Project Reef: Ocean's Three

[redmushroom]

Finally.... something is arriving tonight.....

Stay tuned for more updates......

[redmushroom]

Many things happened over the weekend.

Over the course of upgrading the equipment in my tank and striving to improve my home for future livestock, i had quite a few experiences, more of them bad than good.

[Brownie]

Bro.....Good and Bad, please share .

[redmushroom]

Here's a post on my experience with an established LFS, my tank-maker. Oh, and read on ONLY if you're interested. I'll try my best to post an objective report.

As you guys know, i have been shopping around for a chiller. My choice was an Artica 1/5 HP and i finally decided to get it from my tank maker. Initially, i was not offered delivery, pipings and installations. According to my tank-maker, he suggested that i install it myself becos it was very fast and easy.

After making known my preference to get it installed by them, i was told that "deliver and installing at min cost $100" and that "it is not about time, is about petrol and workmanship". I accepted that such a request was not obligatory on their part, therefore i still went ahead with the order.

Upon reaching the LFS, the unit was not there after payment was made and i was then offered delivery the next morning.

On receipt of the chiller, i went shopping for a new return pump, my aquabee 5000 which my tank maker had no stock of. This was due to my decision to convert the current Hydor L45 return pump to the feeder for my chiller.

When that was finally done, i contacted my tank maker to request for him to cut and adjust the length of my piping (as it was configured for my Hydor L45) to fit the new aquabee 5000( the 5000 was higher in height and thus the piping had to be cut shorter to fit). However, to my shock, upon hearing that the pump was not bought from them, he told me to cut it myself or get the shop that i bought the new pump from to cut it for me.

I was appalled, to say the least, as after spending thousands on my set-up from them, i was refused a simple service by my tank maker even though i had offered to drive down to the shop for him to get it done for me. It was only after i refuted that they did not carry the stock that i wanted and that there were my tank-maker which i bought almost everything from was i told to come back the next evening to do it, citing busy schedules on the day.

Well, personally, i feel that i was not rendered satisfactory service from my tank maker and i thought that i should share this. In fairness, it was not obligatory for them to do me these favours, but i thought that as a customer who got the set-up from them, i expected better. Probably a word of advice to reefers wanting to set up new systems is that it is best if you could get everything from the start, as once you decide to get things seperately as opposed to a whole package, the service might not be as good anymore once the tank has been set-up.

Hope that mine is just an isolated case here.

[redmushroom]

Oh and anyway guys, this issue has already been settled as i ran around yesterday to get the piping cut to fit by myself.

I was very disappointed by my tank-maker's service and comments and there was no way i was going to let him do it for me after all this to prevent anymore possible "min charges for workmanship".

As some bros here would know, the LFS does offer to deliver and install the chillers for them with no extra cost, and in thus doing so, i hope that this service is not only provided for people whose spending with them has been in the higher echelons.

Once again, just some experience sharing since some bros here are anxious to find out.

For me, this issue is over, but i will seriously need to reconsider patronising them again after these experiences.

Oh and stay tuned for new pics and updates as i will be posting up all the work done over the weekend once i get home from work today!

[MAG]

Oh and anyway guys, this issue has already been settled as i ran around yesterday to get the piping cut to fit by myself.

I was very disappointed by my tank-maker's service and comments and there was no way i was going to let him do it for me after all this to prevent anymore possible "min charges for workmanship".

As some bros here would know, the LFS does offer to deliver and install the chillers for them with no extra cost, and in thus doing so, i hope that this service is not only provided for people whose spending with them has been in the higher echelons.

Once again, just some experience sharing since some bros here are anxious to find out.

For me, this issue is over, but i will seriously need to reconsider patronising them again after these experiences.

Oh and stay tuned for new pics and updates as i will be posting up all the work done over the weekend once i get home from work today!

hi bro well sorry to hear your story abo the lfs.

i guess sometimes managing our expectation is very important.

usually for me when i engage someone to do something for me ill be very detail so that there is no misunderstanding happened.

maybe there is some misunderstanding on both party.

so hv you decided to put in fishes? or corals only?

ill post new info soon in my tread..still cycling period.

keep your pic coming ok..

[Bio528]

aiya of coz la, u already pay up everytings mah. b4 u commit anythings from them, they treat u like god but after service they push here and there, if not they will say "oh it very easy can fix up urself".

bro not even in marine trade, i guess every trade in sg is like that, hmm but there are also good ones btw bro pm me the lfs name can? and the p.i.c name too lol haha

[dominik]

aiya of coz la, u already pay up everytings mah. b4 u commit anythings from them, they treat u like god but after service they push here and there, if not they will say "oh it very easy can fix up urself".

bro not even in marine trade, i guess every trade in sg is like that, hmm but there are also good ones btw bro pm me the lfs name can? and the p.i.c name too lol haha

very obvious who is the tank maker...

[kus]

nice tank

[kus]

good tank

[jervismun]

Bro a bit confused...

You bought the pump and the chiller from a particular LFS and they refused to fix up for you? And you mentioned $100... you paid them $100 for fixing both items?

[cohiba]

This is a chicken and egg story! If you buy a car from Nissan and you buy a new Hi-Fi set from Sony. Now, the question is Sony install the set or Nissan? Yes, both you pay alot of money.

[Bio528]

very obvious who is the tank maker...

LOL i really dunno leh

[moron_clown]

This is a chicken and egg story! If you buy a car from Nissan and you buy a new Hi-Fi set from Sony. Now, the question is Sony install the set or Nissan? Yes, both you pay alot of money.

Ask nissan to install for free. If Nissan does'nt, post in the car forum and shoot them.

[redmushroom]

hi bro well sorry to hear your story abo the lfs.

i guess sometimes managing our expectation is very important.

usually for me when i engage someone to do something for me ill be very detail so that there is no misunderstanding happened.

maybe there is some misunderstanding on both party.

so hv you decided to put in fishes? or corals only?

ill post new info soon in my tread..still cycling period.

keep your pic coming ok..

Hi MAG,

I think there is no misunderstanding here. Its just a simple case of service not being up to my expectations, but it doesnt matter anymore.

Haha no i haven put in any livestock yet. Will do so from tomorrow since my chiller is up and running already.

And yup i will keep the pics coming... starting from tonight. Cheers!!

[redmushroom]

aiya of coz la, u already pay up everytings mah. b4 u commit anythings from them, they treat u like god but after service they push here and there, if not they will say "oh it very easy can fix up urself".

bro not even in marine trade, i guess every trade in sg is like that, hmm but there are also good ones btw bro pm me the lfs name can? and the p.i.c name too lol haha

Yeah i agree with you bro, i kinda expected it to be like that, but i did not expect to be refused a simple service of cutting the pipe for me when i have even offered to drive down to the shop to seek his help.

Guess this kinda things happen, which is why i am putting up this advice to reefers wanting to set up a new tank to consider everything properly first before facing similar experiences to mine in future.

Cheers!

[redmushroom]

good tank

Thanks alot bro kus,

i am still very inexperienced when compared to many reefers here.

Hope my tank will turn out fine and pretty though.

Pop by my thread when u are free la, i will try to update as and when i can.

[redmushroom]

Bro a bit confused...

You bought the pump and the chiller from a particular LFS and they refused to fix up for you? And you mentioned $100... you paid them $100 for fixing both items?

Hi jervis,

i bought the chiller from my tank maker, but i got my pump from another lfs as there was no stock available from my tank maker for the pump.

However, as a result of this, my tank maker refused to cut short the pipings for me upon learning that the pump was not purchased from them, even though he had promised to do it for me when i eventually decide to change the return pump.

My actions were also due to his suggestion that i change the return pump to an aquabee 5000 and convert the hydor L45 (which was serving as the return pump previously) to the feeder pump for my chiller which i would get in due time ( and which i already did finally last week).

The $100 was the amount my tank maker wanted to charge me for getting him to deliver, and install the chiller for me. However, he suggested that it would be "better i install it myself" and that was exactly what i did, so i did not pay the $100 in the end.

Hope this helps to clear any doubts u have bro.

[redmushroom]

This is a chicken and egg story! If you buy a car from Nissan and you buy a new Hi-Fi set from Sony. Now, the question is Sony install the set or Nissan? Yes, both you pay alot of money.

Haha i dun think this is a chicken and egg story bro. i am sure all reefers here do not get every single item in their set-up from one sole shop.

The obvious person to look for when u encounter problems and need help is to approach your tank maker, which i did.

However, having said this, i agree that it is not obligatory on the tank maker's part to help you out once the set-up and installation is over. But in my eyes, the service rendered by the retailer AFTER purchase is the best measure of his service standards, and it would be up to every individual to measure that.

Therefore, i leave it to you to decide if my experience would be acceptable if you were in my shoes. Once again, i stress there is no right or wrong here, just the expectations that the individual sets on his tank maker, which in my case i thought was already low enough.

[redmushroom]

Ask nissan to install for free. If Nissan does'nt, post in the car forum and shoot them.

Haha chill bro, i am not out here with my guns blazing. Not intending to shoot anybody, but instead hoping people can learn or draw somethin from it.

i gain nothing from shooting anybody/anything in a forum and i have no intentions of doing that too.

Reefing is the business in this forum here, and i will keep my scope of matters to that as strictly as i can. Cheers!!

[redmushroom]

Ok that seems to be the end of all my correspondence with reefers who bothered to post their concern in my thread.

Lemme show u guys some updates instead and get to the real business cos i am getting sick of too much typing.

[drato11]

Ask nissan to install for free. If Nissan does'nt, post in the car forum and shoot them.

This is a good analogy!

This is a tank thread, not a flaming thread. It takes 2 hands to clap!

[redmushroom]

Ok lets start with the chiller.

Here's myself carrying my new toy into the house.

[redmushroom]

A closer look.....

[redmushroom]

My dog, figo, checking out the new arrival in the house.

He is my customs officer, inspecting everything, and occasionally pee-ing on items that doesn't pass his stringent checks.

Oh, the chiller passed the dog sniffing test.