The Reef-Keeping Hobby In China

i look forward to it also. always good to have horizins broadened on different cultures.

 

Ok . as promised an addition to this article, which is focused on one major difference in tank filtration methods that I noticed some time ago, which is commonly used in Guangdong and is very different to anything I had seen used in the UK

Many of the shops in Fangcun, will sell full tank set ups, including the water, rocks, sand, inverts, corals and fish - the tank is set up in the shop, and will be sold as seen, stripped down, and delivered and re set up at your location

many of these set ups are accompanied with a maintenance contract, (depending on your location) and this contract means the shop will send people to do the water changes, clean the tank, check the equipment etc

refugiums are not popular as such yet and I have not seen any full set ups for sale with a refugium as yet . in fact Macro algaes are also rarely seen -
grape and feather calerpa aside, the only other macro I have seen here is that red "Dragons breath" type (No Chaeto, no Halimeda etc)

there are sumps, and most set ups sold do have a sump, with skimmer etc in sump area ( NB , Hang on skimmers are in the minority in the shops)

what did surprise me about a typical sump seen in Fangcun, was the amount of sintered glass rings used - this is a 1.2 metre tank, the sump as you can see, has gallons and gallons of these sintered glass rings in

you do see alternatives, Bio balls in the over flow and live rock rubble in the sumps - but these are still quite rare IME , with the pictured method still being the most frequently seen method of biological filtration

Steve

 

not reef related, but I thought I would share a couple of images of the set ups used for displaying and selling FW fish by people who do not have 1 of the shops, they pay rent to put a stall, in the streets at the back of the main complex, where the majority of the shops are selling dry goods/ plants out of tubs etc

Fangcun typically closes at 6 pm most days and if your around at this time, you get the best prices on the FW fish that are still left ( as these multi tank stands are stripped and taken away every evening and re set up at 8 am the following morning)

Steve

 

How does the pricing line up for these full setups and livestock/equipment in general? Curious if it is less expensive or you wind up paying a premium for goods in the PRC.

 

Interesting! Great write up as always Steve, thanks for the update and pics

 

the one pictured , 1.2 metre tank, with all you see they wanted 10,000 rmb for it - which at current exchange rate (6.8 rmb - 1 USD) = 1,500 USD approx
but these set ups are mostly sold to people who want a nice looking tank but have no idea how to set it up or in fact what they need

if you purchase all the parts seperately and set it up yourself, there is a decent saving to be made.

imported goods can be very expensive - the full set up above including MH twin light fixture is cheaper than a 8 x 80 watt Tek canopy - which I cannot get in shops here, but can buy off line from a Beijing outlet on Tao Bao (Chinese E bay equal)
and the 8 lamp Tek fixture is priced at 14,000 rmb

Steve

 

Man I really wonder how long some of those FW fish last, being moved 2 in one day, plus the overcrowding and since they are stripped down everyday what garauntee do they have for bio filtration. I mean I hope they don't use the same water everyday, i mean if they do you can certainly bet that these fish have problems. I know that it is a different culture and all, some one who I know very well just got back from taking his entire family to China for a year for a buisness trip, but this is just wrong.

 

Hi Steve. Good to see a fellow brit living nearby in china also into the hobby
I go to that market all the time. If you can overlook all the darker side of the fish keeping hobby (ie. Dyed fish, all the damn deformed parrot fish, keeping too many fish in too small a space and many many more fish "crimes") Its a great place to get some bargains. And hey...even if you cant get any bargains. You could still spend a day wandering around the market with your jaw scraping along the ground looking at all the wildlife on display and methods used to keep them. I often do if i have a day spare. (who needs zoo's eh? lol )

Anyway.... Ive blabbed on too much. Ill go make a newbie post now :-X

p.s. How come your still able to do your sunday morning love songs with the time difference between here and the uk? hehehe (probably hear that joke all the time, sorry :-[ )

Luc

 

Hi Luc
I moved over when I was Steve Wright in the afternoon, before they shoved me on radio 2 ( the knackers yard for UK radio DJS)

I was there today ? purchased a new Zoanthid colony tiny 3 mm - 5mm pink polyps also a small leather coral plus some dry goods - calcium/ magnesium (sea chem)
plus a couple of land hermit crabs / new tank with light/ sand/ coral decor/ water dishes etc for my son - who I have only glanced in passing since we got home - but I am getting a remote verbal commentry on what the crabs are up to, shouted to me periodically.

its a great place as you say

Steve

 

More pictures please