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#1
01-30-2016, 01:48 PM
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Got woke by a kidlet... Just chilling in bed till it is a more respectful time! Out of all the little stores Reef Wonderland is the one I won't return to. Wais should be your I have to go this morning!!!!
The group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1563940140536238/ 
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#2
01-30-2016, 04:38 PM
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#3
01-30-2016, 04:49 PM
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I guess I should elaborate on the reason why I won't return to Reef Wonderland. #1 cement parking ' blocks places so tight infront of this Mini mall, it wad a knuckle scraping experience to get my sons wheelchair to the door. Then when we finally battled into the store all the tanks were so encrusted with algae we couldn't see in them except for from the top. The store also smelt, the only way I could described it was rotten. So while the owner may be a good guy, I won't return.
The owner at Wai's on the otherhand has personally come out to help assist getting the wheelchair up to his door & helped us back to our van. Quote:
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#4
01-30-2016, 05:37 PM
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-Wais is good livestock,probably the best coral selection, a little pricey
-Pisces is so-so for live stock some sick fish and a large mark up on others, but the biggest selection of dry goods. -Big Als Is going out of buisness (they just don't know it).lots of empty tanks -Ocean creations is small but sometimes has unique fish, decent prices -Concept has great prices on fish and dry goods, but lately when I go in there is alot of empty tanks -Reef wonderland sometimes has nothing in the tanks, almost nothing for dry goods. In his defense it has been a while since I have been there -Golds these guys are my favorite place. Bought a regal tang for $30, huge squamosa clam with 2 green bubble tip anemones on the same rock for $125. If they had a larger dry goods selection I would not go anywhere else -Riverfront I think is shut down for animal neglect, and it showed in their saltwater tanks. $40 dollars for baby ocellaris clowns!!! This place smells like a dirty gym sock
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#5
01-30-2016, 06:25 PM
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Calgary group on....
There's an open groupon with J&L right now.
Prices are definitely lower and more availability with this option!!! http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=117821
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#6
01-31-2016, 04:33 AM
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stores
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#7
01-31-2016, 05:36 AM
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My experience (other's may differ):
Concept: This is where 90% of my money allocated for the hobby goes. This is my go to place for hardware and corals. Not so much for fishes. Pieces: From my experience, almost every tang in that store is infected with ich. I only go there for inverts; they always seem to have the inverts that I look for. Big-al: This is where I got my 1st tank but stopped going there when I came to know about other stores. Ocean creation: My go to place for fish. Never had any issue on any of the fishes that I bough from here. Given that I am not big on quarantine, get healthy specimen is really good. Wai's: probably my last choice for LFS if I cannot find something locally or online. Great selection of corals but hell expensive and unless you are there for buying something, the guy is not very pleasant. Reef wonderful: Hell expensive. Great guy but in the end, I personally wouldn't pay a 50% premium just for customer service. Gold's aquarium: Extremely good price and they QT their fishes so, like ocean creation, you will get healthy specimen. Their prices are so cheap that sometimes, it is just shocking and will make you wonder how they manage to sell things so cheap. Used to be far away from my old place but very close to my new one so I will visit them more often now that I am back in the hobby.
__________________
You wouldn't want to see my tank. I don't use fancy equipment and I am a noob 
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#8
01-31-2016, 02:12 PM
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Wai's has always been my go to place for supplies equipment and livestock.
Daniel has been in business a very long time for a reason - he has a business model that can weather both the good and bad times. Prices can be expensive, but that's what it takes to stay in business. If not Wai's, do you really want to buy from someone that is here today, gone tomorrow? I went to Big Al's a couple of weeks ago and they had very little sw livestock but a LOT of artificial salt available. People probably are a little burned from last year's salt "special sale" debacle. I've never been to Concepts new place, can't offer a opinion. Pisces is a great overall pet store. I get all my fw and pond supplies there. Golds I've been to once, but they had a very limited sw offering. Riverfront needs to be shut down. I haven't been to any of the others mentioned. Online stores for Calgarians are available, but it costs me $50 in fuel to drive to the airport for livestock, so that is a deterrent. BRS is very expensive when you include shipping to the local post office (in my case) .
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Mitch
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#9
03-13-2016, 05:17 AM
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I just did the Calgary tour for the first time in years and I must say a lot has changed.
Started off at Golds. Lots of cool fish but nothing I was looking for. Was probably just an off week. However there was a good diversity of fish. Haven't been in the store in years yet the guys still recognised me and asked where I had been. Tough to beat that. Next stop was Big Al's. Lots has changed in there. When did they add dog and Cat!?! Selection was low but there was some clowns there I really wanted. My wife was with me and she veto'd that decision. I should have bought them as they were 1/2 the price from anywhere else in town. Onto Pisces where the service was great. I am assuming I had the guy in charge there. He was nice enough to walk me through some of the acronyms I have never heard of on the fish labels and we talked about which transhippers were bringing in the best fish and from where. I also seen my first Lightning Maroon in person and I gawked over the large Blue Carpet they had while he bagged up my small clean up crew. Prices are a little high but I will be back again. After a tour at Balzac Mall it was onto Wai's, this place used to be a little run down and over priced but I was surprised how nice it looked with the new (to me) tanks and lighting. Fish looked great and I drooled over the red saddle Anthias. They were on the top of my want list before I got out, if I upgrade I'll get a few for sure. Lots of cool stuff but I walked out with only a fish. The only thing I could complain about was the price of the discs of zoas. I know it's a little pricey there but all the fish and coral looked great. The guys down at Ocean Creation recognised me as soon as I walked in. Again that's a good feeling after not stepping foot in there for years. They let the cat out of the bag though when the Mrs asked why they remembered me, his response "Him and his friend always spent lots of money here when they came in". So she finally caught onto my lieing about prices. Their stock was low but again probably caught them on a bad week. Some cool adult clowns but I walked out empty handed. Back to the east side I stopped at Concept hoping to get some dry rock and frags. I wasn't at all impressed by this store. Dirty tanks, dead fish, bad smell, and expensive!! Not the Concept I knew when they were over by Big Al's. I doubt I will be back again. The Rhomboid Wrasse was the highlight of the store otherwise there is much left to be improved upon. Reef Wonderland was closed down. Glad it was a short drive but the store was empty. Not sure when this happened. However I was still feeling I didn't get enough fish so a quick search on Google Maps and I plotted a course that just so happened to take me by Wai's again. Dennis set me up with 2 more fish for a good price and I walked out smiling. I will say it was awesome to catch up with the guys at Golds and Ocean Creation but for this trip Wai's was the number one stop.
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Ryan
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