My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

[MatsP]

So when are these tnaks being delivered, do you know yet?

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Mats

[Viktor Jarikov]

Glasscages in Jan. Dolphin FG - Feb. Both manufacturers are quite popular and very busy these days.

[TheFishGuy]

Subscribed! How much will admission be?

[Viktor Jarikov]

Well, tell me if it is worth a try or plain silly but I've been mulling over "pay what YOU think is a fair admission price". People would come, look, and pay at exit.

Since it is such a small start-up, I am thinking of sampling customer expectations that way and it may also help avoid people being too disappointed (who, e.g., took a drive to get here; although I am pro honesty in advertising and will advertise the venture for what it is - a tiny start-up... because people hear Public Aquarium and think of those huge multi-million-billion $$$ facilities and here I am with a 5-figure budget...).

If I am underpaid, by my standards, then we may have to switch to a standard cover charge of... oh, maybe $3 for the first several months. As we add more tanks and fish, the price will rise...

But that's all wishful thinking atm... I have not secured my main permit yet - rezoning. NIM (neighborhood information meeting Jan 23; three meetings with the County Board of Commissioners and the County Planning Committee to follow...).

GlassCages tanks are arriving this Sat, Jan 21. I am finishing the stands for these 10 just barely in time. Hopefully.

[Suckermouth]

Well, tell me if it is worth a try or plain silly but I've been mulling over "pay what YOU think is a fair admission price". People would come, look, and pay at exit.

Since it is such a small start-up, I am thinking of sampling customer expectations that way and it may also help avoid people being too disappointed (who, e.g., took a drive to get here; although I am pro honesty in advertising and will advertise the venture for what it is - a tiny start-up... because people hear Public Aquarium and think of those huge multi-million-billion $$$ facilities and here I am with a 5-figure budget...).

If I am underpaid, by my standards, then we may have to switch to a standard cover charge of... oh, maybe $3 for the first several months. As we add more tanks and fish, the price will rise...

I'm not convinced that this strategy will do anything besides doom you to failure. Pick an admission price that will cover your costs. If you have an idea of what being underpaid is, do not allow your customers to set a price that underpays you. As a sidenote, being "too cheap" can also give a negative appearance to your business.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Thanks, Milton. You know, one would think so but I've also read an interesting article about a guy who runs a restaurant like that here in the US. It is not the cheapest nor very expensive food, about $40 a person a dinner. He claims most people pay the fair price. Some pay less but they are balanced out by some that actually pay more.

I think, if anything, it is an interesting experiment.

I plan not to indicate any prices in my leaflets/ads/flyers but simply state to call such and such # for prices, hours, and directions, which will be given in the automated greeting message.

I am not set on hours either yet. For starters (read weeks-to-months), I'd like to be open every day 9 am to 6 pm and then decide which hours/days to carve out.

I am my own boss. If things go wrong, they can be adjusted on the dime. But I am making note of your opinion - it surely counts - and hope more people will chime in.

Truth of the matter, I see these as very minor things and can go either way on this one, easily.

[Viktor Jarikov]

As a sidenote, being "too cheap" can also give a negative appearance to your business.

Care to elaborate?

[Viktor Jarikov]

Ok, some initial photos...

Inside the 55'x55' lanai where the main exhibit area will be. Wooden stands for the ten 240-gal GlassCages tanks.

[Viktor Jarikov]

...

[MatsP]

Looks good so far!

When's the "glass" coming?

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Mats

[Viktor Jarikov]

I needed a rain-free, shaded, better-climate-controlled space instead of the screened-in lanai/courtyard. The estimates for a hard roof (e.g., metal) or a vinyl awning were coming in at $30,000-$40,000. So, I am modifying the screen cage myself to enable putting over a tarp/plastic in a green-house manner (except 90% or more of light will be blocked, at least during summers)...

[Viktor Jarikov]

...

[Viktor Jarikov]

Temporary housing "pond duplex" for some of the fish...

[Viktor Jarikov]

Main entrance in the works...

[Viktor Jarikov]

Here are the ten 240 gal tanks. Took 4 guys plus my wife and my mother-in-law (yeah, )to place them... Was told by GlassCages they are 650 lbs each but I think, really, probably 400-450 lbs each. 1/2" glass all around. 8'x2'x2'. $759 each. $1450 to ship all 10 from Tennessee.

[Viktor Jarikov]

...

[Viktor Jarikov]

A look around the 9-acre property, if interested. (Lazy man's version)

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/316-M ... 7557_zpid/

[sidguppy]

wow

it must be fun to have millions and millions of dollars......your kitchen is bigger than my house!

9 acres!
geez, over here they use that amount of land to put in a whole village

wow

it all looks great, though. very nice

not afraid all the 240 gallon tanks are going to overheat under the glass dome?

florida's a hot place afaik and it'll work like a greenhouse.

why not use "indoor ponds"?
I know of several tropical fishbreeders who are in Florida, one is Laif Demason.
he breeds Madagascar cichlids (along with Riftlake cichlids) and those are particular heat-loving fish, but in florida those breed in ponds (maybe just in summer, no idea).

[Viktor Jarikov]

SG: it must be fun to have millions and millions of dollars......
VJ: you are "only" off by three orders of magnitude, is all.

SG: 9 acres! geez, over here they use that amount of land to put in a whole village
VJ: Just to make sure we are on the same page - one acre comprises 4,840 square yards, 43,560 square feet or 4,047 square metres (0.405 hectares) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre

SG: not afraid all the 240 gallon tanks are going to overheat under the glass dome?
VJ: yes I am but there is no glass dome planned but a largely opaque canopy.

SG: florida's a hot place afaik and it'll work like a greenhouse.
VJ: greenhouse effect relies on light entering inside it. There will be almost none in warmer months. The two 55'x20' sides of this canopied structure will be open (apart from the mosquito net) for a breeze to cool the place, fish, and visitors a bit. The water pumped into the tanks will always be close to 74 F - ground temp; year round. No water return.

SG: why not use "indoor ponds"?
VJ: I view it as a indoor-outdoor hybrid. It's all I can afford atm with my insufficiently deep pockets.

SG: I know of several tropical fishbreeders who are in Florida, one is Laif Demason.
he breeds Madagascar cichlids (along with Riftlake cichlids) and those are particular heat-loving fish, but in florida those breed in ponds (maybe just in summer, no idea).
VJ: deep ponds are kept cooler by the earth. Shallow can easily hit upper 80 F and low 90 F.

[MatsP]

So, essentially, the plot of land you are on is 36000 sq.meter. My flat is 42sq.meter (450sqft), so it would fit, roughly, 900 times on that piece of land... ;)

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Mats

[joefish72b]

So, essentially, the plot of land you are on is 36000 sq.meter. My flat is 42sq.meter (450sqft), so it would fit, roughly, 900 times on that piece of land... ;)

--
Mats

I'm a couple towns away from Viktor (where the working class lives) and my garage is 500 sqft. Where do you keep your fish in a place that size?

[joefish72b]

Viktor,
I heard that Mote Marine is looking to open a facility around here. Have you heard this or is it maybe just a rumor?

[Viktor Jarikov]

Mats, I am not sure why we are comparing land to living space or why we are comparing, period. Apples-to-apples would be 6000 sq ft in our two ranch houses vs. your flat. But, again, everything has pros and cons. Consider effort- and time-intensive maintenance, for one. While you may be free as a bird to spend your weekends, my wife and I are slaving away to maintain all of this "splendor", indoor and out.

Joe, I have not heard that. If it is true, I, needless to say, do not like it one bit... at the face value.

[MatsP]

I'm a couple towns away from Viktor (where the working class lives) and my garage is 500 sqft. Where do you keep your fish in a place that size?

With difficulty, and not much space for other things. In my living room, I have 10ft rack with 8 tanks, one on the side surface in the "kitchen" (which is physically the same room as the living room). Two more tanks in the bedroom. RO unit + water storage in the loft. I have to do my water changes over 3-4 sessions in a week, because I can't store enough water to change the water in one go.

I don't have a sofa, only one armchair, etc.

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Mats

[MatsP]

Mats, I am not sure why we are comparing land to living space or why we are comparing, period. Apples-to-apples would be 6000 sq ft in our two ranch houses vs. your flat. But, again, everything has pros and cons. Consider effort- and time-intensive maintenance, for one. While you may be free as a bird to spend your weekends, my wife and I are slaving away to maintain all of this "splendor", indoor and out.

Well, I don't actually own where I live - I own the house where my ex-wife lives (or, technically, a part of any leftover money when it is sold in about 12 years time) - and the flat I live in has no land attached to it.

--
Mats

[sidguppy]

well, I guess land as well as large houses and building must be a lot cheaper in Florida than in North West Europe

a house like yours, victor, would cost at least several million euro's here

that amount of land even more; you'd need a yearly paycheck in excess of 1 million a year to afford such a property; otherwise you'd loose it in just a few years.

amazing

there's no way distracting 3 zero's and making it thousands, one could build something big like that over here.

I lived in a villa the last 2,5 years until recently; and that villa was about half a million dollars (it's not mine! i just rented there until I left); it could fit in the place with the greenhouse like structures.

the footprint of the villa was a bit over 30 feet x 30 feet.
the piece of land it was build in (smack in the center, it had a great garden) was 100 feet x 100 feet.
the original price was about 580,000 euro's (760,000$)


wow.
cheap land, cheap houses....

amazing.

[Viktor Jarikov]

The prices vary with the area: in the middle of nowhere in SW FL, one might pay ~$5,000-$10,000 per acre. On the outskirts of towns like Naples (my area), it is ~$10,000-$30,000 an acre. Prime lots: there is no ceiling especially in touristy, commercial spots, perhaps hundreds-of-thousands-to-millions per acre.

Same simple logic per sq ft of living space. Our houses: ~$50 a sq ft (1974 and 1997 - two houses). Comparable newbuilts - about 2-2.5 times more.

Just to give you ball park. Do not quote me.

Our property used to be $1-$2 million at the height of the FL real estate bubble, which burst about 3.5 years ago. Even today, people can buy foreclosed $1 million homes for $200,000... with some luck even for $100,000. Plenty on the market all over FL.

What we paid (3/4 with our pension funds and 1/4 out-of-pocket) - the zillow website above says. We had to borrow money from friends and could barely afford food and gasoline after that. So much for millionaires. As I said, my Aquarium exhibit budget is ~$45,000 - two 4500 gal tanks and ten 240 gal tanks. That is all. And that's about half of what we got from selling our Rochester, NY house at the end of Dec 2011. The other half goes to paying the debts.

[racoll]

Coming on nicely!

This might sound like a crazy idea, but I would perhaps concentrate less on the fish, in terms of the business aspect.

I would think about making the area just a nice place to hang out in, perhaps like a cafe with tables, water features, plants, decorative features etc. I would even consider not charging people to enter, but make money on providing food and beverages.

You would then, hopefully, get a lot of repeat custom from local folks who just want to chill out in the nice surroundings and admire the fishes.

[Suckermouth]

As a sidenote, being "too cheap" can also give a negative appearance to your business.

Care to elaborate?

If something is really cheap then you do not expect a high level of quality. Having to pay a greater amount subconsciously gives a greater amount of quality to something.

Coming on nicely!

This might sound like a crazy idea, but I would perhaps concentrate less on the fish, in terms of the business aspect.

I would think about making the area just a nice place to hang out in, perhaps like a cafe with tables, water features, plants, decorative features etc. I would even consider not charging people to enter, but make money on providing food and beverages.

You would then, hopefully, get a lot of repeat custom from local folks who just want to chill out in the nice surroundings and admire the fishes.

I've gotta say that's an interesting idea, and is quite a reversal from how at least I imagine an aquarium is, but that doesn't mean it's not a valid way to make money. On the other hand, restaurants are one of the toughest businesses to get into, and they don't also have thousands of gallons of water and fish to maintain.

[grokefish]

Coming on nicely!

This might sound like a crazy idea, but I would perhaps concentrate less on the fish, in terms of the business aspect.

I would think about making the area just a nice place to hang out in, perhaps like a cafe with tables, water features, plants, decorative features etc. I would even consider not charging people to enter, but make money on providing food and beverages.

You would then, hopefully, get a lot of repeat custom from local folks who just want to chill out in the nice surroundings and admire the fishes.

Do this Viktor!

and good luck fella, you are living my dream lolz.