daveedka said:
I think it's a combination of factors, the first is people don't always equate cleaning supplies with something you should dump in your tank so they start by looking at the lfs instead of the mega store, then when they do get past that there is some fear of getting the wrong things and poisonong their tank. Then the common instruction is make sure it has nothing but ammonia and water, so when they see ingredients like cheleating agents if they don't know what those are they hesitate to buy the ammonia. All in all it can be pretty intimidating when buying the wrong thing leads to disaster.
Exactly! Heck, I'm not such a newbie anymore and even *I'm* afraid of buying the wrong stuff.
I think a lot of people would rather pay for a mark-up at a LFS and get the right stuff, than pay cheap and get the wrong stuff at a hardware or grocery store. I'd be in that category, that's for sure.
Also, yah, Big Als and Foster and Smith would also mark it up, but how many people just buy ONE thing from those places? When I buy on line it's very seldom just one item, I try to buy everything at one place to save on shipping. I'd just add a bottle of ammonia to my order. If those places were smart, they'd market their own "brands" in 4-8oz small bottles and sell them with "kits" of cultured gravel and stuff or even with Bio-Spira.
I'm heavily planning my next tank (April) and I intend to do a fishless cycle with Bio-Spira and ammonia. No fish until I'm sure everything is fine.
I think this thread will prove very valuable as a tool for new folks if we can get pictures of all the common brands that are proof tested.
dave
Again, exactly!
I was thinking of turning it into an article once I got all the info. Hrm, what about copyrights?
I think once I get a list of the stuff et al I'd better email the companies for permission to reproduce their images.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Daveedka
Roan