Buyer's Remorse...

[Daddio]

How come every time I buy a new piece of equipment I have buyer's remorse even before I make it home? Then you go online and read reviews on your new piece of equipment and can only seem to find the negative - even though what you bought may be leaps & bounds above what you have.

Just bought a CAD Lights TIA 1220 skimmer to replace an old ASM G2 and before I even made it home I was ready to turn around and return it - even though it is far superior to what I have on my tank now.

This happen to anyone else? or am I just need to man up and live with my decisions?

 

[rworegon]

Its not just you, nut I might suggest you do the research before you buy to make an informed buying decision instead if buying first and then looking for reviews to justify the purchase.

BTW, if you had done the research you would fing that CADLights has terrible customer service.

 

[ionix]

The cost is enough to feed 200 3rd world families?

Remember back when parents used to be like, "THERE ARE KIDS STARVING..."

Or maybe its that moment that you think your wife might be able to actually find out the real price. LOL.

 

[Daddio]

I do research but still doesn't matter. You can find good and bad reviews/opinions on anything!

I was told by my LFS that they do have horrible customer service - but I am already way over budget on my build (got a good deal since I have already spent a small fortune with them and I think they are feeling a little sorry for me). To buy a comparable Reef Octopus or the like would have set my wife over the edge and I am still not done with my rebuild.

 

[Daddio]

Funny how terrifying a 5 foot 2 woman can be...

Thanks a lot for the 3rd world food reference... now I feel even worse... Now I need to go work at a food pantry

 

[Pete polyp]

95% of feedback is negative. Seems that now days nobody wants to give praise and only complain. Its not surprising that you have only found negative reviews. Is this skimmer going to meet the needs of your aquarium? If so I wouldn't sweat it. I go through the same thing, especially when I make an expensive purchase. Most always its a thing pof the past and forgotten within a month.

 

[Daddio]

Thanks. The thing is, it is way better than what I have. You can always spend more and that is the hard part. What is good enough?

I just got home from work and seeing it sitting next to my sump, it really looks impressive - if it works half as good as it looks I'll be happy. I'm going to break it in on my existing tank so I have a little less of a learning curve once I start my new build.

 

[Pete polyp]

I'm by no means a skimmer expert (actually a skimmer noob) but with my recent build I researched skimmers for over a month. I have found that having a skimmer that's a match for your system being the best. The old belief "the bigger the better" has been disproved over the years. I ultimately went with a skimmer rated twice my actual system volume. I do plan on having a heavy bioload and feeding heavily, and this was considered with my decision.

 

[Daddio]

It's so hard to figure out as the rating system is totally subjective - all you can do is trust the manufacturer and go bigger to be safe. I also needed it to fit in my sump so you have to weigh so many factors.

I trust my LFS and they run these on some of their tanks so it is nice to be able to see one in action. As cool as thei cad pipeless skimmers are, the adjustment on this one is still pretty cool - bigger for less money than pipeless.

I tend to like a couple of "feature" fish and lots of little critters - I like the where's Waldo part of looking at my tank. So my stocking will be at most moderate.

I have the skimmer in now and will watch it tonight as it breaks in but it is already getting some nice brown clumps at the top of the bubble column which is way, way more impressive than my G2.

 

[Pete polyp]

Yeah the hardest part for me I'm picking a skimmer was trying to find one to suit my system. With manufacturers ratings all over the place it took a lot of research. I have 73 total gallons in my system and ended up going with a bubble magus curve 5. Its rated at 135 gallons I think. It was especially hard to find a skimmer for this size of a tank. It seemed to me you have much more options with larger tanks. What size display are you going to be using this on?

 

[Daddio]

150 tall with around 30 in sump refugium. That doesn't give me double at all - kind near on the light stocking side - but it is the biggest, most economical I could find to fit my sump. Maybe I can build a new sump and not be constrained by space for a phase II build

My LFS has been using these on quite a few heavily stocked tanks and feel that the ratings seem to closer than other manufacturers - but we'll see.

One thing I do like is that it is dead quiet. I know it doesn't effect performance but it is really pretty to look at as well - really nice construction and attention to detail. I have it running a wet skim right now but am going to see if I can't get a nice dark skimate in the next few days.

 

[Daddio]

Oh, the 150 will be a fresh build. I am running this on an established 13 year old 75 gallon right now to see what happens.

 

[ionix]

Funny how terrifying a 5 foot 2 woman can be...

Thanks a lot for the 3rd world food reference... now I feel even worse... Now I need to go work at a food pantry

Lol. You cannot change the world with the amount you spend on your hobby. Maybe Bill Gates' hobby.

Though, poor countries like Ethiopia are actually quite beautiful and there are small desolate areas that are infertile that you see on TV (they're forced there because of severe over-population). No amount of money could ever fix that, the more you put in, the populous would boom even further (this is my opinion, but the earlier sentence is factual).

Pretty funny though about the wife

 

[Daddio]

I tempted fate and bought a really cool sump... All it cost me was a full day of a honey do list and new carpet for our main level of our house... Fair trade!

 

[Eienna]

The cost is enough to feed 200 3rd world families?

Remember back when parents used to be like, "THERE ARE KIDS STARVING..."

Or maybe its that moment that you think your wife might be able to actually find out the real price. LOL.

On the other hand, the ornamental fish capture for the pet trade helps supply income for a few of these hungry families.

 

[Pete polyp]

I tempted fate and bought a really cool sump... All it cost me was a full day of a honey do list and new carpet for our main level of our house... Fair trade!

This is why I'm thankful I'm single ha ha

 

[Daddio]

If I was single I couldn't afford to do this rebuild - I would have blown all my money.

 

[NanaReefer]

Wow can I ever relate! $319 for my LED's. Know how much gas that would buy? Could of fed my dog for months! I need new socks and haven't bought a new pair of pants in 5yrs!! It will take me months to get over this.....

 

[Daddio]

I was thinking more on this this weekend. I just spent another $500 on a beautiful sump - it is a little like Christmas though. I'll bet you were giddy when you got to see your new lights on the tank for the first time!