Aquarium mantanince crews in buffalo

[TILE MAN]

It’s hard to find a mantaince guy in buffalo who is not rediculis price I don’t mine paying as long as I get what I pay for but tried almost every crew in buffalo who ether was not qualified or was way over priced I don’t claim to be a professional but I know enough when I am getting taken advantage of so if any one else in the buffalo area has the same problem like to here about Just had to vent it’s hard to find a good matainance crew ty and great reefing

 

[JaimeAdams]

How much were you getting quoted?

 

[TILE MAN]

Any wher from 50 $a hour up to 600$ a month just rediculis like I said don’t mind paying as long as I get what I pay for lots of misguided information

 

[TILE MAN]

I got horror stories for hours

 

[JaimeAdams]

What was wrong with the $50 an hour? Sounds pretty cheap compared to the several maintenance guys I know.

 

[TILE MAN]

In experience that’s a lot if they don’t produce results

 

[TILE MAN]

Like I said I am a novice and if I am a professional charging people fithty dollars sure better b on top of your game and not make excuse for mistakes and wrong recamendation listen I run my own business for along time and well respected in the trade u don’t stay in business by treating people unfair

 

[JaimeAdams]

I run a LFS. We don't do maintenance accounts although I will do some small stuff here and there on the side. I also run a marine aquarium society. I know 6 different guys that do maintenance accounts. They range from $80 - $175 an hour.

 

[TILE MAN]

Ya well that’s rediculis guys that charge 175 a hour to do mantaince on a tank that’s crazy them guys take the fun right out of the reefing hobby that’s why u better off learning how to do it yourself don’t know many people in the hoddy that would b willing to pay that much for mantaince

 

[PicassoDan]

Wow, $50-$175 and hour? Is that just labor? Sounds like lawyer rates...
I could understand a minimum charge to come out (maybe $50), and then $30-$40 an hour. It does take some knowledge, but it's not like you have to have a college degree or some lifetime of training to maintain a reef tank...

 

[amoore311]

Wow, $50-$175 and hour? Is that just labor? Sounds like lawyer rates...
I could understand a minimum charge to come out (maybe $50), and then $30-$40 an hour. It does take some knowledge, but it's not like you have to have a college degree or some lifetime of training to maintain a reef tank...

For shops that stay in business and don't look like crap when you walk in, $85-100/hr is more than fair. For the guy living out of the car he's doing the maintenance out of and barely scraping by to get to the next week, you'll find them more than you think and they are closer to $60/hr.

$175/hr may seem like a lot, but if the place you are calling is a busy spot and are used to catering to high end clientele, you are going to be quoted a high end price. If you don't take the maintenance spot, they are banking on the fact someone will who has the cash to spend... because that's what all the other accounts pay.

I don't own a shop but I've been in the hobby for a long time. I've consulted and installed a few tanks for folks on the side, $100/hr is what I charge take it or leave it no hard feelings on my end. I'd rather stay home and play with my kids then take less lol. That being said, their home is treated like my home, their tank is treated like my tank. You get what you pay for.

 

[PicassoDan]

Just my opinion, but six-figure salary for installing fish tanks is crazy. Just sounds like there is plenty of opportunity for free market to drive the price down.

 

[SyracuseMatt]

It may depend on where you're located, whether they charge for travel, prep time and/or phone/text/email time. If it's 100/hour while they're at your house but they had to travel, make saltwater, load a truck with stuff for your tank, talk to you on the phone 6 times, respond to emails, texts, etc., all of the sudden, 100/hr isn't 100/hr any more. I wouldn't pay someone 100/hr to maintain my tanks but, it's just because I find that part of the hobby, despite the learning curve early on, to be enjoyable. It's a little like gardening for me, peaceful time. I also take pride in my ability to produce my successes (and hopefully learn something every time I'm less successful than I would like to be).

Matt