You get what you pay for?! A marketing hype or a reality?

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

MRHasan: I'm not really sure what you're looking to achieve with this thread? Vindication that you can get by with budget equipment? A resounding chorus from budget reefers saying "Those who pay premium are idiots"?

There's nothing at all saying a cheap maxijet or some Chinese knockoff can't provide good flow. The difference, for me at least, is that when I buy Tunze equipment I'm buying a history of rock solid performance. I won't be worried that my pump will fail at 2am on a Saturday of a long weekend leaving me scrambling and in a panic. It's not the performance when it works that's the deciding factor for me, it's the peace of mind knowing that I bought a quality product that is statistically less likely to cause a catastrophic failure in my tank. Furthermore, if something does occur I've bought a product with warranty service that is second to none. Some people see more value in buying two cheap pumps in case one fails. Both are valid viewpoints and it comes down to where an individual sees the value.

Same with LED's. My AI SOL's work fine for me for now. They grow coral, they have a measure of controllability. That doesn't mean that there is ZERO value in the extra features of higher end fixtures such as better controllability, less disco effect, a better more metal halide-like shimmer, etc.

We get it, you don't have money because you're a student. Honestly, most of us have been there before and can sympathise. Just because some of us see the value in higher end gear doesn't make us idiots for spending more, and to be honest I'm sure most of us don't care if you want to spend less. To each his/her own.

Nop my point was not that but my point was its kind of silly to push people to buy expensive stuffs. Its definitely fun to buy fancy stuffs (I bought myself an ATI dimmable fixture ) but there are times where one ask "is bubble magus good" and there will be posts like "piece of crap (cause they are cheap) and you should get bubble king cause you get what you pay for"..... there's very few threads asking "what's your budget...hmm...that's the best you can get within that amount of money but here's some other options in case you were not sure" but rather "hey hey hold of to that, you dont wanna buy that cause its cheap, made in china...go for the more expensive one". That's all I am saying

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

but there are times where one ask "is bubble magus good" and there will be posts like "piece of crap (cause they are cheap) and you should get bubble king cause you get what you pay for".:

got a quote or link....may help your case no??

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by reefwars

got a quote or link....may help your case no??

I don't wanna put any links over here cause that might relate to personal attack which I definitely don't want to. What I wanted was to get make a point that to have a successful reef, you don't necessarily have to have the high end equipment out there. That is something that many new reefers get afraid of: cost of high end equipment. In this hobby, its all about getting a nice reef tank to get going and hence "do you really get what you pay for?" in context of having a reef tank.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

I don't wanna put any links over here cause that might relate to personal attack which I definitely don't want to. What I wanted was to get make a point that to have a successful reef, you don't necessarily have to have the high end equipment out there. That is something that many new reefers get afraid of: cost of high end equipment. In this hobby, its all about getting a nice reef tank to get going and hence "do you really get what you pay for?" in context of having a reef tank.

spose lol

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by reefwars

spose lol

You paid for radion pros...did you "get" what you paid for? In this hobby, we spend money for nicer tank, did you get that from those?

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

You paid for radion pros...did you "get" what you paid for? In this hobby, we spend money for nicer tank, did you get that from those?

I think that's the point though,

Radio Pro's may or may not give you a "nicer" tank than AI SOl's, but there are other reasons to buy things such as reliability, customisability, etc. that make it money well spent to some people. As such, it's in the eye of the beholder (spender). If you spend money upgrading from say a SOL to a Hydra just to have a "nicer" reef you may not get your moneys worth. If however, your goal is a broader light spectrum and more convenient programabillity than you'd probably feel your money was well spent.

I'm not terribly active on here anymore, but it seems to me that in most "help me buy equipment" type threads I've seen the OP either states their budget outright and people try to suggest things within that budget, or people try to suggest things within the whole spectrum. Those have certainly been my experience when I've wanted advice on a purchase. Have you considered that the "You get what you pay for" comments are from people who have tried cheaper stuff and had it fail at a really inopportune time, rather than people who are too heavily invested in their particular favourite brand?

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

I think that's the point though,

Radio Pro's may or may not give you a "nicer" tank than AI SOl's, but there are other reasons to buy things such as reliability, customisability, etc. that make it money well spent to some people. As such, it's in the eye of the beholder (spender). If you spend money upgrading from say a SOL to a Hydra just to have a "nicer" reef you may not get your moneys worth. If however, your goal is a broader light spectrum and more convenient programabillity than you'd probably feel your money was well spent.

I'm not terribly active on here anymore, but it seems to me that in most "help me buy equipment" type threads I've seen the OP either states their budget outright and people try to suggest things within that budget, or people try to suggest things within the whole spectrum. Those have certainly been my experience when I've wanted advice on a purchase. Have you considered that the "You get what you pay for" comments are from people who have tried cheaper stuff and had it fail at a really inopportune time, rather than people who are too heavily invested in their particular favourite brand?

Exactly that's what my point is. Different people will definitely have different opinion on whats "expensive". To me, a $20 lunch would be expensive (cause I can cook so much with that amount) but replacing 6x$22 T5s every year is not. Highly variable thing. But I go around forums (I have the habit of googling for everything I buy and go around other forums since canreef is actually very mild with nice reviews; hence I dont post in other forums), I find all sorts of "rants" making it look like less expensive things in the hobby are curses. I don't know about others but I feel terrible looking at those.

You don't see much in this forum regarding such rant since canreefers are nice. Although I have been in debate with some of the posters in this thread but they have been extremely nice to be in many cases; its just part of healthy debate I would say It got a bit tricky/mess/whichever word you use but...oh well...I know nothing is going to change between them and myself

And about the last bold line, I think its more from people who loves specific brands than those who have experimented. Because people who did cover the full spectrum from low end to high end (I myself did in some aspects) tends to have more practical opinion than just "buy the most expensive stuffs!".

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

You paid for radion pros...did you "get" what you paid for? In this hobby, we spend money for nicer tank, did you get that from those?

not sure why you would think i didnt as i think i did , got a price on them , paid it and the light worked just fine , in fact sold it as brand new and got some good moey back for it;PP

the sun works too ....

just for me this was a better choice for my tank at the time.

whats your argument exactly? that highend lights dont do as good a job as low end or that low end dont do a good as a job as highend?

still dont see anything in this thread but complaining about highend stuff lol

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by reefwars

not sure why you would think i didnt as i think i did , got a price on them , paid it and the light worked just fine , in fact sold it as brand new and got some good moey back for it;PP

the sun works too ....

just for me this was a better choice for my tank at the time.

whats your argument exactly? that highend lights dont do as good a job as low end or that low end dont do a good as a job as highend?

still dont see anything in this thread but complaining about highend stuff lol

So, it was a better choice for you at that time but not now. Hence it might not be a better choice for someone else for now a.k.a paying for high end fixture doesn't necessarily mean its bound to work for you. In context to your comment, here's my point:

"highend stuffs may do a good job and cheap stuffs may also do a good job; paying for higher priced equipment is no shortcut to a successful reef and doesn't necessarily mean you are paying for the best choice and successful reef is possible with low end fixtures".

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

but there are times where one ask "is bubble magus good" and there will be posts like "piece of crap (cause they are cheap) and you should get bubble king cause you get what you pay foram saying

My direct experience with BM was after about 8 months the pump would get really hot and shut down, then it would and repeat the procedure. BM did send me a new pump and I used it for a week or so then I sold it. About a month later I got an email from the guy who bought it and he said that the new pump actually blew up and took his sump out with it. He wasn't accusing me of anything just had some questions about what to do as the skimmer wasn't a year old yet. I had him contact Michael and as far as I know Aqua-Digital took care of him on this. So I would be hesitant to recommend any BM product not because they are cheap but because of my experience with the product. Point is not everyone is telling people not to buy cheap stuff just because of the price point. Some of the bad stories you hear are actually true.