Saltwater & Reef

zypher · 03-29-2012, 01:34 AM

i visited my lfs today to grab some fish food...as i'm walking around looking at the clowns i hear one of the workers talking to a customer who was interested in starting a sw tank...i'm thinking to myself that i had done hours of research and asked multiple questions in other stores and on this forum (as well as others) before i even went and bought my tank...i'm still really new to this but i try to walk into lfs atleast somewhat prepared...this guy and his kid went $700 deep on everything..and walked out with fish...among the things i saw: tank, stand, 1 heater, 1 ph, some live rock, a bucket of salt, API quickstart...i wish him the best of luck...but i was always advised against impulse buys...hope he doesn't destroy those fish...

Animal-Chin · 03-29-2012, 06:23 PM

I bought my first sw tank on a whim. They were selling biocubes half price and they caught me in a moment of weekness. Before I knew it I was at home with a cube, sand, liverock and googling what on earth I was doing...lol I was hooked right away though cause my liverock had 2 hitchhiking mushrooms and some star fish. I thought that was so cool...

Mrc8858 · 03-29-2012, 06:44 PM

If he gave him some damsels/chromis then its not that uncommon...fish in cycles are the easiest way to go and I've actually done on every tank other then my current cycling seahorse tank but don't get me wrong the majority of the time the lfs will feed you as much BS as they need to make a sale which is sad..I work with animals for a living and love my job so I do what's best for the animals so I hate seeing people working in petstores and only see it as a job..they should be thankful they're doing that instead of flipping burgers for the same or less money

Animal-Chin · 03-29-2012, 07:19 PM

My lfs is super uptight about most things you want to buy. Like you feel guilty about purchases. Ive had to tell some employees to back off cause the thought i couldnt take care of sun coral or something like that, drives me nuts! Every time i want to buy someting i get the third degree, i practically love there ua think they could ease up lol

Mrc8858 · 03-29-2012, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Animal-Chin

My lfs is super uptight about most things you want to buy. Like you feel guilty about purchases. Ive had to tell some employees to back off cause the thought i couldnt take care of sun coral or something like that, drives me nuts! Every time i want to buy someting i get the third degree, i practically love there ua think they could ease up lol

Ya I've heard of some places requiring water samples before giving you livestock which I believe to be a bit disrespectful. If I'm willing to fork out the money I want them to trust that I know what I'm doing unless something proves otherwise

Ncts · 03-30-2012, 01:49 PM

I understand where you all are coming from. LFSs that ask for a water sample before having a customer buy livestock may seem disrespectful on one hand, on the other may save the newbie some money and frustration. I know when I first started going to my LFS I brought in a water sample for them to check and got some good advice on how to stabilize and the correct parameters for water quality. Need to be wary of LFS. Try to find one that people have dealt with and have good things to say about them... And always ask questions ion this forum if you are not sure. Really good advice here, with no overhead to cover....

crister13 · 03-30-2012, 09:10 PM

Why do you do fish in cycles if you care about animals a lot? Lol. But ya, I'm so happy I found an lfs that tells the truth. I hate when people think of animals as worthless things. I think of them as beings, including fish. And I bet you really do care, Judy choose to go fish in. If you have a way of making the fish live, could you share it please? That would be awesome.

crister13 · 03-30-2012, 09:11 PM

Just not judy. I hate autocorrect.

Mrc8858 · 03-30-2012, 10:55 PM

There are certain fish that you could consider cycling fish I guess...damsels are commonly used because they are very hardy but with 1 and sometimes 2 wc a day during the nitrIte spike will get them thru the cycle..its a mixed opinion on how to cycle tanks but that's just how I've always done it...after I finish this seahorse tank though perhaps it will sway me to fishless cycles from this point on who knows

Leighton79 · 03-30-2012, 11:24 PM

My LFS won't sell you anything without a sample until they get to know you. Neither will they sell you anything that's unsuitable for the set up you have. No tangs for tiny tanks, no mandarins or starfish for immature tanks, no sps if you have crappy lights, etc etc. The owner says its policy because he cares about the well being of the living thing more than a quick £.

The policy must do them well as they are regarded as one of, if not the top store in the UK, people come from all over the country to visit the place.