Disappointed...

J

jreimers

So.. Yesterday I was at one of our local LFS and saw something that completely disappointed me. A young man came into the store completely excited about putting together a reef tank. He was sold a biocube, sand, live rock,water, and a couple of small fish. The sales person informed him he only had to go home and read the directions and he could have his tank up and running in about 2 hours... Am I missing something? I know I am no expert but I left the store thinking "poor little fish". They don't stand a chance and if anything the young man is going to be very disappointed and possibly either lose interest in the hobby, or worse yet, keep making the same mistakes and killing more fish...

Sigh...
 
With cured and mature LR, and experienced hobbyist, you can get away with immediately putting in hardy fish if water temperature and everythign is intially stable. I still dont reccomend it though. There will be a cycle, and it will be hard on the fish. Nuissance micro algae will probably run amuck as well.

The other problem is that the guy sounds like he is completely new to saltwater, and he will likely have a hard time diagnosing issues as they arise. Heck, I know it took me forever to mix my first 5 gallons of saltwater just because I was surprised at how much salt it took.
 
I am still buying my saltwater... I am afraid to attempt to make my own. I am just thankful for this forum. It sure has helped me.
 
It's sad, but this happens far too often. Most reputable LFS will "try" and help you do it right, but the big chains are bad about this kind of thing. My first experience with fish was a nightmare. I had no idea about cycling a tank, or anything fish related for that matter (before the internet.) I often see people buying an oscar or pacu for their new 10 gallon tank and the sales people are often more than happy to sell them. Makes me sad.
 
I was at an LFS where the sales person assured the couple that an octopus would be okay for their mini reef, and that their small ocellaris had nothing to fear bc the octopus hides all day.
 
wow....that sounds ridiculous. i could understand if the "up and running" part meant that he put everything together and got the salt mixed and everything...but adding fish that day too? ugh...
 
happens more often than you think im sure, ive seen it a couple times and i just went and told the person to visit dfwmas.com if he had any questions or problems
 
They can't give you grief If they don't hear you....shhhhhh...I believe Drew brings business cards to the meetings you can just hand out too
 
I found out about the club from another member handing me a card in a LFS. I guess he over heard the saleskid trying to sell me some algaefix... I found out later that It was a product they were overstocked on by a friend who worked at the store, he told me they were supposed to "push it".... Anyways, im glad the member took pity on me and descretely handed me a card or i might never have never found dfwmas.
 
@Wes wrote:
They can't give you grief If they don't hear you....shhhhhh...I believe Drew brings business cards to the meetings you can just hand out too said:
Cool, I will pick some up at the next meeting and didn't know we had those available to hand out.
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