Do you think there's a market for a high end rack?

[Ernie Mccracken]

By all means I think there would be a huge market for something like this! I'm surprised no one else has done it yet (that I know of)... Wanna take it even a step further? Also, incorporate a built in fogging or misting system or some other means of controlling the humidity in every rack! I've been thinking about trying to do something like that myself!

Yeah I think that would be a next step. Misting system would probably be the easiest to incorporate, but I'm not sure that's the right answer since even the finest heads will completely soak a tub in seconds. Also, lab grade probes are expensive and are not real time like temp probes. There is a lag, so it would take some experimenting to get the logic right.

But how nice would that be something like sensitive arboreals? Program your desired temp and humidity and away you go. No more guessing or wildly fluctuating moisture levels like you get with the spray bottle.

I tell you what is needed is a modular environment control and data collection geared toward reptiles. This exists in the aquatic hobby and especially in the saltwater hobby but there needs to be better options for temperature control, monitoring, humidity control, and lighting that can be accessed via smart devices and can better adjust and control husbandry.

Totally agree. I bought my first aquacontroller way back in 2008 and wouldn't run a display tank without one. Even my relatively simple planted aquarium had temp control, auto CO2 injection (based on a PH controller), auto liquid fertilizer injection, lighting controller, feeding, water changes, and topoff. Seems like rocket science compared to heat tape and a basic thermostat.

This is a great thread, I think there are so many good ideas to improve existing designs. I have ARS racks and have actually cut and welded transition levels myself out of steel followed by painting it to match. It came out really nice, but one thing I realized is that there isn't much mark up on an ARS rack when you take into consideration all of the components, which is hard to believe since they sell for about $3,000 per rack.

Yeah I have no desire to fabricate an FB/ARS clone. I've done the math, too. Even looked into "cheap" chinese extruded aluminum. Building anything out of metal is exorbitantly expensive. Then it's another $500 to ship the thing. It's hard to sell to hobbyists and the commercial breeder market is so small. If I were to build something out of metal, I'd choose something like the restaurant industry where a product with that much labor commands a $10k+ price!

There are a couple things I'd like to see, how about a rack system that you can buy one tub at a time and stack it together like Tetris. People would just buy it little by little instead of having to throw out thousands of dollars to buy a whole rack. I know you can do levels but it would be nice to have a way to buy just one tub at a time.

Yes, scale-ability is imperative. It has to be shipped UPS/Fedex and grow incrementally because that's how hobbyists grow their collections. Even as a long time hobbyist, there have been periods of years where it didn't make sense to keep a heated room with big metal racks. I think 4-5 tubs is the sweet spot. Single tubs would be doable (and maybe I'll build a prototype that way), but would be much more expensive on a per tub basis. Cost is already wildly out of control on this project!

How about a fully enclosed rodent system similar to an ARS rack that has four sides, a clear front, and fans with carbon filtration to keep the smell to zero! I actually threw a tarp over my rack once and put a big carbon air filter on one end, the smell went to zero even though it was cleaning day and there was considerable smell. You could even sell aftermarket parts that add on to an ARS rack to convert it.

Ha if I EVER breed live rodents again it'll have to be something like that. It exists in lab settings, although this looks REALLY expensive!

The problem with most of these ideas is that they cost more money than people want to spend.

Yeah the reptile crowd aren't big spenders, at least not on equipment. No one is going to get rich building better racks, but it blows my mind to see people risk $10k worth of animals they've spent years caring for on some old heat tape, $4 sterilite tubs, and a cheap made in china thermostat. Maybe there is something in between or maybe there are just enough interested people to make it a worthwhile endeavor. Just thinking out loud.