Just Venting

Mono · Mar 31, 2021

Can someone explain to me why an Aqua UltraViolet costs north of $600?
It's a dang PVC pipe with a quartz tube, a fluorescent light and a few o-rings.
This ain't any kind of new technology or expensive materials.
Man, sometimes I wish R2R wasn't a family friendly forum...
Just venting

ctnguye3 · Mar 31, 2021

Apparently you're paying for quality. I myself don't own one, I have a Coralife Turbo Twist which cost a fraction of the price, however the quality probably isn't as good, one of the mounting bracket broke after a few months. Their customer service was excellent and shipped me a new set but it does have me a little worried it'll break again. As far as the UV itself, I think they all do the same thing, you're just paying for the construction and brand name.

Mono · Mar 31, 2021

ctnguye3 said:
Apparently you're paying for quality. I myself don't own one, I have a Coralife Turbo Twist which cost a fraction of the price, however the quality probably isn't as good, one of the mounting bracket broke after a few months. Their customer service was excellent and shipped me a new set but it does have me a little worried it'll break again. As far as the UV itself, I think they all do the same thing, you're just paying for the construction and brand name.

I know but I don't see how the material costs come close to $600!!! It's just PVC the cheapest material known to humankind!

N.Sreefer · Mar 31, 2021

Seems like any item that reaches an aquarists hands has been marked up 1000x looks at aragonite and calcite being used as an aggregate in large concrete buildings but when they put a hunk together with concrete and dye it purple or pink suddenly that rock is expensive. And bloody fish meal, pea flour and low grade plankton being mixed and made into 6 dollar bottles of fish food. Chicken feed is similar to low grade fish food and look at the price difference! Thank you for this thread I needed a good vent xD

Mono · Mar 31, 2021

N.Sreefer said:
Seems like any item that reaches an aquarists hands has been marked up 1000x looks at aragonite and calcite being used as an aggregate in large concrete buildings but when they put a hunk together with concrete and dye it purple or pink suddenly that rock is expensive. And bloody fish meal, pea flour and low grade plankton being mixed and made into 6 dollar bottles of fish food. Chicken feed is similar to low grade fish food and look at the price difference! Thank you for this thread I needed a good vent xD

Maybe then I should raise chickens! At least I could eat the eggs!!!!

KStatefan · Mar 31, 2021

Look at it as a opportunity to start your own business and make millions.

Ratherbeflyen · Mar 31, 2021

I agree a lot of our gear is overpriced. My solution was to build most of my own equipment. You can do the same.

ctnguye3 · Mar 31, 2021

Ratherbeflyen said:
I agree a lot of our gear is overpriced. My solution was to build most of my own equipment. You can do the same.

Not just the gears but the corals. I mean, people pay more than the cost of an Aqua UV for a 1/2 inch frag or a polyp lol That's just the nature of this hobby, luckily there's cheaper options for the gears and corals, it doesn't have to cost us a fortune to enjoy and be in this hobby.

Sarcazian · Mar 31, 2021

Mono said:
Maybe then I should raise chickens! At least I could eat the eggs!!!!

I own three chickens and I pay about $30 a month in food for them. You could save a bit if you were good about giving them leftover food scraps/etc and not using organic feed, but imho it's not worth it for food. They are cool pets and they have a great personality though.

CMMorgan · Mar 31, 2021

I totally agree with you. I opted for Lifeguard UV. It is still mega expensive but much less than Aqua UV. I also liked the way they are constructed much better than the Aqua UV. You are so right though.... that's less than 100 bucks in materials. Somebody laughs every time the register rings.