was my first sw tank. But i also read on sw tanks forever and read about 5 books on it. as long as you know what your doing and dont overstock it, and monitor water levels.

It can be done but if your going to do a kit trya bigger tank or something. THe only thing i see wrong is somebody coming there and buying the tank and not knowing what the heck to do. Just because you have the tank doesnt mean you know what to do with it. offer some book or something with it and dont hve it all set up. Just have a special, if you buy all these things together you get 25 percent off or something. or just have a kit with all the equipment in it and have specials on the fish and what not.

Also have something other than crushed coral. Fora beginner itll only complicate things more. i have it in my 10 gallon right now only because it goes well with the deco and like it but im going to change it soon because i have to constantly clean it.

And also in kits they dont include everything. they usually have the salt hydrometer and all the basic stuff, so just remember that thats not all you have to get, theres always something more.

hth if you could understand it lol i cant type to save my life today.