The Economy and You!

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
Just curious how the recent Economic Downturns have affected you, With particular interest on how it affects your Discus Hobby.

I've spoken with alot of people and most are feeling hard economic times in one way or another... This has been from the buyer level up to sponsor seller levels.."moneys tight" is a common phrase.

Times are hard no doubt there...How are you personally affected and how are you coping with it.

For me..Its been a tight year..Unexpected auto troubles and other issues really hit us with bad timing....... not a great time to be in a job search here in CT.... Energy costs in CT have sky rocketed... oil and gas prices went thru the roof and though a little lower now...still isn't great and probably will get high again as winter sets in. Electricity is my big expense... funny how that rate never goes down...just up:mad: I've dealt with this by consolidating my fishroom into a smaller area and heating it with wood...which is marginally more cost effective...but even cord wood prices here are up to almost $325 cord. I scrounge for free wood where I can:)

On the domestic front...we tightened our belts.... took local small vacations this year ,cancelled some trips or stayed at friends houses etc... You've got to even get smart at the Food game.. Prices there are up as well and sizes of the packages seem to get smaller and smaller.. I'm the shopper in the family and pretty much the cook so you have to shop smart even when you have a small family of four like I do..

We've put off alot of big ticket items...just can't swing them right now... from what I've heard of others...they are doing the same..

No political rants here please...I'm not interested in finger pointing, scape goat creation, and how we got to where we are today..I just want to get a sense of how everyone here is doing these days and what you are doing to survive, and how this affects you in things like the Discus Hobby..I'd like to hear from everyone, regardless of the country you live in.

Thanks,
al

[Ed13]

My biggest concern right now is electrical. Being derived from thermoelectric power in my case, oil prices and the ups and downs of the dollar exchange rate as well as the fact that in my case is a monopoly co. ran by a Gov agency drives the cost insane, not to mention dubious charges and practices in the billing process. As much as .2822 cents per kW/h in September.

Oil prices are also to blame for an increase in tank prices(which are usually 20% higher than in the US anyway) and other merchandise, even quality since increases in prices in high end equipment have driven some items of the market.

Increases in oil have also increased the price of livestock (shipping) and even availability of it since many flights have been cancelled to the island, wholesalers and importing stores are having a tough time just bringing stuff in. Not to mention on-line buys are killing the LFS at an alarming rate, except in saltwater livestock since many vendors won't ship here and Atlantic and Caribbean items are locally collected (many times illegally though) are super cheap :)

Same problems with water. Dubious quality, low pressure, dubious billing practices, monopolized by a gov agency, etc.

I have no issues with heating tanks though so that is a relieve:) 84F right now.

[digthemlows]

food prices seem to be the thing that is changing our expendable income here.....I used to spend 600 or so on groceries for a family of 4 and now I'm just over 800 a month..........And, yes I can't afford more discus or tanks right now...............but I really enjoy watching and caring for what I have.............great source of relaxation!!!

[Tropical Haven]

This economy has put a stop in a lot of things that I was planning to do. Was looking to build my hatchery down in the basement but do not have the extra finances to do that. The cost of utilities are unbelievable and I am even afraid to set up another tank because of these. A lot of projects will be on hold until the economy gets back on it's feet again. :(

[William Palumbo]

I have been laid off since February because the economy being slow...and my job searching has been unproductive. Luckily I was approved for the compensation extension, but when that runs out, and I have no job by then, most if not all my Discus will have to be sold off, as the electric and food bill will be too much. I never saw it this bad...sure hope things start to pick up...Bill

[Porkchop]

I'm only 26 but this has been the worst financial year for me ever!!! I was laid off back in March, decided to work part-time and go back to school, and my parents would help me with my bills. Well, it caught up and almost got them behind so I had to drop out of school AGAIN and am now working two jobs. I work as a part-time driver for UPS and leave there to go do repossession. I'm currently training in repossession. I work from 4:30pm to till about 6am. It's rough but I have no choice. I'm just thankful that I have a roommate and my girlfriend to help pay the bills or I would have lost my house and car.

As far as my Discus hobby, most of the tank stuff I got was free and my girlfriend helps pay for the rest. She is into the fish like me so she happily spends her money on them. I picked a bad time in my life to get into this hobby but taking care of the fish and cleaning the tanks relaxes me and I really enjoy it.

I hope that no one is doing as bad as I am right now.


I have been laid off since February because the economy being slow...and my job searching has been unproductive. Luckily I was approved for the compensation extension, but when that runs out, and I have no job by then, most if not all my Discus will have to be sold off, as the electric and food bill will be too much. I never saw it this bad...sure hope things start to pick up...Bill

I wish you the best of luck Bill. As for the job searching, try indeed.com. It pulls jobs from all job websites as well as corporate websites. Again, good luck!!

Anthony

[CraigG]

For me it actually got better. I did lose my job last year because the company I worked for filed bankruptcy. I got a new job last October and everything is going much better.

New job is in the Wireless Phone Industry(retail) and seems like people are just buying phones nonstp. Especially now that the new models are arriving.

My GF is doing good as well. She runs her own business (autobody repair shop). She says its slow now but that is normal with this time of the year. People don't take thier cars in til winter to get mods done for next spring as well as accidents from first snow fall.

We just moved into a larger apartment, for more room and it cut our driving distance for me from 30 miles one way to 15 miles one way and for her. From 25 miles one way to 5 miles one way. Helps that gas is now back down around $3 a gallon for premium.

We are planning on buying to a new home in a year when our lease is up and in 2010 we are getting married. I also bought a new car in June well new used car. Won't buy new again ever (thats a different topic probably for a different forum haha)

I was also able to get my 75 gallon reef ready tank up and running and do a lot of projects on it as well.

I had the Tank,stand,wood canopy standard lighting.

I upgraded/purchased. Compact light, glass canopy,sump,pump, UV light,fish, plants, substrate. Having a custom 20 gallon acrylic resevior built to go under my 75 Gallon for water storage.

Future looking to install a co2 automated system into my plumbing. Maybe an RO unit as well.

Its sad to hear and see people on the forums having struggles because of it as well as people around the world. People close to me seem to be doing really well that I know personally as well.

I really hope things start picking up for all my fellow hobbyists. Hopefully the new President will be able to help us.

Not bashing just saying hopefully we get help.


**EDIT**

Also have to add I don't pay utilities the Fiance does that and I pay rent. SHe hasn't complained about it so not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing. Also the apartment pays for the water changes...haha

[Rod]

My business is wholesaling fish, we import and source local product for resale. We have had a 35% decrease in the dollar value in the last couple of months, making imports far more expensive. Coupled with a decrease in demand things are not looking very good. Local supply has been slightly better, and i would expect this to improve especially if the dollar remains low although competition from other wholesalers for the local product will also increase. I have also increased production of my own bred product.
Utilities have skyrocketed here as well. I live in a reasonably warm climate, so it is not as bad as it could be i guess, but still it adds a significant cost to the operation of the business.
My discus no longer get fbs in the diet and i have reduced the quantities of fbw, i feed more homemade and cultured foods, swap cost for my time. I've also set up my water storage vats so they are in a microclimate of sorts. Collect as much free heat as possible and time the water changes to suit the tempreture. I have also been considering some of those solar panels that connect to the electricity grid, our government is currently giving big rebates for installing these, perhaps a good investment for the future.

Rod:)

[Darren's Discus]

As Rod said here downunder it has hit quite hard with the aussie dollar dropping so much.And for us up here in North Queensland the Trasport cost have gone through the roof as petrol is currently $1.40 p/l,so i too am feeding more home made and pellet foods to reduce cost's i am very lucky for the next 6 months i don't need any heating at all.



cheers

[gotfish?]

all i know is that my future ABDs will have to wait...:(

[GrillMaster]

I would have to say the electric bill is going to be the killer for me and also going to be the deciding factor of how many tanks I will actually get. I just got the first electric bill from the new place after running just what I have now and it doesn't look to good! :shocked2:

I am trying everything to try and cut some corners here but with the electric companies charging whatever they feel like charging, it is just going to get expensive! :(

[Eyecandy]

Hi all.. Well we are still planning a move to Ct. But with the economy the way it is the move may be slightly delayed. Really don't think we wanted to move out there in the middle of winter anyways.:D. it's 69 or so out here during the day now so it's gonna be some culture and weather shock for us..
We figured that we could burn wood out there to help with expenses, but from what Al says it looks like we either need to bring it with us... cut for free from our property here or buy it here ($65 for a face cord).. or the house we buy better have lots of trees on the property LOL..
Regardless I'm afraid it's gonna affect how many tanks we set up and what goes in them. We are retired and watching the stock market freefall is no fun at all..
But don't worry.. at least one tank is gonna have discus.. I really miss them alot. The sevs I rescued have personality alright but not the majesty of discus.. Once you've had a tankful of those beauties nothing else compares..
All I can say is I hope all the wonderful folks on this site can smile, be strong and weather the economic situation.. it will eventually change.. Sue:):)

[Lee C]

Show guppy sales(BLACK AND PURPLE MOSCOWS) are starting to increase with my expansion to a New York connection who delivers them to our Canadian neighbors outside of Toronto.
I will probably be selling 3 of my nicest discus... AWEI Red Whites to cover my electric bill this month.. Don't want to let them go since it appears 2 are pairing. Got them at 2" size from Dan E and they are nice 5 plus inch and Thick!. Local pick up Only! $200 Firm for the trio. Leaves me with 4 Silver Pigeons and 2 Golden Melons in discus. Down to 30 tanks and holding :D
Also have my kitchen stocked with food for about 6 months in case the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. Lots of rice,pasta, and beans, beef jerky and some beer LOL:p
Don't want to get caught asleep when the banks all fail or an EMP strike.
I would suggest to anyone who depends on plastic for food and gas to go ahead and retain a few grand of cash, just in case. Hunker down baby!:spit:

regards
Lee:angel:

[April]

well..not sure canada is as bad..our gas prices have dropped tons all of a sudden..they always do before xmas..so you spend your money in the stores. : )
our dollar is down though..alot so my ordering stuff from the states will be less. other than discus..as no matter where you get them..its done in usd so whatever...people buying alot of fish and products so far up here.
housing market is down..doesnt affect me.
my lease has gone way up...that affects me. grooming..well..people still need their dogs groomed . alot of times when you dont spend other places..you spend on your pets.
i hear stores are quieter..but we still have tons of employment. you can get a job anywherre anytime. olympics are coming..and still tons of building projects goinng on. two bridges being builit, new skytrain route, highway to whistler for the olympics..olympic villages being built etc etc.
brew..no trees in connecticut? we have people all over here who put cut trees out by the curb for pickup. we have alot of trees. : )
as far as holidays..havent done that since i was in my 20s..so doesnt bother me either..but i wanna go to singapore in may so im gonna aim for that. we always just do a day car ride as our holiday. feels like were gone for days. lol.

[Apistomaster]

Hi April and All,
My biggest change is cutting back on live black worms.
I incur a lot of strange extra charges like rural delivery surcharge and some others related to the spike in price of petrol. These charges continue to trend upwards even if the prices of petrol do drop. It means using more beef heart blend for the discus.

It is a shock to see food costs seemingly go up 20% almost suddenly but my budget isn't that tight to where it kills me.
After everyone adjusts to the economic shocks the best they can, I expect money will flow into this hobby as people opt out of expensive ski trips and other expensive leisure activities.
Historically, there has been a trend towards people turning to more inward leisure pursuits like aquarium fish keeping during hard times because you can do it on the cheap or as expensive as you can afford and still enjoy it as much as ever. That has been true even during the Great Depression.(So I have read.) Maybe Discus will not sell as well as Guppies for awhile. I guess I find out soon. I have started over with all new stock which has just begun producing this Fall and the young haven't grown to a marketable size yet.
I raise some fish that seem to be somewhat recession proof so far. There are still many people wanting fancy plecos and Brazil banned the export of all their fancy Hypancistrus plecos so those who want them still must buy tank raised and they are not prolific so there will never enough to meet the demand no matter how bad it gets. They happen to be in extremely high demand.

[Fishworm]

no problems here. I am a truck driver that hauls mainly produce. everyone still needs to eat. :) the high fuel prices were hurting my company, and that's why all the food prices jumped. but the fuel prices are steadily falling, and hopefully the price of everything else will come down soon too. I only drive my personal vehicle back and forth to work maybe twice a week so the high gas prices really didnt affect me. I have my land paid off, but I am still paying on the house. my loan is with a good solid local bank so I am not worried about them going under. Utility prices have jumped a bit. I am on an all electric home with my own well so electric is the only bill I have to pay. but the jump hasnt been too outrageous.


only big problem is that I lost about 2k in the value of my 401k. but I am only 32 so I have a long time to make that back before I can retire.

[Darrell Ward]

I haven't slowed down my Discus hobby as of yet. I'm setting up 6 more tanks at the moment for some pairs that have started spawning. Doesn't mean that I won't have to in the future though. The company I work for has cut back hours from 5 and 6 days a week, to 4 days a week in less than a month. All overtime now has to be approved by the front office. I also lost some 401k money recently as well. Looks like we will have an extended Christmas holiday this year too. I normally get a nice Christmas bonus, and a week off. This year we get a reduced Christmas bonus, plus 2 weeks off. One of which is without pay. Yikes! I have a couple of weeks of vacation time that I didn't use this year. I'll get paid for that, so that will help, but if things get worse, I may have to slow down. I hope not. Fish keeping makes me happy!

[grandrapids9]

Hi, I have been doing mortgages for 14 years and am in Michigan. So, the good times are over and it is absolutely terrible for anyone who wants to buy a home or refinance, well it kills the mortgage business and realtor's and everyone else dependent on it.

For the up coming year in 2009, it is going to get much worst in Michigan and many parts of the country, with the auto industry is in chaos and the suppliers are about dead. Well it really affects everyone - the trickle down -up and sideways is a standstill.

I have a side business and am happy that I can pay my bills even with mortgage business being totally dead, I just smile and enjoy a simpler life and feel great. There are many of the younger guys that I worked with that are starting out and always thought there income was going to stay high, well they were wrong and I know several loan officers that lost there own home and have even seen the long term experienced ones go bankrupt. Its tough, but we will all survive, and America has been a nation of millions living on the next paycheck with their over extended credit borrowing lifestyles. We are all waking up to it and the lenders are now back to a very conservative approach and they are lending like we were in the 80's to mid 90's, have to have verifiable income and good credit, and if not you simply cannot get the loan like you did before. Its simply prudent - nothing more and requires to live within your means.

[White Worm]

I'd have to say nothing has changed much for me. I own a house in California but I didnt pay too much for it initially and I didnt extend myself out too far that I couldnt pay for it. I didnt go for any of those crazy loans that you knew would eventually come around. I'm in the military so between government jobs and medical professions, I am in one of the more stable of professions. I have now moved to Washington where things are somewhat cheaper but I am still putting some out of my pocket after the renter pays in my Cali house. I wasnt able to sell my house when I left California so I figure hold on to it for about 4-5 years and then see what happens. I'm renting a nice large house here because I dont plan on staying and I may eventually get to that fish room. It will probably be on a smaller scale with utility costs being what they are but a fish room none-the-less. I'm really sorry to hear of others misfortunes and unfortunately, its going to get worse. Wait till one or two of the major auto companies go under. You wanna see mass unemployment? Its around the corner unless the new prez does something about it. Its kinda funny though how a car company can go under. They've been ripping off the consumer for decades.

[rowedder]

Andy & I are crunching right now but surviving. The water bill and electric bills are not that bad right now but we did notice those two bills doubled since we've added all of our tanks to our fish room, we're still good. Andy is working on getting a part time job at FEDEX working the graveyard shift, we'll see what happens on Tuesday evening. If worst comes to worst I'll get a part time job during the weekends, I don't see that happening though anytime soon. All in all we are surviving just like everyone else is.

[rick.c]

the construction industry is realy bad right now , I'm a plumber hours been cut back to about 20-25 hours a week boss said if banks dont start releaseing money for new jobs to get started we will be out of work by crismas ,had to shut down all my breeder tanks to save on elc. bill and water dont want to spend anything i dont have. codiscus has some real nice fish i would love to have cant see spending the money right now things get much worse probly lose my truck and harley good thing i have a car thats payed forhope it picks up soon !!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[DiscusDude85]

This economic downturn is killing me!.From 04-07 I was slammed with overtime, I couldnt work enough. At the beginning of 07 I lost almost all of my overtime. I was forced to pickup a weekend job at a marina. My monday through friday job is land surveying and as you know all land or house sales require a survey, Well house sales are in the toilet so as you can imagine business is HORRIBLE!. Even my marina is really hurting im always in fear of losing my job, Which is just great considering I have a brand new son born sept 5th. I just work my hardest do what im told and never challenge authority and I pray to keep my jobs. As far as my fish, Ive been dying to buy an 125 gallon tank this isnt going to happen. 2 years ago i would have had that tank as soon as i wanted it. Ive found myself buying food in bulk instead of weekly going I try to go once a month and get what I need. And i havent been able to buy any new discus in a while : ( . I also buy alot of used equipment from ebay as far as aquariums go. Hope things turn around soon




Joe

[waters10]

Wait till one or two of the major auto companies go under.
I hope that doesn't happen, considering I'm an engineer working on the auto industry. I used to work for Ford as a contractor and left just in time this past March to work for a supplier. Things have improved for me recently, but if one of the big 3 go down, then all bets are off, let alone 2 of them!! :p

Regarding the hobby, I used to have discus in Brazil and used to complain about how expensive imported discus were. When I moved here and I saw how much cheaper discus were and thought I could finally get the discus I've always wanted! Then I realized how much more expensive everything else here is: tanks, water, utilities, driftwood, tankmates, plants, meds, etc. I mean, I used to pay the equivalent of 10-15 cents per cardinal! I had more than 75 at one point in time, which means I had a small fortune and didn't know about it ...

So yeah, I used to think people were nuts for culling expensive dicus fish, but now I see why people do it, specially when trying to save a sick discus, means spending 40, 50, 100 bucks on meds, for those cases when you're not sure what they have ...

[mij]

Things are ok for me so far. I had a lfs business four years ago and have equipment left over from those days to sustain my hobby. Business was good for about three years, then all the textile factories closed down and so did my business. These people were my bread and butter. Without them my business couldn't exist. If I would still have my store the electric bills would be outrageous! I make a good living so I'm fine, but I don't know how some are getting by. I'm afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better and our hobbies will have to take a back seat to putting food on the table and gas in the tank so we can get to work. Each successive trip to the lfs that I frequent I've noticed the crowd gets smaller and smaller. Let's all hope this down turn in the economy doesn't last too long.

[GrillMaster]

Glad everyone still has their head above water!

I need ta vent a lil here!! In CT, the electric has risen 200% in the last 2 years...I know several people that work for CL&P here in CT. One is my old landlord who is a self made millionair and worked for em for 30 years. Retired at 50. The money they payed him for doin absolutely nuthin was astounding!!

I would of thought that with the economy not doing all that great that the freindly folks at CL&P would say "hey everyone is struggling, lets cut em some slack." Nawwww, Ya have to have it, so lets just charge em whatever the hell we want to...If ya dont like it, we'll just cut ya off...:mad:

Maybe one day the government will step up an try an regulate the monopoly...Maybe not...

[brewmaster15]

Mark,
maybe we ought to reconsider where we build that fish room of yours... I'm thinking the Solarium is looking real good about now.:)

-al

[1Chuck9669]

Well, personally the family and I are making out. Unfortunately, the company I work for just announced they will be eliminating 270 jobs over the next two years, and will be moving our compressor and machining center to Monterrey, Mexico. That will leave about 450 jobs within the company. Luckily, I work within the Operations Training department and so far there are no plans to eliminate this job.

As for the fish, I do not skimp on water changes, have not lowered the temp at all, and keep plenty of food and supplies on hand at all times. If all works well, I plan on aquiring some quality fish from one of our sponsers here sometime next spring.

Hope everyone is doing well (or at least doing).

[allan_mark76]

The economy here in southern California gets worse and worse as time progresses. San Diego alone is going to increase my water bill each month by 10 to 20%. I've also seen my electricity bill increase over time with these extra unknown taxes added each month. I just see the costs of everything going UP and UP and UUUUUPPPP while yet my standards of living goes DOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN. It's horrible how the economy is and how I hear rich people want a bail out while yet they get to Jet set around the country in their lavish standards of living. People are barely getting by. I hope to god that 2009 gets better as I'm already ready to look past 2008.

~AKA~

[terps]

It's bad in Maryland. Our electric rates have doubled in 2 years. Several pet shops have closed in the last year. I expect a few more to close in the next 6 months. I talked to 1 tropical fish store owner and his weekly revenue has dropped 50% in just the last 6 weeks. People have just stopped shopping.

Another friend of mine visited a large fish/hard good pet wholesaler in the region and he told me that their owner said business is worse than it was right after 9/11. Times are very tough. :(

[GrillMaster]

Mark,
maybe we ought to reconsider where we build that fish room of yours... I'm thinking the Solarium is looking real good about now.:)

-al

Brew, I think I have ta agree with ya! Lets really look into it Sunday. :)

[Discusloverz]

Also have to add I don't pay utilities the Fiance does that and I pay rent. SHe hasn't complained about it so not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing. Also the apartment pays for the water changes...haha


A fiance that doesn't complain is a good thing! Soundz like a keeper in my book!

[mikeinco]

2008 was probably my worst year ever. I opened my Sandwich, coffee shop business back in January of 2007 and closed on April of this year. It was just too hard. I probably could have lasted a bit longer but just didn't feel it was something that was going to work out in the long run. Since then, I was able to get another fairly good job but all the bills from my shop added on to the bills that i have on my own have proven to be too much to handle. Not to mention all the loans I have to pay back from the failed business. Things are moving along though, what can u do?

I haven't given up any of my 8 tanks and don't plan to either. I want to add a discus tank to the mix so I'm hoping thats something that i can do soon. I make all of my own filters now and some of the luxuries that my fish have grown used to have stopped for the time being. These days I consentrate on tank maintence and just enjoying my fish and the hobby in general. I really want to go to the ACA this year in Cinncinatti, Ohio but we'll just have to wait and see how that plays out.

[cyang]

I work in private equity so I am just holding on and praying.

[Carolina discus]

Al,
Interesting topic Bro....things are starting to tighten up for me. As you know I handle fire protection of high rise buildings for the Southeast US, Caribbean, and Central America with occasional trips to Dubai......the Atlanta and Texas markets look solid for 09 and beyond...i expect the Carolinas and FLA to slow down the most....it all depends on the housing turnaround. We don't do anything in single family but alot in wood frame apts and hotels. The healthcare segment looks strong through out along with Universities...even a few Nuke plants to break ground but the condos will slow down dramatically.

Overall...it is what it is, in commercial construction we have had it really good for many years so a turn was expected...but the banking stuff was somewhat "unexpected" but when it rains it pours.

It looks like more time for me in the Caribbean and Panama in 09.....we think 09/10 will be tight but if they can get things jump started there is plenty of huge projects that will happen fast.

On the discus side, with all this and 2 teenage girls and a son in college...it keeps me sane (somewhat)....yes, everything has gone up, electricity, food, water....nice!
some people golf...I keep discus!

All the best to everyone for a Happy Holiday season....keep the faith as things will get better.

Regards,
Eric
Carolina Discus

[Discus_KC]

I'm extremely thankful that I work for a very strong company who is still experiencing increased sales over last year. We are poised to increase our product line to customers while we watch our budget. We have little debt so we will wear the storm if it gets worse.

I was promoted to E-8 in the Air Force so my only unknown is will I get sent over to Iraq or Afghanistan in 2009.

On the fish front it's been one phenomenal year. I went from supplying 6 stores and now it's up to 15 and I also increased my product offering to them. Shipping costs may be hurting internet sales but they have been a blessing in disguise for local business. Stores here want home grown fish and will pay more if they get quality.

I feel bad for everyone who is affected by this economy. My fear is letting the government meddle in trying to bail us out in order to get things on track is going to make things worse. If you bail out one....then where will it stop?

Gas is $1.34 a gallon right now so there are positive things going on.

I'm very thankful today on this day to give thanks.

Jack

[terps]

It's bad in Maryland. Our electric rates have doubled in 2 years. Several pet shops have closed in the last year. I expect a few more to close in the next 6 months. I talked to 1 tropical fish store owner and his weekly revenue has dropped 50% in just the last 6 weeks. People have just stopped shopping.

Another friend of mine visited a large fish/hard good pet wholesaler in the region and he told me that their owner said business is worse than it was right after 9/11. Times are very tough. :(

Unfortunately, another large tropical fish store is closing in my area. SCALES TROPICAL FISH WAREHOUSE in Cloverly, MD is closing. They are now having a liquidation sale. Here's their web site.

http://www.scales-tfw.com/