Aquarium Maintenance

[VO3434]

I am fairly new to the reef aquarium game and am thinking of getting some pro help just a few time til I get the hang of it. There are companies that do maintenance every two weeks. My question is what is a ballpark fee for this?
I'm getting quotes from $40- $100 a month to come a do a check up on my 40 gallon tank twice a month. Seems like too big of a gap in prices...what's average?

thanks:hello:

 

[fonz4u]

maint

you not a reefer if you dont do it yourself buy a book and learn to do it yourself its too expensive then u have money for a coral and beer

 

[pgr11]

Can't help I with the price but its not all that bad to do yourself. Talk to some experienced reefers and get some advice. Best way to learn is by doing :beer:

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[VO3434]

Yeah, I was going to just hire them for a month or two so that I can learn how to do it myself.

Thanks

 

[gumbii]

check out the beginners sticky on this forum... if anything dies or you got any problems, make a detailed thread about it... we'll figure it out...

 

[toromp]

I am fairly new to the reef aquarium game and am thinking of getting some pro help just a few time til I get the hang of it. There are companies that do maintenance every two weeks. My question is what is a ballpark fee for this?
I'm getting quotes from $40- $100 a month to come a do a check up on my 40 gallon tank twice a month. Seems like too big of a gap in prices...what's average?

thanks:hello:

What are your questions?? I'm sure we all have out experiences and knowledge we can pass down to you.

-Luis

 

[VO3434]

I'm just worried about agitating the sand and causing a spike in nitrates. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to get a co-worker to help, he's got experience with reef systems.

Much thanks

:beer:

 

[gumbii]

wut...?


just don't touch the sand...


tada...

 

[Raskal311]

The price will range pretty wide depending on how legit the company is but anywhere between $30-$75 per hr. Some random reefer without a business license or insurance would charge on the low end. Full maintenance company with full contractors insurance would be on the high end. A LFS would be somewhere in the middle.

 

[LotsaFishies]

I am a legitimately licensed Aquarium Service & Maintenance company down in northern San Diego.

Assuming a regular, full-maintenance visit including:
-visual health check of livestock
-equipment check
-water testing
-algae scrubbing
-filter cleaning / media replacement as-needed
-15 gallon water change with mixed RO/DI water

I would price that out at $65/visit. Or, offer a package deal of $100/month if you wanted every-other week visits.


Hope that helps!

 

[evad1]

check out deepseawondersla.com they are in woodland hills too..
i was next to him at a show, and he had great stuff and was really kool....
or if our a baller check out vividaquariums.com

 

[commodorejoel]

When I first started, I did a ton of research online (still do everyday) but I wanted an "expert" opinion on my tank layout (coral placement to lighting, water flow, filtration, etc.). You can ask a ton of questions on these forums, but at some point you just want someone to check your tank out. I received about three quotes at $75 per hr plus water. I hired a local aquarium shop to do the water change for me and learned quite a bit including the begineer mystery of doing a water change with sand. I considered it an investment to watch how a maintenance company does it and ask questions along the way. Additionally, you never know if there will be that 2 AM tank problem that you can't solve yourself, so it is good to have someone with a few supplies as a backup.

 

[Reefer Mania]

Take the fun out of it and have someone do it for you? Thats why we are here at 2 AM.

A good beginners bible is The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner, it covers all aspects of the hobby with helpful illustrations.

Do remember the perfect reef is an ongoing process we all strive for. Don't over think it, take your time, after a while it's just a nice "flick of the wrist" type of thing.

 

[jessesoto33]

Where I live it's $75 an hour, but +1 on doing it yourself!

 

[Armen]

its not that hard.
if u have any questions just ask us how to deal with a problems..

 

[Laker]

My friend got Age of Aquariums in Long Beach to come to her house in OC for about $45/visit. They have lots of vans and run a pretty big maintenance operation it seems.

 

[dorkymk3]

^ they also have a 24/7 on call guy just in case of an emergency.