it dosent cost 10 times more to make but they sell like a hundred or a thousand times less than house stuff so they gotta mark it up more.tamccain said:
Why do they cost so much?
- Thread starter tamccain
- Start date
Okay, then take it a little further, if you will. Tank specific lighting, especially that needed for plants is more specialized than housing lights. Reflectors have to be better and it has to put out good quality light to a specific area. Also take into account that shop lights don't usually look as nice, aesthetically, as aquarium lighting. I mean, looking at my tank right now I have a Coralife 65w power compact light. It has a sleek aluminum housing, acrylic lens, and is designed to dissipate the heat away from the tank rather than radiating into it. That's a highly specialized design.tamccain said:
Also take into account that since housing is a mass market, there are many producers of lighting equipment whereas with aquariums, a niche market, there are fewer competitors. I'll grant you certain single tube strips from certain, er, dominant companies could be cheaper and look sharper. That's why I went with a different brand than All-Glass and chose PC lighting over NO lighting. Anyway, there are myriad reasons for aquaria products to be more expensive than housine lights.
Just as another example, the de-wormer praziquntel is pretty affordable for cats and dogs but when it is fish specific, it gets more expensive. Just a reminder I suppose, that there are more dog and cat owners than even fish owners... and more people still that live somewhere.
I haven't had a problem building fixtures with pieces from Home Depot before. The parts are fairly similar, though most of the fixtures you build from Home Depot don't need starters. These are standard Flourescent fixtures though, I have yet to see Compact Flourescent or Metal halide offered at Home Depot, or even T-5's.
I've found it is the bulbs themselves that are generally hard to find elsewhere. Anything above 6500 K has to be found in aquarium specific locations, because home lighting is often dimmer. I normally buy 6500 Daylight Deluxe bulbs at Home Depot for my tanks, haven't really had any problem with them.
That said I'm using screw in Spiral Flourescents from Home Depot at 6500 K to light my corals in my small marine tank and haven't had a problem... in a reptile hood with seramic sockets that I got on clearance for 17 bucks.
I also have 4 shoplights currently being used, and numerous build fixtures. As long as asthetics don't bother you they work fine, as long as you keep them dry.
--Mia
I've found it is the bulbs themselves that are generally hard to find elsewhere. Anything above 6500 K has to be found in aquarium specific locations, because home lighting is often dimmer. I normally buy 6500 Daylight Deluxe bulbs at Home Depot for my tanks, haven't really had any problem with them.
That said I'm using screw in Spiral Flourescents from Home Depot at 6500 K to light my corals in my small marine tank and haven't had a problem... in a reptile hood with seramic sockets that I got on clearance for 17 bucks.
I also have 4 shoplights currently being used, and numerous build fixtures. As long as asthetics don't bother you they work fine, as long as you keep them dry.
--Mia
I'm very surprised that people haven't named the basics of capitalism: Supply and Demand! Many have stated reasons that are definately a factor, though. The fact is that in a niche market, supply and demand take on a new angle. Let's say that you can create any 4' Normal output flourescent bulb for 1 dollar each (manufacturing cost). To make the basic (warm colors ~3400K temp) bulb for home use you have a $1 cost, and because there are 2500 (made up figure) major manufacturers creating the same product for the same market, you have to compete with their price. Your supply costs are $1 and your demand isn't really all that high for (specifically) your product. If you raise your price because of whatever reason, people can get a comparable product elsewhere (usually 1 shelf over in the store)!
Now let's say you want to make a (cooler temp ~ 10,000K bulb, or even a plant bulb ~5000K to 6500K) aquarium specific bulb and spend the same $1 to manufacture it. Your supply COULD be (theoretically) as high as for any other bulb, but your demand is much lower (to general consumers) and this weeds out many manufacturers from the competition circle because they don't see it worth while (for their desires) to create these lower sales bulbs, even at higher prices (hey, their choice!) Now you take into account a niche market (not everybody does it.....hobbies are great examples) and you have a small group of people who will pay much more just to meet their desires or hobby needs. The fact that these $30 bulbs in the aquarium hobby still sell is my proof! In a smaller market their is a markup due to increased need to "break even" and have profit. Just consider that to break even you needed to sell a whirlygig (classic sales example here!) at $3.75 and for a small profit you charge $4. If across town someone else was selling theirs for $10 and they were selling PLENTY, would you raise your price or settle for what is a "fair" profit? You have to understand that in niche markets, sometimes items can sell at rates similar to non-niche items that sell so fast stores can't keep them stocked! I just had a flashback to the "tickle-me-Elmo" toys! Some products have been in such demand that people stood in line (in tents and sleeping bags) for 3 days or more just to get one. You better believe that if I had been selling that product, I would have charged 2x the cost for the first 2 weeks or so! Some people say "that's highway robbery!", but when you think about it, I'm not holding a gun and you are coming to me! The same with these niche market manufacturers. I guarantee that prices would drop if everyone understood the basics of light bulbs and would just shop a hardware store for their bulbs. I don't think they would drop quite as low as everyday house bulbs but I'd think not more than 2x the cost.
Anyways, this is getting long and I hope this helps!
Now let's say you want to make a (cooler temp ~ 10,000K bulb, or even a plant bulb ~5000K to 6500K) aquarium specific bulb and spend the same $1 to manufacture it. Your supply COULD be (theoretically) as high as for any other bulb, but your demand is much lower (to general consumers) and this weeds out many manufacturers from the competition circle because they don't see it worth while (for their desires) to create these lower sales bulbs, even at higher prices (hey, their choice!) Now you take into account a niche market (not everybody does it.....hobbies are great examples) and you have a small group of people who will pay much more just to meet their desires or hobby needs. The fact that these $30 bulbs in the aquarium hobby still sell is my proof! In a smaller market their is a markup due to increased need to "break even" and have profit. Just consider that to break even you needed to sell a whirlygig (classic sales example here!) at $3.75 and for a small profit you charge $4. If across town someone else was selling theirs for $10 and they were selling PLENTY, would you raise your price or settle for what is a "fair" profit? You have to understand that in niche markets, sometimes items can sell at rates similar to non-niche items that sell so fast stores can't keep them stocked! I just had a flashback to the "tickle-me-Elmo" toys! Some products have been in such demand that people stood in line (in tents and sleeping bags) for 3 days or more just to get one. You better believe that if I had been selling that product, I would have charged 2x the cost for the first 2 weeks or so! Some people say "that's highway robbery!", but when you think about it, I'm not holding a gun and you are coming to me! The same with these niche market manufacturers. I guarantee that prices would drop if everyone understood the basics of light bulbs and would just shop a hardware store for their bulbs. I don't think they would drop quite as low as everyday house bulbs but I'd think not more than 2x the cost.
Anyways, this is getting long and I hope this helps!
do you guys have your lights just on top of the tanks? i agree shop lights dont look too great so i built a canopy for it my 60 gallon one only cost like 15 dollars in materials and it hides everything. some do have fans reflectors etc but it shouldnt cost too much more for fish vs. house look at ahsupply their stuff is pretty affordable you just gotta do some work to get them set up rather than ready to go packaged lights.
Adding fans and reflectors wouldn't be that hard to factor into a canopy design. Just buy some cheap computer fans(less than $10) and go to a hydroponics store for a good polished reflector. Some will even custom make a reflector for you.
