what happen to Dupla?

[hani]

I remember when there book first came out in the eighties, bought it right away, nice and impressive pictures, i could not afford any of there products at that time,was difficult even to fined ,I read the book few times, then i was off the hobby for few years
now about 20 years later , the company almost not existing , there web site is quite poor.....they look like they are all most out of business....
i wounder what happen to them over the years, poor marketing, customer service,....
non of the things they came out with (co2) , was new, i have few books before theirs talks about co2 , but was very vague......they were the first to present it in a good way, show some picture and good directions for setup...... there was no internet, so information was difficult to fined.
it will be interesting to see what will happen to ADA.
HANI

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

I have a very nice condition copy of The Optimum Aquarium that I bought many years ago...retail was 21.99 plus tax which at the time was a princely sum esp for a fish book!!!

I thought it was the holy grail due to the pictures of the plant growth and tanks that it had...

But even while reading it seemed that every problem was solved by..... a Dupla product....Much like ADA now I guess..

I tried buying their products years ago and never found a US distributor so I gave up...

Maybe since they were mostly in Germany they just lost to other competition? I see that the original founders or Dupla are now doing other things...Dupla is just another brand of the parent.

You are correct about the website though... Look at the last word in the URL LOL

http://www.dupla.com/EN/histroy

I also thought that this article was somewhat at odds with what we know now. Seems to be by Kaspar Horst:

http://www.acquariologia.com/aziende/aquarium/alghe1.htm

I think they ARE ADA now....look at pics of Kaspar Horst and Amano.... separated at birth???????

 

[hani]

I agree , but the article was written in 1996, more than 14 years ago....you still have to give him some credit, the book was every hobbyists dream, or as you said a holy grail.....
hani

 

[Gerryd]

Yes, I am not finding fault. Just noting the difference over time...and how we learn...

I give them BOTH a lot of credit. Their ideas were sound for the most part, good c02, sufficient dosing, regular water changes, good flow, etc.

I still like to review the book at times for the pics.....

I would have loved to have seen the large Dupla tank shown in the back of the book....

 

[Tom Barr]

Well, if Amano retires, then what?
The same was true for Dupla, once the money man decided to do something else, it was pretty much over.

As long as Amano keeps going, and I do not see him stopping anytime too soon, they will be around.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[SuperColey1]

If you think the old articles form Dupla are funny considering what we know now then you should look at the current Dennerle site and see what they advise. lol

For example the 'midday siesta' si to emulate tropical thunderstorms So it isn't to let the low CO2 build up through a dark period as I thought. lol

It really is worth a look as it is Dupla reborn

And of course each cure is a Dennerle product

http://dennerle.com/global/index.php?lang=en

AC

 

[hani]

What will happen if another company starts making AS under another name with cheaper price? i thought thats what killed DUPLA, co2 reactors/regulators even heat cables by other manufactures.......
hani

 

[SuperColey1]

As long as Amano is there ADA will still beat off the competition. Most ADA devotees are actually Amano devotees

AC

 

[Tom Barr]

As long as Amano is there ADA will still beat off the competition. Most ADA devotees are actually Amano devotees

AC

Fan boys or resellers.

Like the anti Dupla craze of the 1990's, many sought cheaper alternatives. This lead to innovation and PMDD, and then EI and the rest. ADA has as well with soils, looking for nice rimless tanks and measuring the light itself in such systems, then going after cheaper but aesthetically similar alternatives. Glassware is easy to duplicate for cheaper.

A dozen or more companies already make a sell ADA like AS, they just do not sell much in the USA/Europe. Asia and Oz has a lot though.

Yes, Dennerle took much of the Dupla line and made it cheaper and added more products(more is better right???).
They did not question or modify the Dupla line much however.........they also did not learn from other folks in the USA or Japan etc.
They very easily could have if they wanted to.

But they are still around and still make $$, so that's more than we can say for Dupla.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[LesT]

Dupla ????

Dear Tom,

In the interest of brevity, I will save the long, complicated story of my association with Dupla, Inc. when they had a facility in CT (I dealt with a Dr. Albert Thiel back then). I have a 150-gallon aquarium (never used) on a walnut stand with numerous accessories in their original boxes inside the tank. I even have a copy of "The Optimum Aquarium," which is the only Dupla product that I actually used. Now that I am retired and housebound for the next several months, I would like to finally set up the aquarium in the basement using as much of the equipment as possible, although I have not done an inventory. I've been told that Dupla products are still in use by American aquarists. How and where do they obtain replacements/supplies/new equipment? If no longer available, which company(ies) would be best to deal with today for aquarium products? Is the Dupla system still viable (I always wondered why the authors didn't update the book using, perhaps, a better translator)? In the interest of full disclosure, while I have continued to maintain an interest in the hobby, I have not been active for nearly 20 years. So, I am also considering finding someone to come to the house and set up the aquarium; since my expertise is lacking and my technological skills minimum.
Thank you for your time and cooperation. I welcome your suggestions and recommendations and look forward to your reply.

LesT

 

[Tom Barr]

Dear Tom,

In the interest of brevity, I will save the long, complicated story of my association with Dupla, Inc. when they had a facility in CT (I dealt with a Dr. Albert Thiel back then). I have a 150-gallon aquarium (never used) on a walnut stand with numerous accessories in their original boxes inside the tank. I even have a copy of "The Optimum Aquarium," which is the only Dupla product that I actually used. Now that I am retired and housebound for the next several months, I would like to finally set up the aquarium in the basement using as much of the equipment as possible, although I have not done an inventory. I've been told that Dupla products are still in use by American aquarists.

Yes, they are, I recall A Theil bring in a few products, he sold Laterite for a time back in the 1990's also.

How and where do they obtain replacements/supplies/new equipment? If no longer available, which company(ies) would be best to deal with today for aquarium products? Is the Dupla system still viable (I always wondered why the authors didn't update the book using, perhaps, a better translator)? In the interest of full disclosure, while I have continued to maintain an interest in the hobby, I have not been active for nearly 20 years. So, I am also considering finding someone to come to the house and set up the aquarium; since my expertise is lacking and my technological skills minimum.
Thank you for your time and cooperation. I welcome your suggestions and recommendations and look forward to your reply.

LesT

I think RedSea bought them. So you can still get some things from them.
There are better alternatives these days : stuff that's cheaper and better.

ADA aqua soil is a good idea, see the various CO2 regulator threads here for builds.
Lighting; well your budget might determine this. I like T5 lighting myself.
Ferts,: DIY is the only way to go, tank? You have that.

So you can mull through what you have and then see.