Calgary store reviews

[IanWR]

Hi all,

I just took my first trip to Calgary since starting down the saltwater road, and thought I would check out a few of the stores. Having only seen Bayside in Saskatoon, I was excited to see what the big city would offer. The quick takeaway is that Colby runs an awesome shop, and people in Calgary have a reason for a road trip east.

So in no particular order, I went to:

Big Al's

Lots of tanks, lots of stock, yet disappointing. I was shocked to see the poor condition of some of the fish. Particularly the yellow tangs. They were so skeletal you could actually see the bones through the skin. That may be an artifact from shipping I suppose, but I don't think they should have been for sale in that condition. Most of the other fish seemed ok. Their selection of coral was large, but the colors seemed muted somehow. They did have a number of interesting anenomes.

As far as hardware, they only had a few RR tanks. They had a very limited selection of pumps, skimmers, etc.

Staff was nowhere to be seen except at the till.

Conclusion: A fairly normal big box style pet store experience.

Wai's

What an explosion of coral! As you walk in you see a number of tanks filled to the brim with live rock covered in mostly sps. They have the most pieces of sps of any store I have seen. There were also a number of tanks of fish. The store feels crowded, with narrow isles and stock in somewhat of a jumble.

Although there were a number of aquaria for sale, particularly a couple of IM aio, nothing was marked with prices. I think a most of the fish were priced, but none of the coral that I could see. Nor was the coral labeled, so it made for an odd shopping experience.

As for staff, the was one guy at the till who glared as we came in. Not exactly a warm welcome.

Conclusion: lots of stuff if you know what you are looking for. Not really a beginner's store.

Ocean creations

A relatively small store, with mostly fish. Some interesting specimens like cow fish (neat!), as well as some huge tangs. They did have some coral that seemed in good shape, just not tons of it.

No tanks to buy, but a fair selection of pumps, skimmers, etc.

There was one guy working who was pleasant, asked if we needed anything, and seemed to know what he was talking about.

Conclusion: looks like a nice small place that would be a resource, esp if you already have a tank.

Reef Wonderland

A new store that looks to have potential. Most of their tanks are empty as they are still cycling. There is a nice frag tank set up, with another on the way. The store is small, but bright. Once everything is up and rolling it could be a really great place to shop. Lots of room, clean and bright, looks nice. That being said, I think the owner regrets putting in laminate flooring as the humidity is already playing havoc with the floor, including one nasty peak as you walk in. I don't see any option but to cut it out to avoid a possible liability issue.

There are a number (100+) of small frags that look to be in good shape, as well as a few anenomes. There was also a ghost shrimp I hadn't seen before that was cool- transparent with blue tips.

Reef wonderland also has the best website of any store we went to. Very clean and clear, nice graphics.

The proprietor was very pleasant and helpful, clearly the best customer service of any store we went to.

Conclusion: although still in it's infancy, a place with lots of potential. I hope there will be enough local (or online) support to make a success.

Pisces

What a huge place! The biggest fish room I have ever seen. A staggering number of tanks for sale, from full set ups, to glass ranging from your standards to a good number of ADA tanks! I could not see a good selection of skimmers, lights, etc. That being said, the place is so big I may have just overlooked them.

There are a number of marine tanks, mostly divided into narrow holding pens. There was a fair range of livestock, with a small selection of coral.

Staff was present, but very busy.

Conclusion: an enormous place, if you needed to have a tank today, this would have to be the first stop.

Golds

Talk about claustrophobic! Golds has their tanks stacked 3 or 4 high, with 2 narrow isles running the length of this relatively small space. This place is clearly very busy, with most of the livestock that remained already sold! What was there looked to be in good shape. There was a selection of coral, mostly softies/lps.

There was no equipment for sale, ie tanks, lights, etc. that I could see.

The staff was super busy, but still had time to check in and see if we had any questions.

A side note, google suggests they are closed Sunday, they are actually closed Thursday. The staff are aware of this, and have asked google repeatedly to fix it to no avail.

Conclusion: this may be a great place to get your livestock if you either order it in, or come early on Fridays.

All in all I had a great time seeing what was on offer.

Thanks,

Ian