How far is it to your nearest LFS (Salty of course)

[hillbillyreefer]

Just wondering how far away some of us boonies people live from their nearest saltwater dealer? What are some of the tricks you use to transport stock successfully? How many pails of salt do you pick up while in town, etc, etc?

According to the GPS my local store is 225km. We never leave home without a lunch cooler in the summer or a fish shipping cooler in the winter. 8hr heat packs are in the cooler along with the digital thermometer. Enough food is purchased for several months at a time. When there is a good sale on somewhere lots of salt is purchased, haven't bought any in almost 2 years. Additive supplies such as Calc/Alk, and micronutrients are checked prior to leaving and purchased as needed.

Let's hear some of your long distance horror stories!!

[Milad]

i drive out of my work place and if there is traffic, i take a left and go into JL aquatics and spend too much money

i hate traffic!

[reefwars]

about 6 blocks

[The Grizz]

About 1 1/2 hours North or South depending on traffic and weather.

[Ian]

1.5 hours north or 2 hours south..plus city traffic either way but I still get to the stores more often than my bank account would like

[dunl]

Originally Posted by hillbillyreefer

Just wondering how far away some of us boonies people live from their nearest saltwater dealer? What are some of the tricks you use to transport stock successfully? How many pails of salt do you pick up while in town, etc, etc?

According to the GPS my local store is 225km. We never leave home without a lunch cooler in the summer or a fish shipping cooler in the winter. 8hr heat packs are in the cooler along with the digital thermometer. Enough food is purchased for several months at a time. When there is a good sale on somewhere lots of salt is purchased, haven't bought any in almost 2 years. Additive supplies such as Calc/Alk, and micronutrients are checked prior to leaving and purchased as needed.

Let's hear some of your long distance horror stories!!

I'm afraid that if you are going 225km, then you're going to Red Deer...and you're spending even MORE money than if you chose to go to Edmonton or Calgary. Now, I've been out of the game for a few years, but when I was just told that the price on a juvenile lionfish was "a couple of hundred dollars, and only because I could get more but I am not greedy", not much seems to have changed - except that customers are uninformed about just how cheap things are in Calgary or Edmonton.

As for travelling....you only need to remember how many hours these animals have travelled to get from the ocean to the stores....properly packed, a few hours drive to Consort should be nothing for them. I've successfully shopped for livestock, had it packed properly (to which you seem to be quite knowledgeable, no worries there), and then shopped around at a few places for some hours before returning home. No problems. None at all. Only time there ever were was when I was a beginner and didn't understand anything (like letting a LFS employee blow air into a bag from their lungs before sealing it).

Networking with people is a good thing to do as well...the Alberta Aquatica site has a free travel section where you can post if you need something transported. Find a nice piece of livestock in Calgary or Edmonton? See if you can arrange for someone to bring it to Red Deer when you're coming through....saves you some travelling and opens up more possibilities.

Good luck, and let us know in the area if we can help out in any way. Prices can be checked and PM'd your way.

[hillbillyreefer]

Actually the store in Red Deer is a bit further @ 255 km. My LFS is in Lloydminster, Red Deer is pretty much avoided due to the lack of a store.

Thanks for the offer dunl, it's much appreciated.

Packing the animals properly is critical. It's simple to do and in a little over 3 years, not a single critter has been lost in transport.

As for you just down the street people @#$%^$#%&$%&%^&% you. I'd be so broke I wouldn't be able to afford to walk next door to look!!

[Myka]

Bayside is about 10 mins away and Reef Shoppe is 2 1/2 hours away.

I buy all my salt for the year during Boxing week sales since I tend to travel during that time anyway. I have 3/4 of one bucket left right now, so I guesstimated pretty good! Last year I bought my salt at Red Coral in Calgary on my through from BC for Christmas...Kevin had a wicked sale going on! It chaps my @$$ to pay a bunch of money for salt because I like to do water changes, and don't want to watch the dollar signs go down the drain. I actually find I do more water changes when I pay less for the bucket. My 90 really doesn't go through all that much salt though at 10 gallons per week. My Zoa tank gets 5 gallons of used water from the reef every week, so that's like recycling.

[Jfish]

Nearest fish store for me is two hour drive. Haven't really bought much there though except maybe a test kit or some food. All fish and corals arrive after a 6-8 hour bus ride with no ill effects winter or summer. The dealers know how to package their stuff and I have never lost anything due to transport.

In the rare case I do have to transport, livestock is double bagged and surrounded by newspaper in styro cooler. Cooler moves into a warm or cool vehicle and is never exposed to elements more than needed.

[Rbacchiega]

across the street.