Whats up you guys! and thanks for the compliments.
When I first started building I was intimidated by the whole process and ended up outsourcing a lot of it. Especially the cutting and edge prep. Then I started building sumps and have to tell you, I made some costly errors and quickly learned , the cost of labor is good and bad.
It's good for the seller but bad for the buyer. I've always been more of a consumer advocate when it comes to fair pricing and believe big tanks should not be priced like medical procedures. So I made it a point to visit as many public aquariums and acrylic fabricators as I could. In my search for answers I discovered it's really not magic. There are tricks of the trade such as the use of glacial acetic acid to slow down the drying of solvent cement and how to bevel edges properly when using 2 part cements such as PS 30 or WO 40/42. How to use the tools of the granite industry to suspend panels why the joints are drying and how to make seams nearly invisible. How, when and why to anneal...
I guess thats why I like seeing build documentaries and believe in showing as many people how it's done in an effort to reveal industry secrets making big quality made tanks available to more people thru DIY. Im sure this dosent sit well with those who have their own TV shows and like to charge 20K for a tank that cost 10 to make. Pricing them more than cars just isnt the way to promote the hobby. Maybe an aquarium Bluebook for re-sale is in order? Similar to the Kelly Blue book for autos. One mans opinion, I could be wrong?
When I first started building I was intimidated by the whole process and ended up outsourcing a lot of it. Especially the cutting and edge prep. Then I started building sumps and have to tell you, I made some costly errors and quickly learned , the cost of labor is good and bad.
It's good for the seller but bad for the buyer. I've always been more of a consumer advocate when it comes to fair pricing and believe big tanks should not be priced like medical procedures. So I made it a point to visit as many public aquariums and acrylic fabricators as I could. In my search for answers I discovered it's really not magic. There are tricks of the trade such as the use of glacial acetic acid to slow down the drying of solvent cement and how to bevel edges properly when using 2 part cements such as PS 30 or WO 40/42. How to use the tools of the granite industry to suspend panels why the joints are drying and how to make seams nearly invisible. How, when and why to anneal...
I guess thats why I like seeing build documentaries and believe in showing as many people how it's done in an effort to reveal industry secrets making big quality made tanks available to more people thru DIY. Im sure this dosent sit well with those who have their own TV shows and like to charge 20K for a tank that cost 10 to make. Pricing them more than cars just isnt the way to promote the hobby. Maybe an aquarium Bluebook for re-sale is in order? Similar to the Kelly Blue book for autos. One mans opinion, I could be wrong?
