The Newbie Scams, Deceipt and Pitfalls Thread

[d5332]

I have thought about starting a thread like this on occasion when I am bored or when I read threads that I clearly know are BS and simply looking for a mark to take advantage of.

If you can be objective and state only the facts in as few words as possible please feel free to add to this thread and help out new comers and existing readers alike.

The point of this thread would be to share scams that you know happen on the boards/hobby and or things you did that you later learnt should have been done differently.

Please ladies and gentlemen, keep it objective, factual, short and sweet and this can be a good thread.

I will start it off:

SCAMS
Used chillers, dont buy a used chiller unless the seller is willing to accept paypal as a seller and even push for you to be able to go home and test the chiller for a week

DECEPTION
Light fixture for sale, in perfect condition and I will throw in all bulbs which are only 2 months old. Be weary and pay with paypal, go home and test the hell out of the light and ensure all ballasts and other electronic components work as advertised by the seller AND 9 OUT 10 TIMES THE "free" BULBS ARE OVER A YEAR OLD AND NEED TO BE DISCARDED

PITFALLS
Replacing your protein skimmer every 2 months. Buy the appropriate size skimmer for your tank, read the manual on how to install and operate it, particularly the depth at which the skimmer should be submerged and let the skimmer work.
If you purchased a recognized brand with a design create in the last decade chances are you just need to learn how to use the skimmer so buy the one that truly fits in your stand and sump and learn how to use it.

 

[bkstang]

DECEPTION
You sell an items(s) on the Sale Thread and you find a buyer who is very interested but he asks you to hold the item for him for a couple of days, then find an excuse and asks you again for a couple of days extension and because this is a friendly forum you believe him, Then he stops all communication. Use PayPal !

 

[jr973]

DECEPTION
You sell an items(s) on the Sale Thread and you find a buyer who is very interested but he asks you to hold the item for him for a couple of days, then find an excuse and asks you again for a couple of days extension and because this is a friendly forum you believe him, Then he stops all communication. Use PayPal !

+100:tongue1:

 

[savage]

+100:tongue1:

LOL....I guess cash is not king any more. ..


REEFER FOR LIFE!!

 

[jr973]

LOL....I guess cash is not king any more. ..


REEFER FOR LIFE!!

Nah Casg is Still King for those I have already delt with

 

[bkstang]

nah casg is still king for those i have already delt with

true!

 

[d5332]

The point with this one is don't fall in the trap of negotiating with someone that is simply kicking the tires or killing time on the internet.

If you are selling something and dont feel like holding it indefinitely, request a deposit via paypal, if the buyer is serious he or she will not have an issue with providing a deposit.

DECEPTION
You sell an items(s) on the Sale Thread and you find a buyer who is very interested but he asks you to hold the item for him for a couple of days, then find an excuse and asks you again for a couple of days extension and because this is a friendly forum you believe him, Then he stops all communication. Use PayPal !

 

[Fishtankfrank]

Hate to bash a local fish store but don't buy any of your equipment/live rock from fishtown USA. 2 years ago when I started my reef up they sold me less than mediocre equipment for double the online prices-lights sumps skimmer etc. and the live rock was oozing out phosphates. ALWAYS SHOP ONLINE OR A TRUSTED STORE and do your research

 

[d5332]

So to keep it objectively the point with this one is realize that in order to get started with a salwater aquarium all you need is:

Tank
Water
Salt
hydrometer
Heater
Filter
Skimmer
inexpensive automatic water top off gadget

You do not need the following to get started, it can be obtained later:

Fancy lights
fancy stand
fancy canopy
dosers
controllers
live rock
and a few other nice to have things

Once you learn the basics research each piece of equipment you are considering buying, analyze if you truly need it and you do decide to buy it spend time comparing prices.

Hate to bash a local fish store but don't buy any of your equipment/live rock from fishtown USA. 2 years ago when I started my reef up they sold me less than mediocre equipment for double the online prices-lights sumps skimmer etc. and the live rock was oozing out phosphates. ALWAYS SHOP ONLINE OR A TRUSTED STORE and do your research

 

[OOtzie]

DECEPTION
You sell an items(s) on the Sale Thread and you find a buyer who is very interested but he asks you to hold the item for him for a couple of days, then find an excuse and asks you again for a couple of days extension and because this is a friendly forum you believe him, Then he stops all communication. Use PayPal !

you call this deception? this is common in the world of sales, just assume everyone is a lair to spare your self the disappointment of being let down. When someone actually does show up at your door to pick up then you'll be surprised:sigh:.

 

[Montaquelaveist]

So to keep it objectively the point with this one is realize that in order to get started with a salwater aquarium all you need is:

Tank
Water
Salt
hydrometer
Heater
Filter
Skimmer
inexpensive automatic water top off gadget

You do not need the following to get started, it can be obtained later:

Fancy lights
fancy stand
fancy canopy
dosers
controllers
live rock
and a few other nice to have things

Once you learn the basics research each piece of equipment you are considering buying, analyze if you truly need it and you do decide to buy it spend time comparing prices.

you forgot test kits:scratchch

 

[bertyboy69]

So to keep it objectively the point with this one is realize that in order to get started with a salwater aquarium all you need is:

Tank
Water
Salt
hydrometer
Heater
Filter
Skimmer
inexpensive automatic water top off gadget

You do not need the following to get started, it can be obtained later:

Fancy lights
fancy stand
fancy canopy
dosers
controllers
live rock
and a few other nice to have things

Once you learn the basics research each piece of equipment you are considering buying, analyze if you truly need it and you do decide to buy it spend time comparing prices.

I woukd remove skimmer from the neccessary list , though they are good equipment you can run a successful reef/fowlr without one , i dont use skimmers by choice but for someone just starting it can be a very high cost item that isnt truly a staple, filter/live rock for bio filtration is a neccessity though
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs

 

[Clink51]

the " x lbs of Live rock are needed per tank" is a myth. Also, dont let LFS sucker you into buying LR. Go buy Marcorocks or BRS rocks, clean them and add in maybe 5 lbs of LR from the LFS of your choice. Its cheaper and allows you more time to setup the rock OUTSIDE of the tank

 

[Clink51]

also, dry sand is just as good as live sand.

 

[d5332]

The infamous you need $1,000 worth of "fiji live rock" in order to setup a 55 gallon tank.

the " x lbs of Live rock are needed per tank" is a myth. Also, dont let LFS sucker you into buying LR. Go buy Marcorocks or BRS rocks, clean them and add in maybe 5 lbs of LR from the LFS of your choice. Its cheaper and allows you more time to setup the rock OUTSIDE of the tank

 

[Clink51]

The infamous you need $1,000 worth of "fiji live rock" in order to setup a 55 gallon tank.

i had just started my first tank... 10lbs of LR at $12xlb..... once i realized what they had done to me i never went back. and that was my LFS for over 5 years when i was into Cichlids

 

[tacson]

When I trade corals to live rock from a member ,his thread says 150 lbs , I went home weigh the rocks it's only 67 lbs .. The next day my corals is up for sale .. What a sucker .. This guy pissed me off so bad ..

 

[bkstang]

When I trade corals to live rock from a member ,his thread says 150 lbs , I went home weigh the rocks it's only 67 lbs .. The next day my corals is up for sale .. What a sucker .. This guy pissed me off so bad ..

I'm not judging you, maybe you had your own reason but why you didn't leave a negative or at least neutral rating for this guy ? This is what most of us rely on.

 

[cmantis]

So to keep it objectively the point with this one is realize that in order to get started with a salwater aquarium all you need is:

Tank
Water
Salt
hydrometer
Heater
Filter
Skimmer
inexpensive automatic water top off gadget

You do not need the following to get started, it can be obtained later:

Fancy lights
fancy stand
fancy canopy
dosers
controllers
live rock
and a few other nice to have things

Once you learn the basics research each piece of equipment you are considering buying, analyze if you truly need it and you do decide to buy it spend time comparing prices.

In my opinion the only thing you need to get started is tank, salt water, live rock, heater and power head. Nothing else I have many tanks running like this now. (The LR is extremely important as otherwise you have no biological filtration that is the first thing after water to add. It can be dead as long as you are willing to wait for it to cycle).

I have definitely got some corals over the past two years that were either nuisance corals or non photosynthetic because I didn't know any better.

 

[jackson6745]

While I don't think it's a simple as x lbs or rock per gallon, I do believe that simplistic aqauacapes lead to imbalanced systems. Personally, I would never use dry rock in a system. It's not that much cheaper and takes so much longer to populate with nitrifying bacteria and coraline. Live is short, I don't want to waste another 6 months just to get rock that looks a little live, more importantly, rock that handles a bioload like it's live.