<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6445808#post6445808 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by starpolyp
i just donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t get this at all. I am sorry but, did you really expect that tank to be moved for just a couple hundred dollars? Do you not respect people expertise, hard work and sweat?
Yes I did as, I called around to like 5 diff movers before I even order the tank to make sure of a few things:
1) Would I be able to get the tank into the basement as I was planning ??
2) How much was it going to cost ??
When I called All American Moving I talked to the guy for almost 30 min, telling him every little detail about the tank just in case something sparked in his head "No we would not be able to do this move"... It was not like I called and spoke to them for 30sec saying " I have a 1000 lbs tank that I need in the basement via stairs, How much ??" When I talked to them they all at the time stated sure it can be done, it will be X amount... So when I talk to someone for a lengthy amount of time giving them every bit of detail I can and they are making it sound like it's no problem at all and blah blah blah and they quote me a little less then 200.00 yes, I am going to think that they can do it for that price... I am just glad it worked out this way with the tank being delivered to the moving dock and being able to work with the mover(s) because what would have happened with Will did bring the tank and the Movers came to move it ?? I don't even want to go there...
you spend $300 on a bag of PVC parts, but wont pay a grand to move your precious down the stairs.
There are things call products and services... I can't very well make sched 80 fittings now can I ?? You also get what you pay for, I am sure I could have only spent 150-200 if I went with sched 40... But I did sched 80 for multi reasons...
Now services, I myself like to do as much "service" for myself as I can, what I mean by that is say my oil in my car... I could take it down the road and pay $50.00 for someone else to do it.. But if I did it myself I could get better grade oil and filters and what not and do it myself (might take me .25hrs longer to get it done, but I saved over 50% and have better quality parts / oil in my car... Do you think they a moving comp it going to take the care in moving any tank better then the owner ?? No, the only thing they are trying to do it get it from point A to B with out breaking it because they don't want to buy it...
Donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t you think that maybe there is a reason that now two separate movers have backed out of the job? you think maybe even they realized the risks and actual scale of the job? People pass up jobs like that for a reason, and you should be lucky you actually found someone willing to do the job.
I would not have been mad if they back out from the first phone call, but again as I listed above, when I give as much detail and I can and they say sure we can do it, and then 2 wks later they say, "Sorry, we can't" I tend to get a little P****ED off... If they were not sure they should have said "We need to see the tank first", or "No, I am sorry we can't do this for you" from the first phone call to them...
BTW, piano movers have been hired by aquarium people to move tanks.. like...forever. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s not any new kind of idea.
You are correct, I got the idea from some local club members and I believe I have read it on RC here as well...
and for anyone else reading this long and drawn out thread. you CANNOT set up a 600gallon reef tank "cost effectively". tss . That may qualify as an oxymoron imo
Definition:
cost-effectiveness refers to the comparison of the relative expenditure (costs) and outcomes (effects) associated with two or more courses of action....
If I was not doing this project and trying to keep it cost-effective then :
I would have been hiring people to do everything for me...
I would not have been shopping around to get the parts I need at the best prices I could...
I would have went with four Seq Hammerheads (350w ea) to get the around the same turnover rate as the Tunze setup I went with costing me $82.00 a month in just for my CL to run.
I would have gone with Eight 400w MHââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s to cover the tank costing me 94.00 a month to run then 12hrs a day...
The few things I listed above are only focused on running costs per month, not counting the replacement of the items that would be needed every year, like the MH bulbs and what not...
The running cost for this system will be about $70-$80 a month for everything...
I designed this system to work with what I wanted to keep in it, sure I got a BK400 where another less exp skimmer could have done the job... But you get what you pay for... When I was talking to GEO about a skimmer that was 16" dia and everything, he quoted me about $600.00 less then the BK400 EXT and it would have had 6 pumps that would have pulled more power every month, I would have had 5 extra pumps to worry about instead of 1... So sure I spent 600.00 extra, but down the road (will take a few year) it will come out to be about the same... I like to look at the "full" picture years down the road, not just the here and now... I like to look at startup cost along with running costs for future usage and then look at a few different configs, sure I spent a little more on startup costs but with the figuring I did, I should come out ahead with in a few years...
I love being able to drive to Savko with a drawing and talking to them in person and they know what I need to get the job done... If I was not able to talk to them in person and show them what I need I am sure I would be spending 25% more then I would have to and having two or three times the pieces to deal with to get the job done then would I would need... Like today I was asking them how I could get from a 1.5" to 3/4" and they gave me one fitting... I was thinking I was going to have to get like 4 or 5 pieces to convert it down...
