# why are 10 gal tanks cheaper than 5 or 5.5 gal ones?



## JohnDapiaoen (Oct 31, 2013)

I don't get the logic at all. I was shopping around the different pet stores for tanks to convert into arboreal terrariums and this question kept coming to mind. can someone provide some insight?


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## Dark Nexus (Oct 31, 2013)

No idea.  The only time they are cheaper is when petco does the $1 per gallon sale


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## JohnDapiaoen (Oct 31, 2013)

Here in CA the sale doesn't apply to sizes lower than 10 gal, so technically 5 gallons would be even more pricey than 10. Makes no sense at all .


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## Nada (Oct 31, 2013)

I would guess that it's because they don't sell as well, and they need to be more expensive to warrant making. Most pet shops out here don't even stock anything smaller than 10.


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## JohnDapiaoen (Oct 31, 2013)

No surprise they don't sell well, they're half the size but cost more after all.  I don't think anyone would buy them unless they specifically need a tank that size.


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## viper69 (Oct 31, 2013)

I've looked into this actually. Not from the 5 gallon size, but the 15 gallon size. I love 15 gallon tanks, they are useful for a lot, more so than 10 gallon. I've seen 15 gallon fish tanks that sometimes 3x the cost of a 10 gallon!! 

According to what I learned from some tank makers and retail sellers, more people want 10 gallon tanks (fish), then those small tanks or 15 gallon tanks (in the tank industry 15gal is considered a smaller market, and sometimes a "specialty" size believe it or not). You can even see it in the history of tanks. Many years ago there were hardly any product offerings like there is now in sizes less than 10 gallons. Some of that is due to manufacturing advances with plastics, and also demand from the market place. For example, decades ago it was really rare to see small saltwater tanks because of the chemistry involved in maintaining the water for the saltwater tropical fish. Now however, the chemistry is really worked out, it's not brainless, but it's close compared to what it used to be. As a result you see salt water setup that are only 5 gallons or even less! So owning small tanks has been more viable to the casual user, though the price of saltwater fish hasn't seemed to go down hahah

Fish are the dominant market, while reptiles has been the fastest growing market in the recent past.

Reactions: Like 1


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## The Snark (Oct 31, 2013)

Classic example. A 100 amp breaker panel costs more than a 200 amp. They sell several hundred 200 amp ones for every 100 amp thus the 100 requires special ordering and special inventory maintenance. The actual cost of manufacturing most common commodities is trivial compared to packaging, warehousing and shipping. As a real eye opener, walk in to your local supermarket and gaze around. Right off the top, everything you see is marked up 50% to cover shipping, warehousing and other handling costs. Then the packaging eats another 35% of the sale price, and it's warehousing, shipping and handling. Bottom line: The money that you spend that is actually going to food is usually <10% of the total price you pay.

The special handling charges are in fact much worse than you think. Example: How much does a gallon of household bleach cost? $2? 3$? The contents of that gallon jug costs around.0001 cent. One thousandth of a cent. Handling, shipping and packaging is what you are actually paying for.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Wadew (Oct 31, 2013)

A 10 gallon tank in the industry is considered a "leader" and therefore it has the lowest cost. It is what sells the most. It is the gateway to larger tanks.

                            -Wade


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## Introvertebrate (Oct 31, 2013)

10 gallons is a good minimum that will accommodate the biggest Ts in the hobby.


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## jim777 (Nov 1, 2013)

Try finding a 15 or 25 Watt light bulb! But by me, the 2.5, 5, and 10 gallon tanks are all the same price. You see a lot of those pacman frogs in 5 gallon tanks.


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## viper69 (Nov 1, 2013)

jim777 said:


> Try finding a 15 or 25 Watt light bulb! But by me, the 2.5, 5, and 10 gallon tanks are all the same price. You see a lot of those pacman frogs in 5 gallon tanks.



That's odd, I've never had a hard time finding low wattage light bulbs that were 25 watt, and I've never seen those gallon ranges all the same price..weird hahaha


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## josh_r (Nov 2, 2013)

Being a custom aquarium builder, I have an answer to this question which may fit. The manufacturer of the aquariums must purches the glass in order to build the tanks. The tank builder wants to get as much use out of one pane of glass as possible. Not all aquarium sizes are efficient at utilizing an entire pane of glass. On top of that, they have tto change their equipment to accomodate the other sizes. When it comes to the 10 gallon size, I suspect that this size utilizes an entire pane of glass with very little to no waste and they get the most aquariums out of one pane. So they pump out this size like crazy. When they have to stop production to build another size, it costs them money and time. Also they may not get as much use out of a single pane... thus resulting in a lot of waste glass. This saame situation applied to anything raises the prices. For example.. I am seeing this very thing happen with exotic imported woods from Peru. The abundance of wood and low quality of the wood here in Peru makes it very expensive for the exporter to export high quality stock. He must purchase what he thinks is the best stock, dry it, then he has to deal with all the checking and warping and case hardening.... Ultimately, he has to cut the crap out of the wood to make it quality enough to export... He loses money in this process, so he has to jack the price of his stock... Same goes for aquariums.

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (Nov 3, 2013)

Yeah I've felt it was also a manufacturing issue too. I've seen the same idea in paper. Where the stock piece bought if cut into a certain dimension, yields more of a certain size for all the reasons, especially labor and stopping the cutting machine etc etc. This wouldn't surprise me at all either.

What makes Peru have low quality wood, rather, what makes the wood in Peru of low quality? The higher humidity perhaps?


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## Introvertebrate (Nov 3, 2013)

It might be simple economics.  Supply and demand.  They sell the most 10 gallon tanks, so they can afford to sell them for less.  I see the same trend in other hobbies.  An O.S. 35AX model plane engine is $154.98.  An O.S. 46AX is a little cheaper at $149.97.  The O.S. 46AX is a bigger engine, but its such a standard size in the industry, that they can afford to lower the price on it.


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## Wadew (Nov 3, 2013)

IF entry level hobbyist's all started out with 55 gallon tanks they might be more affordable too!

                                      -Wade


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## Roblicious (Nov 3, 2013)

I think it is the same as low profile tires compared to normal tires. Less tire/rubber = more $$.


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## josh_r (Nov 3, 2013)

Introvertebrate said:


> It might be simple economics.  Supply and demand.  They sell the most 10 gallon tanks, so they can afford to sell them for less.  I see the same trend in other hobbies.  An O.S. 35AX model plane engine is $154.98.  An O.S. 46AX is a little cheaper at $149.97.  The O.S. 46AX is a bigger engine, but its such a standard size in the industry, that they can afford to lower the price on it.


there has to be a reason for the supply and demand.. if 10 gallon aquariums were not what was regularly built, it would be another size that would be regularly built. There has to be a reason they started building that size in the first place... I believe it is because they can get the most out of each sheet of glass with this size. If it were another size that was as economically efficient, it would be a different size that we all bought due to price and availability.

Viper69, the quality of wood is low in Peru because they don't know how to produce high quality stock. The Peruvians do not care about high quality as much as amercans. The don't care about grain or figure or color, etc.... They don't care about checking or splitting or warping and twisting... If it's wood, it's wood.. That is how they think. They do not care about case hardening and proper drying techniques. They do not protect the wood to prevent checking and cracking. They do not protect the wood from warping and twisting (a result from case hardening) This also shows in the quality of the furniture they make out of the wood they purchase. Much of the furniture in Lima is no better than the wood they build it out of. In the end, if you want to get good quality wood out of the stuff available here that would sell in the states, you would have to cut a LOT of wood off the original stock. I know this first hand as I have been helping a friend with his wood exports lately. Are you interested in exotic woods Viper? My friend specializes in tonewoods for guitar and drum building.


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## viper69 (Nov 3, 2013)

josh_r said:


> Are you interested in exotic woods Viper? My friend specializes in tonewoods for guitar and drum building.


Now I see, I thought you mean there was something different w/the trees haha. I love exotic woods, I also love some of the native wood here in the USA. One of my favorite exotic woods is Zebra wood. It's stunning and $$$$. There are other exotics I have soon from many other countries that are simply gorgeous, I can't remember their names though because I see them so infrequently, but zebra wood is a REAL standout. I'd love to have tarantula or herp case made of zebra wood. It would definitely cost more than all my exotic pets!


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