# ADA 60P vs DO Aqua 60p?



## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

The low iron content really makes a difference in appearance IMO. Some folks don't see it. If I had it my way, I'd change all my tanks over to starfire glass.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

The marginal price difference between the two makes the standard ADA 60p 100% worth it, IMO. There is a huge difference in the quality of materials used.


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## Gametheory (Apr 25, 2014)

Thanks for the input guys, but the local price ended up being a lot higher than I expected.

I'll have to hold it off for later this year lol


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Take a look at the Mr. Aqua 720LI (17.1 gallon). It's the same thing as an ADA 60P — low iron glass and the same dimensions. The silicone is very clean on mine, and I love it. You can check it out in my Fallen Tree Branch journal in my signature. It's $123.98 shipped from Marine Depot. That's $76.62 less than a 60P shipped (the 60P is 62% more expensive!).


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## Gametheory (Apr 25, 2014)

Wow, that looks like a great alternative, I had completely forgotten about Mr. Aqua tanks.


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## Qwedfg (Mar 7, 2012)

Not sure where you are located but CADlights zen series tanks are very nice and are a pretty good savings especially if you can get it local. I have the 11g (same as dimensions as 45p) and I would say the quality is comparable to ADA.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I have a CAD 90P and just ordered their 60P equivalent but it is a little taller so its 23g. Great tanks and you will have a hard time telling it apart between an ADA.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk


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## Gametheory (Apr 25, 2014)

They look like nice tanks, unfortunately none are sold locally around me.

I didn't see a 60p equivalent on their site, could you link it to me? Also how much did it come out to?


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

Mr Aqua tanks, even the low iron ones, are still not to the same quality as ADA ones.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> Mr Aqua tanks, even the low iron ones, are still not to the same quality as ADA ones.


My low iron Mr Aqua is very high quality, and there is no way any difference in quality between it and an ADA tank justifies the 60% price premium.

*this is my own humble opinion


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

I've seen a few LIG rimless tanks, custom made, mass produced in real life etc and ADA still has the clearest glass I have seen. Also the craftsmanship is impeccable. When you buy one for the first time it is really noticeable.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

AnotherHobby said:


> My low iron Mr Aqua is very high quality, and there is no way any difference in quality between it and an ADA tank justifies the 60% price premium.
> 
> *this is my own humble opinion


Most of the low iron Mr Aqua tanks cost the same as same sized ADA ones, before shipping.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> Most of the low iron Mr Aqua tanks cost the same as same sized ADA ones, *before shipping.*


Before shipping doesn't matter unless you can pick it up yourself. It's part of what you pay, and it's what it costs to get the tank. It's $123.98 for a low iron Mr Aqua 60cm tank shipped to me, and it's $200.60 for the same size low iron tank 60cm from ADA shipped to me. 

If you live somewhere where shipping is less, or where you can pick one up, that could change things. If they were even close to the same price, I would have got an ADA, but I really like my Mr Aqua:


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I have seen a few side by side comparisons of Mr. Aqua and ADA, both at stores, a friend of mine has many of both (maybe he will chime in), and now I have an older Mr. Aqua. Mr. Aqua is nothing to complain about, even the low iron glass is better than most cheap framed aquariums. I would call them, semi high clarity. However, the silicon work is just not quite up to ADA. I would likely never complain about Mr. Aqua quality, though some are better than the next.

However, ADA is better. I believe the quality control is better too, I would expect one ADA tank to be the same as the next. Their have been maybe two people who really had a bad ADA tank and that led people to believe ADA quality had gone down but I just saw some new ADA stuff, both purchased and on the shelf and I didn't see anything but great quality.

As for Do!Aqua, I have less experience with that. I don't own any, and don't know anyone who owns any tanks. However, when I go to AFA, I really never noticed any difference, it can be a bit overwhelming to take everything in and I don't think they usually have the Do!Aqua's as display tanks, I could be wrong on that, just saying, I usually only see them in a box. My gut tells me that a Do!Aqua 60P would be of the same quality as and ADA 60P, just without the high clarity glass.


I also feel that TruAqua is almost on par with ADA, all imperfections are super minor, to where I would likely go with them over Mr. Aqua. However, their 60CM is taller than the 60P. IMO, the 60P is the tallest I want. The 60H, I believe is deeper front to back so even though the TruAqua is the same height as the 60H, I would still rather have a 60H. 


For me, at this point in the hobby, I would likely go with the ADA 60P over all options. I mean, that's what I do have but it was a gift so I didn't really weigh out the price. A big reason for this is the tank usually becomes pretty nominal in the end, even if you were comparing to a 20H, after you buy all the other equipment, the little bit more you spend on ADA vs. Do!Aqua or Mr. Aqua, it's not that significant. Now it is compared to a 20H, but still, I think that can be pretty nominal. 

This assumes you are going all out, nice canister, nice lily pipes, nice lighting system, nice substrate, nice CO2 setup, etc. Obviously, you can do this tank low tech and it's not a bad way to go either, and then $90 may actually be a good amount of change more. For me, no accounting for everything, my 60P minus the tank was around $970. Now, some of that could be cheaper, some I could have spent a lot more on. 

My point is, however, how different is $70 at the end of the day. The total cost isn't going to be significant, even with ADA tanks, the tank isn't exactly the cheapest thing, but as a full setup, it's not often the bulk of the cost in high tech, unless you go cheap everywhere else (not to say you can't have a nice, affordable 60P). Right now, the ADA 60P is listed at $129.99 w $40 shipping, I thought it was a $200 tank but the prices often differ online than in the shop. If that is the case, the price difference is even smaller.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I think ADA low-iron looks clearer than Mr. Aqua somewhat. Now I saw a brand new ADA 60P at the store this weekend and while the craftsmanship was good I don't think it was any better than the equivalent CAD tank. I couldn't tell a difference between the ADA 90P and my CAD 90P.

Didn't ADA switch manufacturing to China anyway in the last couple of years?


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

AnotherHobby said:


> Before shipping doesn't matter unless you can pick it up yourself. It's part of what you pay, and it's what it costs to get the tank. It's $123.98 for a low iron Mr Aqua 60cm tank shipped to me, and it's $200.60 for the same size low iron tank 60cm from ADA shipped to me.
> 
> If you live somewhere where shipping is less, or where you can pick one up, that could change things. If they were even close to the same price, I would have got an ADA, but I really like my Mr Aqua:


I would not use sites like Marine Depot, Big Als', and Foster's when comparing prices because their business model is very hard to compete with. I don't really understand how they can do free shipping on something big like a tank and still turn a profit. AFA, on the other hand, is based in San Francisco, and has a store front and a warehouse there. San Francisco is very expensive to operate out of, which may have to do with some of their prices.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> I would not use sites like Marine Depot, Big Als', and Foster's when comparing prices because their business model is very hard to compete with. I don't really understand how they can do free shipping on something big like a tank and still turn a profit. AFA, on the other hand, is based in San Francisco, and has a store front and a warehouse there. San Francisco is very expensive to operate out of, which may have to do with some of their prices.


Huh? Near as I know, that's where you get Mr. Aqua tanks online, and they are a 100% legit retailer. The Mr Aqua distributer (and forum sponsor) Sevenports tells you to go there to get them. I don't think there is anything shady or questionable going on at Marine Depot. I suppose arbitrarily excluding them does bolster your argument though.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

AnotherHobby said:


> Huh? Near as I know, that's where you get Mr. Aqua tanks online, and they are a 100% legit retailer. The Mr Aqua distributer (and forum sponsor) Sevenports tells you to go there to get them. I don't think there is anything shady or questionable going on at Marine Depot. I suppose arbitrarily excluding them does bolster your argument though.


He wasn't saying their business practice was shady in anyway. He was saying Marine Depot and the other big sites deal in a lot of merchandise and bulk and get shipping discounts from UPS etc. Meanwhile AFA is primarily a LFS that sells a small niche product online as well and therefore shipping cost will always be higher.

That said aquarium items are expensive to ship because the weight, size and fragility and sensitivity of many of the stuff we use. 
From 20lb bags of substrate, to large fragile bulky glass boxes, furniture/stands, time sensitive plants and fish etc.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

AnotherHobby said:


> Huh? Near as I know, that's where you get Mr. Aqua tanks online, and they are a 100% legit retailer. The Mr Aqua distributer (and forum sponsor) Sevenports tells you to go there to get them. I don't think there is anything shady or questionable going on at Marine Depot. I suppose arbitrarily excluding them does bolster your argument though.


He's just not saying it's a fair comparison because AFA in a sense is a boutique shop (and ADA is arguable a boutique brand). 

As a musician, this comes up in audio a lot. People say it may not be fair to compare a mic you can buy at Guitar Center from one only distributed from a Mom and Pop shop, especially when they are far more limited in supply. 

IMO, that is pretty meaningless to the consumer, they want what they want and will draw comparisons, usually using price as the decision making factor.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

talontsiawd said:


> He's just not saying it's a fair comparison because AFA in a sense is a boutique shop (and ADA is arguable a boutique brand).
> 
> As a musician, this comes up in audio a lot. People say it may not be fair to compare a mic you can buy at Guitar Center from one only distributed from a Mom and Pop shop, especially when they are far more limited in supply.
> 
> IMO, that is pretty meaningless to the consumer, they want what they want and will draw comparisons, usually using price as the decision making factor.


I actually think it's a completely fair comparison. ADA makes a better product, sells less of them, and sells them for a higher price. That's a pretty normal market condition. Nobody needs to apologize for how economics works. But don't ignore that price makes a difference.

Case in point, the OP said: "_Thanks for the input guys, but the local price ended up being a lot higher than I expected._"

The Mr Aqua suggestion was to help out the OP of this thread, who said ADA was more than he would spend.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

The thing is AFA is the only distributor for ADA in the United States so everyone buys from them. I highly doubt their shipping prices are high but hey when you the only one in town with ADA why change the pricing.

A perfect example of this was when ADG was around and selling ADA. When they started the fire sale on Amazonia and selling it for $35 shipped, guess what? AFA followed suit and matched their pricing. They weren't losing money with the shipping. Even when ADG was selling it at the regular price the shipping was not ridiculous @ $20 for a bag like AFA.

AFA is not a "mom and pop" shop. Think about it, they are the sole distributor in the United States of the most coveted brand in freshwater. The shipments they get from Japan are not tiny I can guarantee you that.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

AnotherHobby said:


> I actually think it's a completely fair comparison. ADA makes a better product, sells less of them, and sells them for a higher price. That's a pretty normal market condition. Nobody needs to apologize for how economics works. But don't ignore that price makes a difference.
> 
> Case in point, the OP said: "_Thanks for the input guys, but the local price ended up being a lot higher than I expected._"
> 
> The Mr Aqua suggestion was to help out the OP of this thread, who said ADA was more than he would spend.


I was basically trying to say the same thing, just in the opposite sense. AFA does have a far more limited distribution chain and is not a large company. Any effect on pricing shouldn't matter to the consumer...unless they are really fond of the business, I personally am, but I can go there whenever I please, no big trip for myself. 



gus6464 said:


> AFA is not a "mom and pop" shop. Think about it, they are the sole distributor in the United States of the most coveted brand in freshwater. The shipments they get from Japan are not tiny I can guarantee you that.


I have never bought online but I can assure you that the store front is basically a Mom and Pop shop. It's actually one of the smaller aquarium stores in the area, the entire Bay Area. 

It's definitely not an ADA super store, though it has a lot of stuff, you often can't get anything you want there, they do often run out of stock on things and have a fairly long lead time to get another.

I just know about AFA from going and it's a great store, one reason I do like ADA products over some others is not just the quality but being able to talk to the staff. Actually, I think every time I bought something against their advice, I was unhappy, they are pretty honest about what they carry, that's kind of rare around here.


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