Par meter

[ecam]

Hey guys. The club is considering buying a par meter for paid member use.

We are figuring out the specifics but would like to poll you guys to gauge interest.

To cover maintenance and upkeep of it. We would have to charge a nominal fee for rental.

What would you guys consider fair ?

And regarding security Deposit. Would you guys think it would be a good idea to secure a security deposit from every renter. Or will the honor system suffice

A sample policy

$40 non refundable fee to get put on the waiting list for the par meter. - members only (this would be used to maintain the meter and replace normal wear and tear items)

$75 refundable deposit when par meter is shipped out and is refunded in full once the meter is returned in a timely manner and working order

1 week borrowing period.

$5 per day late fee if another member is waiting

Please advise

THIS IS ILLUSTRATION ONLY

 

[diana a]

Yes a security deposit should be in place.

 

[Mrx7899x]

Yes a security deposit should be in place.

+1

 

[ecam]

What would a fair deposit Amt be ?

 

[Mrx7899x]

I would do a $50 nonrefundable rental fee. The club could use the money for par meter maintenance and accessories.

 

[Trio91]

Bump

 

[MadReefer]

Personally I would not pay $50 to rent this. I think people keeping high coral would be most of us don't keep them. I think $25 is sufficient but again feel limited use. You would need a written statement when its borrowed stating cost, no refund and if it breaks expectation. Just thinking is this even worth the club's energy to persue? I think not and should focus on other things to improve the club.

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

Personally I would not pay $50 to rent this. I think people keeping high coral would be most of us don't keep them. I think $25 is sufficient but again feel limited use. You would need a written statement when its borrowed stating cost, no refund and if it breaks expectation. Just thinking is this even worth the club's energy to persue? I think not and should focus on other things to improve the club.

some good points @MadReefer just make sure you guys vote

 

[horseplay]

$50 is a little steep. However there is a real need for this. I wouldn't mind to pay $25 but then again there are people publishing par values for the fixture I use. So I can live without it. You would have to factor in shipping it to the next borrower. And each person will need to report the condition after receiving it and sending it out. We would need someone dedicated to keep track of this, with a dedicated thread to the condition and whereabouts. I would take a vote for this to see if there are a lot of interests. I see this as a club benefit instead of trying to raise money from it. Maybe we will get a couple of new members because of this. Just some random thoughts.

 

[ecam]

Joe. We are not trying to raise money. But rather. Make sure funds are available for maintenance and wear and tear items that need to be replace

 

[MadReefer]

some good points @MadReefer just make sure you guys vote

I did vote.

 

[Jeremy Brito]

Ya I like the idea of a club par meter I have asked about this before, however a security deposit is fine but a non-refundable 50 dollar fee... nope sorry I would rather buy my own. You could rent a par meter from a local fish shop for less, I get the club would benefit from the money but that's a steep price 10 or 15 dollars as a rental fee would be ok in my eyes.
honestly in my opinion you could do one or the other a security deposit which you get back or a rental fee which you don't get back but as a frequent topic of whats the perks of being a paid member having the ability to use the clubs par meter after paying the club 50 dollars isn't a perk. just my thoughts

 

[Mrx7899x]

Apogee's MQ-510 PAR meter is $495 plus the sensor rod is another $59 thats $545. I think for $50 and you get to keep it for like a week is not bad for something thats cost $545. I don't know what other places charge to rent it but it's probably not 50 bucks for a week.

 

[jmags080307]

i think it's a nice benefit to offer to paid members. i wouldn't pay $40 to rent it but i think if you kept it in the $10 range + shipping (which should be $5) it would rent out quite often.

 

[Haus]

When first setting up I would've strongly considered this. Now with an established system, I read what I see happening in the tank so I see little benefit to me and I doubt I would use it. It's a nice thing to have available, and would be a feather in the cap of the club, but realistically I'm not sure how much use it will get, so the cost/benefit doesn't seem worth it to me.

To the point of rental cost, I did a quick google search and found these online rental options/costs for comparison:
reefledlights.com rents for $35/week plus shipping, with $335 refundable deposit. PAR Meter Rental + Deposit - Reef LED Lights
nextlight rents for $30/month with $495 deposit, shipping included. Apogee MQ-500: Full-Spectrum Quantum Meter RENTAL

 

[Haus]

Ya I like the idea of a club par meter I have asked about this before, however a security deposit is fine but a non-refundable 50 dollar fee... nope sorry I would rather buy my own. You could rent a par meter from a local fish shop for less, I get the club would benefit from the money but that's a steep price 10 or 15 dollars as a rental fee would be ok in my eyes.

Jeremy, do you know of an LFS that rents PAR meters, and the costs? Anyone else know of any?

 

[MadReefer]

Jeremy, do you know of an LFS that rents PAR meters, and the costs? Anyone else know of any?

I believe ACC rents it but no clue on the cost.

 

[iTzJu]

I initially voted yes and 40-50 charge but thinking about the logistics for this would be pretty messy which made me change the voting to no. I feel like somewhere down the line the par meter will just go missing, not saying it will be deliberate but further down the line, is anyone really gonna keep track of it? I feel like the money can be used else where like Mark as mentioned.

Most members here I would say are either new to the hobby or are established already. New hobbyist shouldn't be concerned about PAR before they grasp the concept of good husbandry and develop good habits. As far as the established members, how many times will they really rent out the par meter or go through the trouble if everything is going well? The hobby has so much information now that almost every available light fixture as data available from reefers all over. A par meter just isn't required to be successful.

Now, I must admit that I own a Seneye that I use as a par meter exclusively but I have probably only used it about 2-3x since I owned it and currently collecting dust. It was just to verify what I already pretty much guessed and affordable to me at the time.

 

[ecam]

hey everyone... with only 17 votes and just under 50% saying no. i cannot sign off on a $500 expenditure for the club. bumping this one last time before closing.

I opened this up to poll the General public.