Why does a plastic ATO container cost so much????

[andrewey]

If you have a "container" store nearby, or even if you walk through a Target, you're guaranteed to find the perfect size container with the dimensions you want for ~$10.

 

[hyprc]

7 gallon Reliance aquatainer is a good option. 20$.... And the size is perfect. Wish they made 10 gallon ones but 7 does fine.

This guy gets it. You're paying for something that's been 'specialized' for your hobby and designed to look 'good' for it's application. Sure it's more expensive to build something out of acrylic vs something like this but hey, at the end of the day, they both hold water.

 

[Reefero]

Marketing? Certain plastics like Tupperware are known to degrade over time and leach stuff into water. Ever notice how water that has been in a water bottle sitting in your car for awhile tends to get a funny taste. Yup, that’s plastic. I use the IM hydrofill reservoir. I went with it because it’s glass and is convenient for me. It fits perfectly in my stand and has a drawer that pulls out for refilling. Also has a read ball float to show water level. It was only $100 and I bought it when it was on sale for $80. The extra money is worth not having to take the reservoir out of my stand or deal with siphons and water spilling.

I believe they have their advantages but also not all plastic containers degrade equally. Plastic bottles and topper wear are the cheapest and thinnest plastics you can find + they get hit by high temperatures from the microwave or the sun heating your car, they leach chemicals because they are being burned.

 

[Lunardogz]

It come down to cost the of a person to cut all the pieces and putting it together. Time = $$$

 

[mfinn]

Food grade plastic dog food container.
Been using the same one for 9-10 years.

 

[Fezbearer]

Have you checked Amazon?
Food Grade Storage

 

[Water Dog]

Things are expensive because this is very much a niche hobby with a very small consumer base. On top of manufacturing costs, we as consumers often take shipping costs for granted. It’s not cheap. As an example, I once shipped a Lifereef skimmer from CT to CA and it cost me a whopping $85... an eye opening experience for sure!

Luckily as consumers, we have choices available to us. As mentioned earlier in this thread, there are perfectly suitable, non reef specific options that won’t break the bank.

 

[BullyBee]

I sold my hob skimmer and bought a
Stupid reservoir. The dimensions are a perfect fit

 

[Shunopoli]

Look at Blue Tide Acryclics. They have better pictures on their Instagram, but I am ordering a custom ATO for my Red Sea 250 that will fit perfectly and under 200$.

 

[Crustaceon]

People are willing to pay an arm and a leg due to perceived value. I can point to a certain overpriced “monopoly” product that people fall over themselves to spend thousands on proprietary expansion components to plug into the already expensive base model and then start numerous threads here asking why none of them work. People shouldn’t have to write code after spending that much for a product but I digress. That’s kinda the game though. Reefers want “clean” in the cabinet they’ll pay top dollar for two colors of cheap acrylic solvent welded together. Gotta match those tones. No one wants to look at a home depot bucket and a walmart powerstrip controlling everything either. I land somewhere in between that.

 

[mcshams]

I had no room under cabinet and paid the premium to have a good looking ato tank as it sits next to the cabinet. It was cheaper than eshopps... but still not cheap. The beauty in advancedacrylics.com was my ability to nearly customize every dimension.

But still not $20 unfortunately. Ironically if you really price out glass and silicone... we pay a lot for our tanks too.

 

[thedougen]

Cost me ten bucks at the dollar store....even came with a snap lid....drilled a hole for the tube.....holds 6.5 gallons to the frist rim......had bigger ones there for couple bucks more

 

[Squidward]

Using a 11 gallon pet food grade storage container for about $20. No way I'm paying over $100 for some small 5g acrylic container that looks "nice".

 

[Thespammailaccount]

You can purchase glass and have it cut to the exact dimensions at a local glass store for probably 30 bucks

 

[StatelineReefer]

I paid 80 shipped for a custom acrylic 4-part dosing container with RO line connectors that hook right to my dosing pump. It's name brands that cost you. I'd rather support an individual with excellent craftsmanship than throw money away for someone's advertising campaign.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

I went with something like this. Depends on the dimensions you are looking for of course. https://www.ntotank.com/16gallon-norwesco-white-utility-tank-x3246481

 

[badluckman]

I use a saltbucket, and once empty I replace it wirth another saltbucket. It's ugly, space consuming, heavy and the lid can't be 100% clsoed when the cables are in - but it was "free" at least.

 

[Trylobyte]

The thing is the dimensions of it make for a perfect fit under my stand. So I might get suckered into it

Just get the largest Rubbermaid Cereal Container. They hold 2-3 gallons, are high and sleep, you can easily drill holes in the top for tubing opposite of the lid that you can just open to fill. Will fit any stand

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

There will always be those that over emphasize form over function. Who cares what your cabinet looks like?
Do you polish all the hoses in the engine bay of your Camry?

 

[spfahnestock]

I chose to purchase the Innovate Marine ATO reservoir because it would be located on the side of my tank and it had a good look and function to it. When I set up this tank one of the directives from my wife was she didnt want a room (family room) filled with a bunch of totes and 5 gallon buckets/bottles.

This option allowed me and her to both get what we wanted.