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Cory

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Posts posted by Cory

    Safe way to get rid of ants?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I've never had a problem making my own ant bait with borax. I haven't seen any problems from it. I'm not saying it could never be a problem, but it hasn't ever been one for us. We get ants in the store and sometimes in my fish rooms over the years. They seek out the warmth and water during the cold months.

    Aquahuna plants

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    We didn't end the partnership with Aquahuna, they requested to end it with us. They wanted to stand on their own 2 legs without our advertising. They'll be treated like all other vendors on this forum for us.

    AQQA co op style heater

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I wanted to follow up. Someone did a comparison on this AQQA heater vs the co-op heater. There is now some data that shows they are indeed different heaters using different parts even though they look similar.

    The Blue and orange lines are two Co-Op heaters, while the red and green lines are two of the knockoff heaters.  Each is heating approximately a 20-gallon tank (though the green one may be more like 25-30 gallons, in the rubbermaid trash can).

    aqqa-2.jpg.858f31fe2de305f96d7c507bb6fa2cc1.jpgaqqa-1.jpg.608a2d9f005b59323aacff2e2393e668.jpg

    coopvsaqqa.png.9c6c32b1c112180b297b102edd38b6bb.png

    They're not the same heater!

    The Co-op heater has incredibly-stable temperature control, probably the best I've ever seen, and as good as much more expensive models like the Fluval E series.  Notice that the fluctuations are no more than the resolution of the temperature probe itself!  The AQQA knockoff is not nearly as good -- notice the .6 degree fluctuation -- more in line with most bi-metallic strip heaters like the Eheim Jager.  The electronics are all sealed in black epoxy, so I have no idea if the brains are different between the two, or if it's just different programming.  Maybe it's the more accurate programming that caused the failures prompting all the returns?  I don't know.

    It's probably good enough for most folks.  But it's not the same heater.  RIP the Aquarium Co-Op heater. 🙂

    How did everyone find Aquarium Co-Op?

    in Introductions & Greetings

    Posted

    On 2/12/2024 at 1:10 PM, Maximus said:

    I'm a local - and was trying to use Google Maps to find aquarium stores. Their algorithm was effectively only showing me Petcos... what a joke. Why in the world does a low-rated chain store appear whilst a 4.9 star rated store with thousands more reviews not show up? I ended up finding them by zooming in on particular areas around the Greater Seattle Area and re-searching. Found it tagged finally... but no name appears on the map for the pin! Come on Google. I think I was searching through the list view when I finally found it. I was gobsmacked that this little fish store has 4000+ reviews and wasn't appearing, and the nearby Petco with 1000 reviews and a poorer rating does. Live and die by the internet and SEO, I suppose.

    @Maximus This is good feedback. @bnaturally and I will look into if there is anything we can optimize to help it stand out on the nearby maps.

    AQQA co op style heater

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 2/5/2024 at 12:03 PM, Pepere said:

    I am curious though @Cory, what is the lowest failure rate you would think it would be feasible to build an aquarium heater that would retail for say $50.00?

    I don't know, seems no manufacturers are really working on that. Amazon has hundreds of cheap heaters. When you're a heater manufacturer you want to sell to everyone. We were prioneering getting closer to a better heater and it was a battle as all their other customers want cheaper, so they spend their R&D time making it cheaper, not looking for better parts or more expensive designs.

    Since I haven't seen it, i could only speculate, maybe the perfect heater can cost 3 dollars, or can't be done for $50. I don't really have the answer.

    AQQA co op style heater

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'd caution people to assume they are the same. Easily could be different factories. They are at least using the old software on the chip. We made several updates to it since the first one that displayed EL. There's actually a lot of options when it comes to having a product made. Like used parts. You can save money if you used parts from recycled electronics. We would never do that, but you can see this a lot in the random Chinese brands. It's not meant to scare you, but also just keep in mind, just because it looks similar doesn't mean it is. You can see in the car industry, the same exact car using the same parts, put together in a different country has different issues.

    My advice is approach any brand, whether it's eheim, tetra, chinese brand, Aquarium Co-Op Etc. How do the heaters do over 1-3 years, with 10 units. That's a baseline to start from.  However, I'd say there is just as much chance of the AQQA heater doing well as a sicce, eheim, etc.

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