extreme_tooth_decay

Thanks. I will send a paper complaint tomorrow. This wasn't necessary, and I'd rather not, but I don't make idle threats.

Well, I went to PetSmart this evening and talked to a store manager, I believe her name was ****. My part: I explained the situation calmly, with a smile on my face, and noted it was a serious structural defect and safety concern. I demonstrated how my hand could fit in the hole in the center brace, and that is how far the tank has stretched/bent from the pressure. I told her that tank manufacturers do not recommend filling a tank with a broken center brace. I mentioned I had spoken to others in the hobby about it that were in agreement, and that the concerns had been registered on PetSmarts web site. Her part: She became very angry and combative and raised her voice several times. I remained completely calm the entire time. She believes it is "obvious" that there is no safety issue because the tank is currently holding water. She has no plans to take the tank down or not sell it. She did mention that she could tell customers how to get the replacement part, but would not tell them it is a safety concern. She will not tell any customer there is a safety concern with the tank. In fact she told me she would tell any customer that the tank has been set up for a long time and so is "obviously" safe. I told her that because a ticking time bomb has not exploded, that does not make it safe. It is still a bomb. She was not interested in this argument. She claims the tank seam was not repaired (It looks like some king of home-remedy tape is over the seam. I don't believe it is factory, but I suppose it is possible) She stated at least 5 times that no one has ever said anything about the tank and it has been set up for a long time. I mentioned that was what I was doing right now. She replied that if it was a concern, others would have mentioned it before today. She claims there have been several offers on the tank. I do not think I will be getting a holiday card from her. At least she did not ask me if I was retarded, like happened this time: LINK All she had to do was show some concern and I would have been happy. Sigh. I told her I felt I had no choice but to file a safety complaint against her store. She did not care. Anyone know the proper channels to do that?

I use one.

I'll probably head there after work. I'm interested to hear what he has to say as well. It is only about a half mile from my house. As I recall, this store has 2 store managers for some reason. I had a lengthy experience with one of them one time regarding a return and store credit and using it online, and he seemed like quite a reasonable guy to me. It could be that since I was still in my work clothes that helped some.

I wonder what the result would be of me going there tonight, finding the manager, explaining the situation, and if dissatisfied with his reply, insisting action be taken. I should probably be wearing a wire, I have a feeling it will be worth reliving.

That is probably why they only have dry goods for SW, at least in the stores I know of. Glad you took the effort to report it. I didn't notice the sale banner at first either, it is hanging above the tank. That is all I could think of when I was standing there. Probably unlikely to explosively break, but it could happen. It really irritates me how they know it is broken but still have it set up, and for sale no less. Some newbie is going to buy it...

I always used Oceanic. I would buy (3) 200 gallon buckets for $100 when That Fish Place had a sale. I did that a few times, sold a bunch of extra buckets. Once time there were Oceanic reps in the store giving "buy 3 get one free" coupons, too. 4 buckets for $100. Deals can be had if you wait and look. The thing I liked about Oceanic is how fast it dissolves. I always mix mine up and put it in my tank right away, so that is nice.

Well I was in PetSmart yesterday (yes the same one as from THIS incident) It is on Rt 1 in Alexandria in Potomac Yards. I noticed near the front they have a used 72 bowfront FW tank set up (with water, fish, etc) , and it is on sale. They have a big sign that says it is a clearance used item for sale for $400, but would be $3200 if purchased separately/new. Fish not included. I noticed the center brace was broken, and there was a 3/4" gap in the brace where the tank has bowed out. I also noticed the front left seam has "black goo" all over the length of it. Undoubtedly where the tank was leaking due to the center brace being broken, they put some goo on. I didn't feel comfortable just standing near the thing. Man, this is just not right. Let me enumerate the problems: 1) This set up does not cost $3200 if purchased separately. Probably around $400. Maybe. It is just tank, gravel, maybe a crummy filter, heater. 2) That broken center brace is a serious safety concern IMO. Not only should it not be for sale, it should not be set up in a public place. 3) They obviously know about the broken center brace, with the black goo and all. It is wrong to not have that damage clearly marked ("DAMAGED"). Looks like a law suit waiting to happen to me. Willfull endangerment of the public or some such.

That was my first thought as well, but I now think it would be a lot more brittle and might break under the weight. If he went bare bottom, he might be able to see more of the granite under the tank...

I find it unacceptable to hear someone calling a business "terriable" because they knowingly bought a sick fish and it died. Don't buy sick fish. If you do, don't blame anyone but yourself if/when it dies. I have seen sick fish at EVERY LFS. No more at Roozen's than at any other. Less per capita, actually. I also think it is actually unlikely that your fish died from ich. One spot of ich would not kill a fish so quickly. Ich takes a long time to kill a fish, and usually the fish would be smothered by ich. Often ich is blamed for a dead fish when it was not ich that killed it. How long was it before it died? How long has your tank been set up, what are your params?

I remember Dan (dandy7200) was doing them a while back. Not sure if he is doing them with his new tank, but you might send him a PM. He had a nice system, but I think he was using a floor drain which could be an issue if you don't have one.

Yep.

Can you use a hand held circular saw to cut most of it, and then the dremel for the corners? That is a lot of tough material to dremel off.

I've always thought starfire wasn't worth it. I've seen starfire and non-starfire side by side, and couldn't tell the difference. I also had someone look at my old 125 and swear that it was starfire, but it was not. At a minimum if I were you I would find a way to look at the tanks side by side and ask yourself if you can see a difference, and if so, is the difference worth the money. Just my $.02, YMMV!

I have painted my last couple DIY stand black with a good quality bristle brush using black rust-oleum. Been very satisfied. No brush strokes.

yowzers

I wanted my return to disperse over a long area, but couldn't find anything...so I cut these long slots in some pipe, and capped the ends but put a hole in the cap: The slots are pointed down and back so you can't see them in this pic

Can't go wrong with DDs.

I have 80 pounds reef sand plus 110 pounds coarser stuff, all aragonite based for sale in the For Sale section.

Yowzers...how many holes did you drill in the back of that tank?

They come labeled from the hardware store! (1/2", carolina pipe, etc) Davelin: post up your pic of that crazy manifold...you know you want to. Doug: Nice one! Reminds me of something Dr. Seuss would make.

Nice!