Kotobuki brand
Is anyone familiar with the Japanese brand Kotobuki? While looking at Japanese aquarium blogs, pictures of Kotobuki tanks, lighting fixtures, etc., seem to pop up fairly regularly.
They looked pretty nice to me (this picture in particular made me curious), so I did a Google search for "Kotobuki 水槽" ("Kotobuki suisou/Kotobuki aquariums") and found their official product page (it's only in Japanese, but even if you can't read it, you can click on the links on the left-- there are lots of nice pictures). It turns out they manufacture a pretty wide variety of aquaria-related products: tanks, lighting, filters, heaters, and so on. Some seem pretty ADA-ish while others remind me more of Azoo.
The second result to pop up from the Google search was an online store that sells Kotobuki products. A lot of them look nice to me and seem pretty reasonably priced in comparison to ADA. This series of frameless glass tanks, for example, ranges from about $34 US for a 14 liter tank to about $350 for a 205 liter tank. (Granted, these are sale prices.)
That site is only in Japanese, too, but it says at the bottom of their site that they ship internationally and can provide English-language assistance via e-mail.
I'm curious whether anyone has any experience with this brand. The pictures I've seen have left me with a favorable impression. If it is of good quality, it might be a good alternative to ADA products, given its pricing and apparently easy availability. (I'd buy something myself and let you know if I weren't broke at the moment. :wink
Any thoughts or comments?
They looked pretty nice to me (this picture in particular made me curious), so I did a Google search for "Kotobuki 水槽" ("Kotobuki suisou/Kotobuki aquariums") and found their official product page (it's only in Japanese, but even if you can't read it, you can click on the links on the left-- there are lots of nice pictures). It turns out they manufacture a pretty wide variety of aquaria-related products: tanks, lighting, filters, heaters, and so on. Some seem pretty ADA-ish while others remind me more of Azoo.
The second result to pop up from the Google search was an online store that sells Kotobuki products. A lot of them look nice to me and seem pretty reasonably priced in comparison to ADA. This series of frameless glass tanks, for example, ranges from about $34 US for a 14 liter tank to about $350 for a 205 liter tank. (Granted, these are sale prices.)
That site is only in Japanese, too, but it says at the bottom of their site that they ship internationally and can provide English-language assistance via e-mail.
I'm curious whether anyone has any experience with this brand. The pictures I've seen have left me with a favorable impression. If it is of good quality, it might be a good alternative to ADA products, given its pricing and apparently easy availability. (I'd buy something myself and let you know if I weren't broke at the moment. :wink
Any thoughts or comments?
