Goanna;2642280; said:If you want to keep your tanks all separate, you don't need to use HOB filters for each one. You get one large air blower and plumb it to PVC pipe going around your store. You drill that pipe and insert brass fittings that you attach airline to, and you run the airline from the pipe to plastic box filters. Don't underestimate corner box filters, they can do a great job if maintained properly.
This type of setup allows you to keep every tank seperate, and only have to run one large air pump thats maybe like 200 watts or so.
SW needs more then just box filters though, so for that you may want to consider a plumbed system. You can also look into DAS displays (http://www.petstorefixtures.com) or the Marineland Commercial systems.
Setup two large vats with pumps and heaters, one for fresh and one for salt water. The vats should be filled every night and left to filter until the next day so the chlorine/chloramine dissipates and the water has a chance to reach the preset temperature. The FW vat will allow you to top off tanks and do water changes without having to worry about dechlorinating each time (although, you always remember to sell dechlorinator to the customer).
The SW vat can be used the same way (just be sure you add salt every night and measure the specific gravity to make it the same as your system). You can also use it with an auto top-off system to make sure your sump water level doesn't drop too low after selling fish if you have a multi tank system running.
When planning out your store, consider small end cap style shelves placed at 45º angles up and down your store rather then several large aisles. Place the most frequently purchased items (dog food, beddings, etc) towards the back of the store. This makes it necessary to walk past all of these end caps and the 45º angle makes the merchandise fully viewable as you walk up and down the aisles.
Setup some nice displays and consider getting something really exotic to draw people in the store. A store Mascot so to speak. Some kind of awesome fish, a big parrot, giant monitor lizard. Whatever it is set it up really nice and if its anything other then a fish make sure you handle it often and get it used to people. You don't want an aggressive store mascot
Make sure you design a nice counter. Set it up in a way where you can utilize POP displays (Point of purchase). Many manufacturers provide products in POP packaging and these nicely designed displays can sit in and around your counter and they make up most of your impulse purchases. A candy counter design will work well, but also be sure to have space on your side of the counter also, as things will pile up throughout the day. If you tend to be somewhat messy make the customers side higher then your side so that any potential mess is hidden from their view.
For your shelving and displays, your wholesaler will often provide retail shelving for free if you buy a full display. Chances are, you need the merchandise anyway so see what they offer you before you go out and start buying shelving and displays. L&M, Kaytee, AGA, Tetra, etc all do these types of programs. They are specifically made to help new stores get established and/or help existing stores to remodel, so look into them and take advantage of them.
Look into a good point of sale system and check with your vendors to see if they provide electronic inventory updates. Most do nowadays. If this is the case, you'll be able to import all your products form a text/csv file instead of manually going around the store and scanning everything. You will still need to manually enter your quantity on hand and quantity to keep in stock, and reorder quantity so your system knows when to order more. This may sound like a lot of work, but having a good point of sale system with inventory management will save you A LOT of time in the future, and it allows for future expansion (gift cards with magnetic stripes just like the big stores, nice easy to read receipts, financing, reporting, even online integrations with shopping carts so your website and retail store share the same inventory information). I can recommend Quickbooks point of sale. There are specialized "Pet POS" systems out there but most are very outdated and lack some major features, plus are only compatible with older hardware. Quick books POS is feature packed and is always updated.
That's all that comes to mind right now. If I think of anything else I will post it.
Longest post on thread? Congrats lol, Everything you said is raelly useful!! Thanks one of thing i was not to informed on was selling merchandise(system for sellin) But not i understand it more thanks so much!!!
Thank you
