New Tank Advice

[steveg]

Hi there, fantastic forum, it has been great to look through and see the level of interest in reefkeeping here!

I am new to Calgary and am looking for some advice on a new tank. I have called a few of the stores and seem to have a huge range of prices and experiences.

Can anyone recommend a particular store or alternatively advise me of which company not to use. While price is important I would rather not get set up and loose the system due to poor workmanship.

I would really appreciate advice as it seems a lot different here to over the pond in England where I have just come from.

Looking forward to your comments

Many thanks:mrgreen:

[Aquattro]

Welcome to the board. Calgary has a good selection of great shops, and you'll get lots of opinions on which is good and which isn't, and most will contradict the others :)
I'm sure you'll get a few PMs with experiences, but the best bet would be to get a second opinion here for any advice that is questionable.
Unfortunatley our board rules don't really allow thorough store recomendations, but many of the local shops are part of our satisfaction polls, so you might want to browse them for popular stores.

[wickedfrags]

Welcome to the board. IMO always a good idea to check out a few local systems before you finalizing any design and equipment decisions. Hang around the LFS (and of course Canreef) and see some of the available equipment in action.

[edikpok]

you can but a used system (from canreef/ craigslist / buyandsell...)- cheaper and might be already established....

[ponokareefer]

Welcome to the board. Calgary has a good selection of great shops, and you'll get lots of opinions on which is good and which isn't, and most will contradict the others :)
I'm sure you'll get a few PMs with experiences, but the best bet would be to get a second opinion here for any advice that is questionable.
Unfortunatley our board rules don't really allow thorough store recomendations, but many of the local shops are part of our satisfaction polls, so you might want to browse them for popular stores.

As Brad has pointed out, we can't give out advise on specific stores on the forum. Definitely check out the vendor rating forums section as that will give you an idea of what people think of stores in Calgary, and the rest of Canada.
I'd also second edikpok's advise on looking for a good used system, as you will save hundreds of dollars buying a used system on canreef instead of purchasing everything new. I found canreef not too long after purchasing a brand new system and was kicking myself for it.
Any idea on what type of system you want to run?

[Doug]

Welcome
to
Canreef

:mrgreen:

[steveg]

:biggrin:Many thanks for the welcome and for the comments, I shall definitely have to spend some more time on Canreef as well as at the LFS. There are some really awesome tanks on here to provide inspiration, wish me luck.....

[fishytime]

Welcome to the board mang. IMO there is really only one store in Cowtown:wink:

BTW, way to nip that in the butt before the ball got rolling Brad.

[Myka]

Since when are we not allowed to recommend a store? I thought it was just the negative comments we aren't allowed to publish.

We'll see if this comment stays or not then, but for livestock Red Coral has competitive prices in comparison to western Canada, great selection, and healthy specimens. They are the only shop in Calgary I have gone to so I can't compare within the city though. I do keep an eye out on here for vendor announcements and look there for livestock I am looking for. I order in probably half of my livestock, most vendors have free shipping or reduced shipping on orders over an amount specified by them.

For dry goods I almost always order online from J&L Aquatics or Bulk Reef Supply. Both of them seem to almost always be the cheapest. Keep an eye out for specials at other stores like Ocean Aquatics just had a FREAKING AWESOME sale on Phoenix halide bulbs that I'm really choked I missed on (bad timing for me). Most vendors have free shipping on orders over $100.

As far as cheap prices on equipment I agree to check Kijiji or Craigslist or even right on here. Although in my experience it is tough to find a used setup that has high quality equipment. It depends what you're looking for though. Personally, I bought all the equipment on my 90 gallon used by hunting through classifieds, but mostly here on CanReef. I took a few months to buy it all, so I managed to find some great deals. If you have patience you will find deals.

On second thought, I will PM this to you as well in case it gets deleted! I will also PM you some places I would suggest you stay away from. ;)

[Aquattro]

Since when are we not allowed to recommend a store? I thought it was just the negative comments we aren't allowed to publish.

On second thought, I will PM this to you as well in case it gets deleted! I will also PM you some places I would suggest you stay away from. ;)

Sheesh, do I have to post what I mean EVERY time? :) Right, you know what I mean. And when have we ever deleted anything you've posted?? Oh, right, those times :)

Yes, places to avoid are PM material, but feel free to recommend your favorite store.

Always so picky.....

[Myka]

:lol: Brad! Details are important ya know! :p I think you have a trash can full of my deleted posts. :D Glad to see my above post still there though! Hehehehehe...you should see what I said in PM!! :eek: No no I'm kidding.