Previous Section | Next Section | Return to Main Menu

6.0 General Catalogs

Here is a list of non-aquarium related catalogs that have items that may be of use to the serious aquarist and DIYer.

AIN Plastics 1-800-431-2451

A nationwide plastic supplier. They have about a dozen outlets and also ship orders.  The catalog contains info and specs on many types of plastics that are useful for DIY aquarium projects. They have a $50 minimum order.

C.F. Bowman & Co.

38 Addington Court
East Brunswick, NJ 08816PH (908) 390-6436 FX (908) 390-6438

C.F. Bowman & Co. I heard of by e-mail, but I later noticed their ad in FAMA. Their prices on acrylic tubing look very good, at least; a 60" long 6" od 1/8" wall clear cast acrylic tube is $35.75, which is about 60% of what I paid. I didn't find extruded tube, but they do say to call for items not listed. They are ostensibly wholesale only, so you may need to give a company name. They also have a $50 minimum order.

C and H Sales Company

P.O. Box 5356
2176 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena CA 91117-9988(213) 681-4925  (LA)
(818) 796-2628  (Pasadena)
(800) 325-9465

C & H sells a wide collection of surplus and used equipment, ranging from fans, blowers, pumps (water, air, and otherwise), electronic components, motors (ac, dc, gearhead, stepper), solenoids, laboratory glassware, chart recorders, and tools through stranger things like gyrocompasses and a bit of defense electronics.  Prices vary but are often quite good.  For those in Southern California, their store has lots of odd items in quantities too small to include in the catalog.

Cole-Palmer

800-323-4340
708 647-7600

A huge catalog of test equipment and related industrial hardware.  Like Markson, much is beyond the need and budget of a hobbyist, but much is not.  One of this FAQ's authors gets his lab sized DI cartridges from Cole-Palmer.

Grainger Industrial

http://www.grainger.com
800-323-0620

A nationwide chain of wholesalers of industrial needs.  They have many stores in most states.  There is probably one near you.  They have a huge catalog of all sorts of things for DIYers, float-switches, ballasts, tools, you name it.  They are a wholesaler so they technically won't sell to individuals.  If you walk in (they have a counter just like any retail hardware store) and pay cash and give the name of a local company, they will sell to you.  They just need to have the name of a company to put on the invoice because legally, they are a wholesaler.  You don't need a tax number when you are paying cash.  You can just go in and give them the name of the company where you work.  It is probably a good idea to call ahead and see if the item you want is in stock.

Hach - Products for Analysis

800-227-4224

A catalog of testing items.  This is the next step if you want better test kits than best kits normally available to the hobbyist (like Lamotte).  Many of their products are not beyond the budget of a serious hobbyist.  The also carry chemistry hardware like glassware.

Herbach and Rademan

800-848-8001
800-488-3407 - Surplus Center
402-474-4055 - Surplus Center

A miscellaneous junk catalog with all sorts of electronic, mechanical, and pumping widgets and other gadgets.  Also, surplus junk like power supplies.A catalog of a variety of scientific equipment, mostly chemistry related.  Many of their items are well beyond the need and budget of hobbyist but much of it is not.

The catalog has a large number of pages dedicated to hydraulic motors, pumps, and valves, which are useless to reef keepers because of their metal construction. However, the selection of electric motors is greater than that of the other surplus catalogs listed in this document, and some of these are finding their ways into experimental reef tank applications.

United States Plastic Corp.

1390 Neubrecht Rd.
Lima, Ohio  45801
800-537-9724

US Plastics sells a large selection of basic materials, plus an equally large assortment of various manufactured items made of plastic and some related items like fluid pumps.  A few of the less common items which come to mind are clear PVC, plastic tanks up to a few thousand gallons, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene stock, flexible impeller pumps, and plastic welders.  Of special interest to the diy'er would be items like the thickened acrylic cement (IMHO required for the best and strongest watertight acrylic joints), their rod, pipe, tube, and sheet stock in pvc and acrylic (where else do you find clear sheet pvc, or 90 degree sweep fittings for lower backpressure?), and the large food-quality drums for storing RO/DI water and mixed saltwater.  The fun of finding stuff you didn't know existed shouldn't be under-rated either.