Pre-made water from Petco

[kfowlston]

Hello all, i just started a 40 gal breeder reef tank and have been using water from my local Petco. I wanted any information about other peoples experiences with water from Petco ? I have a RO unti but haven't sent it up and want to know if i need to hurry up or Petco's water works fine ? Thanks for any help. RC has help out greatly

 

[ricks]

Ever look at the fish in there tanks??

If that's what happens when they use there water, I would want no part of it...

Myself I don't think they should be allowed to keep saltwater fish.

Happy Reefing

 

[tkeracer619]

I would stop and use your RO for two reasons.

1. Stop supporting Petco SW
2. It's probably that much cleaner

 

[Ritten]

Do you mean the pre-mixed saltwater they sell in the boxes or are you buying water they are making?

 

[kfowlston]

Do you mean the pre-mixed saltwater they sell in the boxes or are you buying water they are making?

I am buying water that is sold as premixed not in boxes but they dont make it there. From what i was told is they get it trucked in and sell it.

 

[Ritten]

I'm not familiar with that. Does it have a brand name or is it sold under the Petco brand? I used to buy 5 gallon boxes of premixed at Petco (forget the brand) and had no problem with it, but I did check salinity with a refractometer. For a small tank, when you don't have room for an RODI, it can be convenient.

 

[kydsexy]

i wish that everyone would stop knocking PetCo like all of them in the world are bad and try to make a difference. i worked at a PetCo (fish dept) and EVERY fish tank was immaculate. unfortunately, PetCo doesn't use that water bc the start up alone would be 60k in just water . and every water change thereafter 6k. use the water, it's not the same. kfowlston is rite. it's shipped in.


** i wish for once someone else would try and help make a difference. If everyone on all of these reef forums had a giant petition on what petco can do to improve there fish dept/animal depts, im sure they might make some kind of change.

 

[ricks]

I can't speak for every Petco.. But being a large chain store and profit driven. I would assume, that's the corporate way of doing business.

The several I've visited in the Portland area, are very sad..

The fish look in vary bad shape. I don't know if that's the way they come from the importer, or because Petco isn't able to take care of saltwater fish.

I would never support a Petco, after seeing the condition of the fish..

Just my .2 cents... Your may vary.

 

[sruiz]

A long time ago, I had the urge to buy a fish. And all the LFS were closed so i went to petco and bought a black clownfish. The fish was actually healthy and lived for a long time until I gave it away. My opinion is that since they have some much other pet stuff, a lot of times its hard for them to focus on just saltwater. And thats where they go wrong. As aposed to a Salt Water Fish Store that does not sell rats or snakes or who know what.
I guess another point of view could be that the there are living in a pound in Death Row, maybe you should go save them before they die.

 

[Muggle]

I think the boxed real ocean water that PetCo carries is Catalina water. From what I heard, they can be a real hit or miss. Some people have perfect experiences with them and some have all kinds of trouble. I personally would never use them just cuz I've seen what goes into the ocean from Los Angeles. Catalina island isn't THAT far off of the coast and have tons of boat traffic around it.

I'm sure you can find an LFS that sells RO/DI water while you wait for your unit to be set up. Gook luck.

 

[mokeyz]

Hey Ricks,

I live in Portland, OR too, PetCo's tanks in their store in N Portland are pretty poor. What I find really disturbing though is that every LFS I've gone to in Portland, with only one exception, have tanks that are in very bad condition too. Hair algae gone wild, dying fish, cynobacteria, and the list goes on and on. In all of my years of SW I have never lived in a place with such poorly maintained aquariums by local fish stores. It's a shame.

Marlene

 

[hyperfocal]

I'll bet that your LFS and PetCo/Smart see pretty much the same mortality rate of animals, measured from collection to delivery.

I'll also bet you that both your LFS and PetCo/Smart see similar mortality rates in store tanks, and in the customers' tanks in the first week post-sale.

I'll bet, once again, that far Far FAR more animals die between collection and delivery than after arrival at either the LFS or PetCo/Smart.

That being the case, if you *really* care that much about animal mortality you picked the wrong hobby.

I can certainly see a lot of reasons for disliking the big-box pet retailers... but concerns over animal welfare doesn't make the list.

 

[sruiz]

True it is, Some of my friends hate some stores because of bad experiences with the fish dying. I guess we really can't control what the fish went through before we got it. And all we can do is try to control the enviroment we put him in.

 

[luke33]

The newer petco's around me are fairly clean and the fish are just as good as the other lfs except much cheaper. The corals on teh other hand....now thats just plain sad, there are doing terrible the longer they are there. I do QT them through hypo though ; )

 

[mokeyz]

Having worked in a very respectable LFS in NY and also having my own tank setup and maintenance business I can tell you that yes there is a very high mortality rate which can only be combated by stores as well as the public being educated about where and how animals are captured and not buying them if you know that they use cyanide or bad netting procedures.

That being said, there is never a reason why a LFS's tanks should look bad. We all know remedies for hair algae, cyano, etc., and they can use those controls at wholesale prices. Simple, inexpensive controls like peppermint shrimp, abalones, lettuce nudibranchs, various snails etc..