Visited a new(to me) LFS this weekend.

[ARreefer]

So, up till now, for the past 20 years, I've used the same LFS. Recently, when I decided to get back into reef keeping, I did some searches to see what else was out there and found another store about an hour away.

Excitedly, I went there this weekend, only be be disappointed. I'm no expert. I've never tried to run that many tanks at one time and I'm sure there are issues doing so that I will never experience. But I saw things that were just.... wrong. Things that were killing all of their hard coral frags, species that shouldn't be together, grossly inadequate lighting, pest anemone issues in both live rock and display tanks. They had some decent looking fish, but with everything else I saw it made me very reluctant to consider them in the future.

I simply made a quiet exit. Not sure what to make of all of that, but it made me kind of sad. Any similar experiences? Advice regarding it?

 

[mcgyvr]

Yeah that can certainly happen..
There is one really amazing store near me and a couple "questionable" (not as good) ones that routinely have cyano issues/dead fish in tanks,etc...

 

[billdogg]

I like to go into new places and act as if I haven't a clue. (my wife thinks it comes naturally)

I'll ask some basic questions and then, depending on their answers, go from there.

 

[mcgyvr]

I like to go into new places and act as if I haven't a clue. (my wife thinks it comes naturally)

I'll ask some basic questions and then, depending on their answers, go from there.

I can only play like that for a few questions if that.. Then I start answering..
"oh you mean......" or "but isn't...." and watch them realize whats really going on..

I've got a "baby face" too so there are many times in my professional life/job where I meet new customers/Engineers/etc with a team from my work and I usually get overlooked at first until they realize all the rest of my team is 100% relying on me for the answers..
The customers,etc.. quickly realize I know my stuff despite looking like a 16 year old kid.. (I'm 40)

 

[b_evans06]

Going off your screen name are you from Arkansas? If so what part I am from northeast area.

 

[ARreefer]

Going off your screen name are you from Arkansas? If so what part I am from northeast area.

Central/SW Arkansas. I'm not trying to call anyone out or anything. If I'd wanted to do that I'd have tried to talk to them in the store. It was very busy when I was there, but mostly just people there to see the fish.

 

[billdogg]

I like to go into new places and act as if I haven't a clue. (my wife thinks it comes naturally)

I'll ask some basic questions and then, depending on their answers, go from there.

I can only play like that for a few questions if that.. Then I start answering..
"oh you mean......" or "but isn't...." and watch them realize whats really going on..

I've got a "baby face" too so there are many times in my professional life/job where I meet new customers/Engineers/etc with a team from my work and I usually get overlooked at first until they realize all the rest of my team is 100% relying on me for the answers..
The customers,etc.. quickly realize I know my stuff despite looking like a 16 year old kid.. (I'm 40)

I usually can't pretend for very long either, especially when they are just plain wrong. I went to a local reef place awhile back and struck up a conversation with an employee. He asked the pertinent questions about my system, and then proceeded to tell me that how I was doing it was doomed to failure (150DT. 120 refugium with 6" DSB, 50g sump) because "everybody knows that DSB's can't work for long without crashing the tank" He proceeded to try to sell me on the virtues of all the high tech (expensive) things that I just had to buy so that my corals stood a chance at survival.

I didn't bother to explain to this wealth of knowledge that my "doomed" tank had been up and running for longer than he'd been alive, and hadn't crashed yet.

I have also been asked to leave (a few times now) another chain store that was giving horrible advice to a novice. The usual "Sure, you can take these 6 fish home with you now and they'll be just fine while you fill up the tank and put some salt in it" kinda crap. When I hear that sort of thing I just have to speak up. I have referred many newbies to this site and to wetwebmedia so that they can get an idea of what it all really entails.

 

[b_evans06]

Central/SW Arkansas. I'm not trying to call anyone out or anything. If I'd wanted to do that I'd have tried to talk to them in the store. It was very busy when I was there, but mostly just people there to see the fish.

I wasn't asking for you to call anyone out. Just looking to see if you might be local to the area. Have a few friends in the area we order online and travel to shops to buy corals. Always nice to meet a new reef hobbyist.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Crap man, I have a friend that owns an LFS and it drives me crazy to go into his shop and see even one dead or dying fish in his tank. But all things considered, he does a pretty good job. Another LFS in the area is really big and keeps things pretty darn clean and healthy, but then stuff in his store costs twice as much as any other store. It's a tough business.