New to hobby. Where to buy hardware etc?

[lastlight]

Hello,

Like I said this is my first try at the marine game. I'm looking for good deals on some hardware and other things and wanted to know where the smart reefer shops in Calgary for various things.

What's a reasonable price for an ASM G1X Skimmer? I plan to get one and I'm currently hunting around. Do you people shop online or is it cheaper in the long run to buy locally?

RO/DI? I've found a couple sites that are highly spoken of...which units are a good buy locally?

Pumps. Anyone use Quiet Ones? Are they quiet and are they dependable? If not, which brands would you recommend?

Tunze Turbelles. Do people here use them and if so, did you have to buy them online? They seem like a valuable addition to a tank.

Finally, what's a good place to buy maintenance things like salt, test kits, meters etc?

Do people here generally shop in one place or all over town?

A lot of questions but hey, I'm curious =)

Cheers!

Brett

[Tarolisol]

I think most people one here shop online for almost everything, lots of the time from jlaquatics.com i get most stuff online and buy at once so i get free shipping, the only thing i buy locally is salt and fish. Also the buysell forum is very good to use.

[scuglass]

i ussually look at bigals products but never buy there. sometimes i buy livestock from there cause sometimes they have a lot more than other stores. but ussually go to golds to buy things locally or look on oceansaquatics or jls for online. i picked up my ro unit on ebay.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

On-line, J&L & Ocean Aquatics are the most popular among Canreefers. Locally, try Gold's (Albert is a member).

The Aqua-Safe RODI unit from North Vancouver is the one that alot of reefers are using. It's very cost effective & I would recommend you purchase extra filters & resins at the same time to save on shipping later.

The Tunze Stream is an awesome PH because the 6060 will give you a gentle 1600 gph stream of current as opposed to a harsher jet. However, it's best for larger tanks (ie. maybe too much for a 33g). Not sure what size tank you have.

Sometimes each local club will organize group buys from OA or J&L so you can see if there's interest in a Calgary one.

Welcome to the board.

Anthony

[lastlight]

Thanks for the feedback thus far.

As for the Tunze, is it worth the extra money to get a controller and variable speed TS? My tank is roughly 60 gallons. Will the wave simulation be that much better than a constant speed flow? The cost is significantly different.

[maverick_8teen]

Thanx for asing that Q Lastlight. Like you i am also trying to get into SW. I have been doing Fresh Water for 3 years now and am looking into SW because to say the least...its appeal is so much more beautiful and natural.

Anyway, in my years of experience of FW Tanks the only store that i have been to that i know sells SW is Big Als. Its kinda a tricky place to find as its in a strip mall. But don't be fooled its got lots to offer...atleast for FW anyway. I also know of a place on 32nd. Its called Franco's. Never been there myself but buddy i work with suggested it. I couldn't even recal if they sell SW. And Lastly Picies...can't buy SW fish there but they sell various items for maintaning your tank both FW and SW. (its just off McKnight).

This brings me to my questions
If you had 2 tanks. a 35 Gal and a 20 Gal. Your 35 Gal was up and running a FW Tropical Tank. You want to Start up a SW Tank. Do you Start it up in a 20Gal or move everything in your 35Gal to your 20Gal and make your 35 Gal your SW Tank??? This maybe an easy Question for you experienced people but i never have done SW yet so what would be best for me.

I understand that a smaller tank requires more attention and that i am willing to give (whats a hobby if your not willing to spend more time with it?) I also understand its cheaper in the start but i also am told that theres a better chance for a larger tank to survive if a small epidemic occurs. Whats the point on saving money to begin with when it could all get flushed down the toilet (litterally)? Would it maybe be worth my While to sell the 35 and all its components and buy a Larger Tank and then buy seperate peices for SW? If you feel this is what i should do...what size of tank do you feel would be a good size? Max I can do is 120 Gal when it comes to space. Do you feel this is too big for someone just starting out?

My Last Question... in your opinion what do i "NEED" for a SW Tank and what is "Optional" If it helps i was thinking about doing a Reef Tank, but not too sure yet.

[digital-audiophile]

Franco's doesn't have much for salt water.. a bit but I haven't been by in a while

Golds and Big Al's have already been mentioned, There is also Ocean Aquariums on Centre, and Wais on 16th. All have their own strengths and weaknesses, its up to you as the consumer to make the best buying decisions. When I started I spent too much on crap that I have upgraded since so avoid that trap.

Recently most of my purchases have been online and from other reefers (in my opinion the BEST source for livestock!)

- Re: moving into other tanks, it is a pain in the ass, im in the process of doing just that so I would recommend going as big as you can from the start as you know you will want to upgrade later.

[blood_hound]

Aside from jlaquatics and ebay for my hardware and golds fror my livestocks, I get most of my stuff off canreef buy/sell.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=11
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[EmilyB]

Locally, some shops are coming around to the hobby. I spend some bucks at Gold and wish it was closer, Wais has changed a lot and I spend more there now. I won't shop at Big Als.

:biggrin:

[Snappy]

I find the Ocean Runner pumps to be pretty quiet. I use 3 of them, a 6500 for my sump return and 2 x 3500's for my skimmer.
What size of tank? I have a used Aqua medic turbo floater 1000 skimmer FS. Let me know if you are interested.

[Paverdude]

Can someone post the link for oceansaquatics, couldn,t find it with my search engine

Thanks

[dreef]

I don't know worked for me with google ??

https://www.oceanaquatics.com/

[albert_dao]

Necessary equipment for a reef tank:

Lights (as good of quality as you can afford)
Heater
Something to move the water (PH's sump pump, whatever)
Protein skimmer (don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Do you wash your car by hand with a sponge and bucket or do you take it to the car wash?)

That's it. No canisters, no trickle filters, no bio balls, bla bla bla, everything else is either an advance option (calcium reactors, zeovit, etc) or BS (canisters, crappy florescent lighting, nemo toys, etc).

Hope that helps.

[lastlight]

I was in buying some plumbing stuff at Big Als and lo and behold they had parrotfish with "i luv you" tattooed onto them. Being ****ed as I was, I asked the guy there (who has been there forever and must be a manager or something) how they do it.

His eyes lit up.

"Oh they're tattoed on! We get them like that!"

All I said was "That is NOT cool" and paid and got out. He was silent.

Maybe others don't share my feelings on this...but that is totally cruel and is clearly aimed at preying on the below avg hobbyist / impulse buyer. And this froma a store that appears to know quite a bit and caters in some part to the more advanced hobbyist.

That's the last time I shop there.

Brett

[digital-audiophile]

I may not like everything about Big Al's but there are some really great guys that work there and know the hobby inside and out, it's not fair to paint them all with the same brush.

[lastlight]

I'm not painting everyone a certain way =) But a decision was made to stock those fish and I'm personally not comfortable with it.

[Paverdude]

Thanks Dreef :biggrin:

[Paverdude]

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I was in buying some plumbing stuff at Big Als and lo and behold they had parrotfish with "i luv you" tattooed onto them. Being ****ed as I was, I asked the guy there (who has been there forever and must be a manager or something) how they do it.

His eyes lit up.

"Oh they're tattoed on! We get them like that!"

All I said was "That is NOT cool" and paid and got out. He was silent.

Maybe others don't share my feelings on this...but that is totally cruel and is clearly aimed at preying on the below avg hobbyist / impulse buyer. And this froma a store that appears to know quite a bit and caters in some part to the more advanced hobbyist.

That's the last time I shop there.

Unfortunatly some DF'S will buy them and al's will bet more in, supply & demand, but i'm totaly with you that's some sick s**t

[fishmanty]

This was at the Calgary BA?

I gotta see that.... thats sick. Im against dying fish... but tatoo'n? Come on!, how is that not illegal.

[Paverdude]

You would think the SPCA would be all over that

[Willow]

oh comeone what sweetie wouldnt love a big nasty parrotfish branded with your love just in time for valantines day :razz:

[Nate]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know that the " IHeartU" parrots were not ordered! They were sent to us as replacement on some cichlids that a supplier was out of stock on. We were not aware that we were recieving them until they were in the air from singapore and there is really nothing much we can do about it at that point. I appreciate all of the concern, and we at Big Als understand that its is not "cool" but we are trying to get the animal to a good home and not would not like to have to destroy them. I hope we have not caused too much of a stir in the Calgary fishkeeping community. We are taking a loss on these to get them to a new home. I would like to emphasize that this is not what Big Al's stands for.

I would also like to point out that these fish are dyed, not tattooed which was previously misunderstood by some customers. Not that it is much better, just clarifying.

Nate White
Big Als Calgary

Edited by Tony..

[lastlight]

Thanks for the clarification on this. I was aware of a dye procedure and only called them tattoes after the guy called them such. I hope they find good homes.

Brett

[Skimmer Juice]

Your post has been removed because it is not constructive in any way. Sorry, but please, this sort of thing is getting ridiculous.