Question and complaint about a LFS

E

etphi

The only other fish stores around that area is in FTW.. Franks Tank is a great store and great customer service. Same goes with Fish2morrow.

I would be more than happy to test your water for you. I live in South Grand Prairie right by Joe Pool lake, so I'm not that far from Mansfield. I'm pretty busy this week, but shoot me a pm next week if you still need some water test done. As for the clean up crew, I would wait to make sure that your cycle has completed before adding them. Also, I would turn off the lights in your tank until you start adding livestocks in. No point in leaving the light on and it promotes algae growth during this cycling time.
 
My suggestion would be, make the investment and purchase your own test kits. By testing yourself, you can keep an eye on your tank and catch any problem that might occur early.
 
Since you work in bedford, Frank's Tanks should be pretty close to you. He will do water testing, but you need to call him first because I think he has a set number of hours that he does it. Frank keeps a clean store and is typically well stocked.

GHA is a part of the cycling process and is controlled through nutrient export, clean up crew, or manual removal. 4-6 weeks of time with cured live rock is probably enough time to start SLOWLY adding fish, but you will need to test to be sure.
 
That is unfortunate. My son just turned 11 and has been really getting ivolved in the hobby. I have had poor custoomer service at some LFS's and have seen how he has reacted. It is really unfortunate when he saves up his allowance or birthday money to buy something and then gets the bad treatment. I live in Ovilla, so not too far from you and I have the same selection of LFS's. I can attest to less than par customer service at True Percula. I would suggest Frank's Tanks as a go to LFS for you on the weekends. It is a little bit of a drive, but the customer service is good. It is further for me (about an hour), but the one time that my son and I went in there, Frank was very helpful. He paid special attention to my son and what we were looking for.

Your tank is more than likely cycled. You could take a water sample into Frank's or somewhere close to where you work, but your best bet would be to buy a test kit your self. It is something that you will do eventually. Plus, by testing your own water, you can get your son involved in doing it. It teaches them about how the oveall saltwater tank works and a little about chemistry.....it is kind of like a science experiment for them. I would recommend the api test kit linked below:

http://www.amazon.com/API-Saltwater-Master-Test-Kit/dp/B001EUE808/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364997771&sr=8-2&keywords=api+test+kit

It will test everything that you need to get started (eventually you will want to buy a Alk and Calcium test kit, but that can come down the road). You can buy it cheap on amazon or at the Petco there in Mansfield.

Next...keep coming to this website and ask as many questions that you want. We have all been there as a rookie and learning from other peoples mistakes is much more efficient, and cheaper, that learning them on your own......I learned the hard way more than once!

Cheers and congratulations on you and your sons first tank!
 
If it's off of glade, my guess is your refering to "Mid Cities" fish store or aquarium store (not sure the exact name). I've never been in there but I've done some trading with a member here who is an employee there, and if nothing else I would go when he's there to atleast speak with someone I trust knows what they're talking about. There is also saltwater paradise in Irving off of 183 that may not be too far from your work. Sorry, don't know of any more towards your home area. I'm sure others will chime in. Sorry about your bad experience!
 
Yea, I quit going to truperc, Employees there give you better service then the owners. Anyway try out midcited they are always every helpful and give out great advice. You cannot go wrong with Fish2morrow or Franks Tanks either. Fish City in Hurst will do the basic tests for free too and will have advice for you, Those are the main stores i go to for my reef.
 
Yea, I quit going to truperc, Employees there give you better service then the owners. Anyway try out midcites they are always every helpful and give out great advice. You cannot go wrong with Fish2morrow or Franks Tanks either. Fish City in Hurst will do the basic tests for free too and will have advice for you, Those are the main stores i go to for my reef.
 
PM me if you want your water tested in the evening or this weekend... I too live near Joe Pool Lake off 360 and New York.
 
I agree on True Percula, I, my son and wife been there a few times, when we go to see family, and all times not one employee acknowledged us being there or even asked if we needed help. I had to ask someone for help where she didn't know the answer but we had to wait on management to stop talking to another employee before I could ask my question. What sucks is that I have a $25 gift card for that place; I hate going there.
Fish2morrow is the place I go, it is close to me and their customer service is best I have ever seen.

My 2 cents...

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2
 
Oh yeah, forgot to mention about testing waters. .I agree whoever mentioned here, invest in buying your own. Can never go wrong with that and a good way to learn too.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2
 
For where you are go to Mid-Cities while you are around your work area, and Fish Paradise & Frank's Tanks in Ft. Worth down I20 on weekends. Irving won't be that close to where you work & traffic will be horrendous on 183. We only go to True Perc for crab pellets. For us it's a little further to Fish Paradise & we always spend at least 2 hours there looking, buying, & talking to the owner/staff. After trying several stores over the past 2 years, we just go to Fish Paradise (livestock) & Mid Cities (dry goods/food).

You can get your own test kits at Petco. Get the Marine test kit for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate to start. Do a water change if your nitrates are high after the cycle (and ammonia and nitrite are at zero). I would also invest in an RO/DI unless you want to be at the mercy of a store to get your water. Pays for itself pretty quickly. Start with a couple of snails for that size tank. Algae will come and go in phases for 6 months to a year in new tanks.
 
The store is not as bad as everyone makes it sound. Yes sometimes a person will have a bad experience with a place but if you have such a bad one talk to the owner about it. I use to work at the perc before I took on more hours at my full time job and I can tell you from personal experience the owner Larry is a great guy. It sounds like you just caught the place on a bad day which can happen any place you go. I also know most of the staff and they are all very friendly so don't feel shy to ask them questions. I'm not trying to sound like a cheerleader for this place, I just hate to see everyone bashing it !
 
@SushiGirl wrote:
For where you are go to Mid-Cities while you are around your work area said:
[smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif] [smilie=clapping.gif]
Fish Paradise has slowly become my "only" LFS over the last couple of years, anyone that hasn't been, please check it out.
Click to expand...
 
I agree Fish Paradise is the lfs for me. Visiting their store is what introduced me to the hobby. They do get a little bussy on the weekends but they will make time to help you.
 
unfortunately I've had almost the exact same level of bad service at most lfs. I don't know what it is but I seem to get the vibe that I am just an inconvenience to employees and owners and due to this I've turned to almost exclusive online shopping. Some of the main websites have awesome customer service. Id much prefer buying locally but with treatment I get from local fish stores I refuse to reward their attitudes on customer service with my money. Just my opinion and experience.
 
I hate to hear bad stories about LFSs and their apathetic customer service, especially in this economy. I've had to wait in a store before and after a while just left. And they should wise up, you're wanting water tested to see if it's ready for you to buy stuff from them. Ugh. I know that Fish2morrow it great, but I promise you that if Frank is in when and if you go to Frank's Tanks you will have an absolute great experience. Frank is truly a one of a kind person. I used to go to Mid Cities, and they are cool and good. With those 3, you can't go wrong! good luck!!!
 
Ehh. Water testing is overrated. No way I would base anything off a LFS test either. Buy a cheap test kit or wait. It you follow most common theory's of reefkeeping you won't ever have to test anything other than salinity and TDS. If you go the stony coral route you can add the occasional ALK and calcium test. Others will disagree but my 2 cents. I own a TDS meter, refractometer and a 5$ alk test kit. The refractometer is the only one I use often.
 
@mmiller40 wrote:
Ehh. Water testing is overrated. No way I would base anything off a LFS test either. Buy a cheap test kit or wait. It you follow most common theory's of reefkeeping you won't ever have to test anything other than salinity and TDS. If you go the stony coral route you can add the occasional ALK and calcium test. Others will disagree but my 2 cents. I own a TDS meter said:
hmmm if I were cycling a tank, I believe that I'd want to test for ammonia/nitrites/nitrates and continue for at least 6 months as I added livestock to make sure my beneficial bacteria was keeping up with the load, but that's just me
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top