I was thinking of posting an add on Craigslist for tank cleaning fresh water only. I want to know has anyone ever done this before or paid for the service if so what was your experience? What are some pricing Ideas? Should I charge more for traveling a certain distance? Should I supply my own supplies/meds? Shoud advertise tank setup? How about Stocking? I work at a pet store and could get a discount on fish and supplies. Give me some Ideas on prices markups and services I should offer?
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You may have some trouble starting this up. Most customers who use a cleaning service have marine tanks. Not to mention, most customers who are going to want a cleaning service already have one, and will be reluctant to switch. Not to mention in this current economy, there are less people looking for this kind of luxury, and would rather either do it themselves, or leave the hobby.
Your best chance would be to talk to your boss at the pet store, and make sure it’s alright. Then perhaps you can offer the service to new customers who are just getting their first tank or something like that. Your boss might not appreciate you buying fish at a discount just to resell to a customer. Perhaps try working something out where you will refer them to the store for additional fish, but they’ll get their cleaning services from you.
If it’s freshwater, and they’re not really looking to do anything major (i.e. you’re just coming over to clean some algae, the filter, a water change, and gravel vacuum) I would probably charge $20-$30, if it’s a tank under 55 gallons. Maybe $50 for anything larger. Perhaps charging $1/gallon would be a convenient way to do it. Even in a larger tank, this should only take you half an hour or so.
charge per mile