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

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by 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

next time you are in town you will need to swing by concept aquariums we will be open in our new store for sept1 and its a major upgrade from our other store

just missed us by a bit but another reason to come on back!!

cheers

denny

concept aquariums

[jorjef]

This was nice to read and to put my mind at ease, conclusion for me is the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.. or border. Granted it's the slow season and the coral selection could be slim right now.

Being from Regina and having no desire for frags I'm always struggling to find the next must have LPS. for my tank. There is only one local shop in my mind but they are a newer shop and is having it's own issues getting good coral suppliers. Bayside in Saskatoon on the other hand always has something to tempt me when it comes to corals. They really are first class shop in every way from product to personal. Where does this put me in my search? I guess not making a road trip to Cow town anytime soon and continuing to scour in interweb and road trips to Saskatoon...

[globaldesigns]

I didn't realize there was a new store in Calgary... Cool, I will have to check out RW soon.

We still need a store in the south, don't know why everything needs to be in the deep north of the city.

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

I didn't realize there was a new store in Calgary... Cool, I will have to check out RW soon.

We still need a store in the south, don't know why everything needs to be in the deep north of the city.

Rent. When you've got overhead as high as an aquarium/pet store has, you really can't afford to pay the square footage costs of retail space in the 'nicer' parts of town. Big Al's and Pisces are where they are because there's not really any comparable warehouse style retail space in the south - the cheaper warehouses in the south are mostly light industrial and no one shops there (except for maybe granite countertops and floor tile). Also, the fact that Wai's, Ocean Creation, Pisces, and Big Al's are all within a 10 minute drive of each other in light traffic actually probably helps their business rather than hurts it. It's no real surprise that each of the stores seems to specialize in something different.

[kien]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

.. don't know why everything needs to be in the deep north of the city.

It's better on our wallets this way.

[Magma]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Rent. When you've got overhead as high as an aquarium/pet store has, you really can't afford to pay the square footage costs of retail space in the 'nicer' parts of town. Big Al's and Pisces are where they are because there's not really any comparable warehouse style retail space in the south - the cheaper warehouses in the south are mostly light industrial and no one shops there (except for maybe granite countertops and floor tile). Also, the fact that Wai's, Ocean Creation, Pisces, and Big Al's are all within a 10 minute drive of each other in light traffic actually probably helps their business rather than hurts it. It's no real surprise that each of the stores seems to specialize in something different.

I have to agree on the driving, on a good day I plan it out and start at golds then head over to Wais and Oceans, before hitting up big als, Pisces and reef wonderland on my way home. Start to finish it takes about an hour depending on how long I stop at each place and with a newborn who only sleeps for 3-4hrs at a time its nice to be able to hit all the stops and be home before the screaming starts.

Once concept is back open I will be able add that one the list and hopefully keep it within the 1-2hr mark.

[globaldesigns]

Originally Posted by kien

It's better on our wallets this way.

I was going to do it, but didn't feel the economy and population in Calgary could handle another store.

Drives me crazy that I have to drive such distances for supplies... Oh well, that is why I have gone back to buying many things online. Cheaper when you consider free shipping, I save on my time and gas.

[kien]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

I was going to do it, but didn't feel the economy and population in Calgary could handle another store.

Apparently it can :-)

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

I was going to do it, but didn't feel the economy and population in Calgary could handle another store.

Drives me crazy that I have to drive such distances for supplies... Oh well, that is why I have gone back to buying many things online. Cheaper when you consider free shipping, I save on my time and gas.

Calgary has carried 7 salt water stores in the past, so it's possible. I think if you're strategic about where you locate yourself, how big your store is, and how much overhead you allow yourself to carry you can be profitable in a competitive market.

And where are you finding all this free shipping? I'm getting fleeced on shipping! I have actually found myself wishing the US won the war of 1812 a few times when I'm paying 30% of the price of the item in shipping fees, often 100% of the item if it's coming from the US.

And it could be worse, you could live in Foremost and have a salt water tank. 8 hour round trip for salt.