Christ that’s hot ! We’re lucky to see 40oC up here. Everywhere’s copping somthing at the moment. But if you want a rainbow trout aquarium I know a guy that builds them haha.
Display quality fiberglass monster tanks/ponds
- Thread starter Ponddaddy
- Start date
you have to ask your aussie fish friends how much they will pay.... asking rest of the world is moot....
but if it helps, i paid $400 for a 2nd hand 5x3x2 ft fibreglass tank and 5x1x1 fibreglass overhead filter delivered to me. And for a custom build 8x4x2 ft pond with glass on 2 sides with internal flow sump. It will be $6000. both in your currency
but if it helps, i paid $400 for a 2nd hand 5x3x2 ft fibreglass tank and 5x1x1 fibreglass overhead filter delivered to me. And for a custom build 8x4x2 ft pond with glass on 2 sides with internal flow sump. It will be $6000. both in your currency
Not trying to discourage you as all new aquarium enterprises are good for the industry but I think you will have some challenges ahead. With the improvements in glass and acrylic manufacture, adhesives and international transportation, bigger tanks are not as difficult to obtain as they used to be. A 12 foot long x 4 foot wide x 2 foot high all glass tank can be locally purchased under $2K and isn't really considered a large tank for the demographic you seek.
Sheet metal panel bolt together water tanks are available in 1 meter square increments as long, wide or tall as needed. Already meeting Australian structural standards. For an aquarium, industrial grade epoxy coatings with the steel framing going on the outside.
For in between or specific custom dimensions, HDPE sheets screwed to a steel frame and plastic welded seams are getting popular. All screws are covered over in HDPE.
AND mainland China is producing fantastic glass and acrylic tanks. A fully made tank is only limited by container size (12m). Their labour and factory costs can't be beaten. And even cheaper if ordered by sheets. I brought in 16 foot x 4 foot x 4 foot 19mm toughened glass SGP laminate (40mm) glass sheets which were so cheap, the freight was the most expensive component. And I'm talking about the freight from local port to my house, not the international shipping cost.
To get around your third party warranty issue, you could a) sell without warranty, b) personally fly out and install each (which I'd recommend if you want to maintain quality control and word of mouth service as a start up company or c) use a trained up reseller in each capital city.
Also, rather than installing chillers or UV or solar light tubes, look into chemically removed nitrates so water changes are significantly reduced /eliminated. Contact Mike Hanrahan of AustMarine seafood tanks. There may be more recent technology developments.
Good luck.
Sheet metal panel bolt together water tanks are available in 1 meter square increments as long, wide or tall as needed. Already meeting Australian structural standards. For an aquarium, industrial grade epoxy coatings with the steel framing going on the outside.
For in between or specific custom dimensions, HDPE sheets screwed to a steel frame and plastic welded seams are getting popular. All screws are covered over in HDPE.
AND mainland China is producing fantastic glass and acrylic tanks. A fully made tank is only limited by container size (12m). Their labour and factory costs can't be beaten. And even cheaper if ordered by sheets. I brought in 16 foot x 4 foot x 4 foot 19mm toughened glass SGP laminate (40mm) glass sheets which were so cheap, the freight was the most expensive component. And I'm talking about the freight from local port to my house, not the international shipping cost.
To get around your third party warranty issue, you could a) sell without warranty, b) personally fly out and install each (which I'd recommend if you want to maintain quality control and word of mouth service as a start up company or c) use a trained up reseller in each capital city.
Also, rather than installing chillers or UV or solar light tubes, look into chemically removed nitrates so water changes are significantly reduced /eliminated. Contact Mike Hanrahan of AustMarine seafood tanks. There may be more recent technology developments.
Good luck.
Please don’t fret about discouraging me as long as your arguments come from a common sense standpoint I’m all ears!. All new business have hurdles and challenges in their lifetimes I’m expecting some big ones.
When people compare tanks there is so much to take into account. You may pay $2000 for a tank delivered but still have the other 70% of the tank to set up. Another is if people are looking for cheap tanks I don’t really want any part in those sales. Your example being glass or acrylic for $2000 I have been quoted similar numbers just for viewing panels on some models.
In my opinion the only positives to a full glass sheet aquarium is viewing capabilities and transparentcy. We’re as a Fiberglass tank with a singular viewing face has superior energy efficiency, consistency in temperature and very little risk of material failure. Not to mention custom shapes and sizes become much easier with stronger construction across the board.
As for bolt together aquaculture tanks and others of the sort are the ugliest things I have ever laid eyes on.... why spend thousands and thousands in livestock and equipment to look at a blue plastic or raw structure. Where as my designs will fit right in as a Center piece to a architecturally designed home.
As for warranty in Australia we have minimum requirements that have to be upheld no matter the written warranty given with the product. So for me to uphold those minimum requirements it’s very hard to give any third party control of installation. I’m leaning towards overseeing any installation over a certain size and anything under that will be covered under manufacturers warranty.
The components you mentioned are all for very different applications in my designs. Solar is specifically a stage two energy supply. Chillers where geographically required to maintain temps or for certain livestock. I would steer clear of UV sterilisation unless the application required. I’m not a massive fan of chemically removing nitrates but then again I know very little on the subject. Very well worth a look into. I would love to supply a natural alternative to buffer nitrates as a kit but my ideas throw quality control of water out the window for most. I will look into that contact though thankyou.
I love my 360g fibreglass tank. It cost about £650 (uk). An all glass tank would have been murder to install due to the weight and an all acrylic tank was silly money, that's why I went fibreglass. It took just me and my 14 year old lad to shift it into place, though it was cumbersome.
The big downside with fibreglass tanks, and it's twofold in a lot of people's eyes, is that usually there's only one viewing window and a lot of them are ugly rough things (and yes, those blue ones are hideous, mines black outside and in). Many people wouldn't dream of having them as a centrepiece in their living room. A shed, or a garage or other dedicated fish room where aesthetics aren't that important is usually a good place for current fibreglass tanks. Mine is in my fish room where not many people go, my 180g all glass tank is the showpiece tank in my living room.
I built a stand for my fibreglass tank whereas many would leave them on the floor. So my single viewing panel is at a good height for seeing the fish (all midwater, top level fish by the way, how rays or other bottom dwellers can be enjoyed in a fibreglass tank is another problem).
I believe the secret to moving fibreglass tanks forward is to have more viewing panels, maybe three in total, and deeper ones at that so bottom dwellers can be seen, and to make them easier on the eye so people would start to look at them as proper display tanks which could rival their stupidly heavy glass or insanely expensive acrylic counterparts.
Maybe the price would have to increase with more glass panels and the weight of the tanks would go up a bit but at the end of the day I think it's possible for someone like you, who's obviously passionate about this, to come up with a relatively lightweight and cheap fibreglass tank that you can see your fish in, from not just a single viewpoint. And the biggest plus for many people is that your design would look the part.
Then you'd have to go about designing, testing, producing, marketing and shipping them to the world, no small problem.
The big downside with fibreglass tanks, and it's twofold in a lot of people's eyes, is that usually there's only one viewing window and a lot of them are ugly rough things (and yes, those blue ones are hideous, mines black outside and in). Many people wouldn't dream of having them as a centrepiece in their living room. A shed, or a garage or other dedicated fish room where aesthetics aren't that important is usually a good place for current fibreglass tanks. Mine is in my fish room where not many people go, my 180g all glass tank is the showpiece tank in my living room.
I built a stand for my fibreglass tank whereas many would leave them on the floor. So my single viewing panel is at a good height for seeing the fish (all midwater, top level fish by the way, how rays or other bottom dwellers can be enjoyed in a fibreglass tank is another problem).
I believe the secret to moving fibreglass tanks forward is to have more viewing panels, maybe three in total, and deeper ones at that so bottom dwellers can be seen, and to make them easier on the eye so people would start to look at them as proper display tanks which could rival their stupidly heavy glass or insanely expensive acrylic counterparts.
Maybe the price would have to increase with more glass panels and the weight of the tanks would go up a bit but at the end of the day I think it's possible for someone like you, who's obviously passionate about this, to come up with a relatively lightweight and cheap fibreglass tank that you can see your fish in, from not just a single viewpoint. And the biggest plus for many people is that your design would look the part.
Then you'd have to go about designing, testing, producing, marketing and shipping them to the world, no small problem.
I just found this thread. While reading through I found myself thinking IKEA aquarium kit...and laughed when i got to the point where that exact comparison was mentioned. 
I'm a cheapskate DIY fan, so not really your target market; it always amazes me that someone who is spending this kind of money and devoting this much space in the living area of their home would not want to learn everything about the aquarium and maintain complete control over its design and construction. But that goofy TV show "Tanked" proves that there are plenty of people with more money than brains or taste, so...I'm sure that your "turn-key kit" idea has merit. I would suggest that also offering bare-bones tanks that allow end users to design/build/install their own auxiliary hardware might be beneficial, and would broaden your consumer base. If nothing else, it would allow you to offer a much broader range of prices. "Products ranging from bare-bones aquarium tanks as low as $XXXX that allow you complete freedom to design your own system...all the way up to state-of-the-art turn-key installations featuring fully-integrated hardware that allows you to just sit back and enjoy your beautiful aquarium, worry-free!" Everything from DIY to plug-and-play.
It sounds as though there is already an industry in place, with established competitors already doing business. For you, as a complete unknown, to suddenly dive into that pool and expect to gain sales, you would need to try something a little different, something that makes you stand out. Either offer a product of similar appeal and quality, but at a lower price...or offer a product that stands out in some tangible way from the competition, at a competitive price. If you don't do one or the other, why would anyone gamble on you as opposed to an established competitor? And marketing needs to be of elite-grade creativity; it's amazing how many products come to market and then fade away, due to some failure in marketing...whether that be a simple failure to get the thing into the public eye, or more likely a failure to catch the imagination of potential buyers. Marketing is not the place to economize.
I'm a cheapskate DIY fan, so not really your target market; it always amazes me that someone who is spending this kind of money and devoting this much space in the living area of their home would not want to learn everything about the aquarium and maintain complete control over its design and construction. But that goofy TV show "Tanked" proves that there are plenty of people with more money than brains or taste, so...I'm sure that your "turn-key kit" idea has merit. I would suggest that also offering bare-bones tanks that allow end users to design/build/install their own auxiliary hardware might be beneficial, and would broaden your consumer base. If nothing else, it would allow you to offer a much broader range of prices. "Products ranging from bare-bones aquarium tanks as low as $XXXX that allow you complete freedom to design your own system...all the way up to state-of-the-art turn-key installations featuring fully-integrated hardware that allows you to just sit back and enjoy your beautiful aquarium, worry-free!" Everything from DIY to plug-and-play.
It sounds as though there is already an industry in place, with established competitors already doing business. For you, as a complete unknown, to suddenly dive into that pool and expect to gain sales, you would need to try something a little different, something that makes you stand out. Either offer a product of similar appeal and quality, but at a lower price...or offer a product that stands out in some tangible way from the competition, at a competitive price. If you don't do one or the other, why would anyone gamble on you as opposed to an established competitor? And marketing needs to be of elite-grade creativity; it's amazing how many products come to market and then fade away, due to some failure in marketing...whether that be a simple failure to get the thing into the public eye, or more likely a failure to catch the imagination of potential buyers. Marketing is not the place to economize.
This is all of it imo. I think the real draw to fiberglass tanks is their versatility and practicality...if one viewing panel is scratched or cracked simply drain and replace and its good as new. They are more rugged and some would say a much stronger design than conventional aquariums.
It's best imo to follow this theme of versatility in your business model...if anything perhaps invent some sort of modular attachment system wherein you could mount equipment or decor from "hardpoints" in the tank design, maybe even a bolt-on overhead or side sump system that would effectively make it an AIO system.
I feel like a small scale builder could easily get bogged down in QC, supply chain problems, and warranty problems with finicky customers if you offer extreme freedom in the customization department.
Explore Midwest custom aquariums for more ideas. They make some really nice looking fiberglass tanks.
The vast majority of people looking for monster fiberglass systems will be willing and most likely preferring to do the set up themselves. The market of individuals who want a large plug and play system will likely not be looking at fiberglass but rather a large acrylic aquarium that will be installed by the company who built it. Not a lot of crossover between these 2 markets.
Haven't heard of him before, so probably not.
If someone was selling fibreglass tanks, I would know.
