Wow, B&B horror show

[Beau_Tater]

I live in Daphne and drive to Progressive Marine. The product is always 100%, and so is the free advice and knowledge that they offer. I go to P'cola, prices overrated for the items, and since you are out of town, there is no "local Businessman" connection. If something dies...it's on you. I would really love to see someone set up either a large, well maintained saltwater/ fresh shop....or have someone start buying and selling out of their house. The economy sucks for everyone, but once you get the "salt" bug, you can't cure it!

If you take a water sample to progressive they expect you to buy something. If you don't they get pissy. Yeah, their tanks look great, but why are they open for such short hours? I know, I know... people will say "they're there for the maintenance side of the hobby/business" and to that I say because b&b has all the major accounts in and around the area. It's clear that progressive has no desire to be the best in Mobile. The guy that owns it does so for his own hobby fix. He just does what little business he does to keep his habit going. That's not good enough for me. I prefer a place that has been around and will be around.

Progressive has for fish, and even worse for customer service. At least you have a way better chance of getting decent help at b&b. If you don't like one of the sales people, then go to another one. It's a business.

[Fishfood]

It doesn't hurt that B&B has all the other departments to cover the Saltwaters side when business isn't booming. Like I said the saltwater hobby isn't as big here in Mobile as I would expect it to be for the size of the city. Its clear with the lack of stores vs. the number of stores in Pensacola. Why would progressive keep its doors open longer if they aren't getting the business to have to pay someone to sit around and clean the tanks. Right now they have a 2 person opperation and one of those people does maintenance accounts while the other mans the store. I don't care if they are major or not they are accounts and they pay.

I don't know about them giving people a hard time about not buying stuff from them. I'm in there probably 2 times a week and hardly ever buy anything from them and see them interact with a bunch of people. As a matter of fact I've spent about $500 in the last 3 months on coral on line and haven't spent a dime at progressive. I've actually traded them a few frags over the last few months. I guess I did buy my current tank from them but they couldn't have made much money off of me. They got it to me cheaper than what B&B was selling them for. I stand correct.. I also got a VHO bulb from them recently.

[AuroraDrvr]

I agree, while I don't go to Progressive very often (maybe once every 2 months), they've never been pushy. But neither has B&B. Progressive seems to have better pricing on fish (pretty much the only thing I go to look at), than B&B. Pensacola is definitely hella expensive for fish. But then again, no shop around here carries any interesting (to me) fish. They all seem very generic, and everyone's stock is very stagnant.

I would really love to see someone set up either a large, well maintained saltwater/ fresh shop....or have someone start buying and selling out of their house. The economy sucks for everyone, but once you get the "salt" bug, you can't cure it!

If I wasn't so ignorant to all the red-tape that's involved in opening a business, I would in a heart beat. I've got friends who are collectors all over the world. Australia, Hawaii, Indonesia, Brazil, Miami, and plenty more.

The only thing is, the focus would be on more fish and corals with a heavy high-end slant to that, rather than equipment. Which, I doubt would be sustainable in this location. You really just can't compete with online pricing for most equipment.

[reefman8471]

I am the head of aquarium maintenance at B&B. This is to everyone saying negative things about B&B. First of all I want everyone to know that everyone is entitled to their opinion. Secondly, the reef display is very healthy and couldn't be more stable. There hasn't been any real amount of aiptasia in the tank in many months. The only algae the tank gets is diatoms on the glass. Most everyone gets algae growing on their glass unless they have dim lights and a very low stock level. Next, the coral system does need constant work which it probably doesn't get enough of but it still has a large refugium, two protein skimmers and we do run phosban. The skimmers could be better but those are the best we carry as most of the high end skimmers would be ungodly expensive at a large retail store. We generally use the equipment we sell. Finally, the fish systems have never been better considering how they are constructed. Every since we added sand, live rock and macroalgae the tanks are chemically and biologically stable and our fish loss is significantly less than it used to be. It may not look like much but its got it where it counts. The only way it could look better is if the systems were scr aped and replaced with something different. I'm not saying asthetics are unimportant but we do the best with what we have available. I also know you will not find healthier fish anywhere else on the Gulf Coast that I am aware of. Other than some more consistant work that applies to the coral systems as well. I also refuse to point fingers at anyone that works at B&B. While everyone may not be equally knowledgeable and some should probably know more than they do a customer should not rely totally on his or her LFS for information. That means get information from other sources such as some internet sites and most importantly pick up a good book.

James

[Lance]

I completely agree with James. I work in the salt department at B&B. I tell customers that if you ask 10 people the same question, you're likely to get as many different answers. That doesn't mean those answers are going to be wrong, it just means everyone has an opinion. Verse yourself with a good book from a well-known author. The internet is a great invention, but let's face it, anyone can post crap on line. Find a good book and sit down and do some research. If this hobby is worth spending as much on as most of us do then it's certainly worthy of cracking a book over.

[Fishfood]

I completely agree with James. I work in the salt department at B&B. I tell customers that if you ask 10 people the same question, you're likely to get as many different answers. That doesn't mean those answers are going to be wrong, it just means everyone has an opinion. Verse yourself with a good book from a well-known author. The internet is a great invention, but let's face it, anyone can post crap on line. Find a good book and sit down and do some research. If this hobby is worth spending as much on as most of us do then it's certainly worthy of cracking a book over.

They still make theses...

[Amphiprion]

book

OMG, I had to google that one.

But on a more serious note, there are a lot of bad books available, too. That doesn't really apply to the folks here, since most of the people I know are versed enough to discern whether a book is good or not. Books based on peer-reviewed studies, actual research, etc. are going to be much better on average--and even those get outdated. Case in point, Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals. It's a fantastic book and one of my favorites for a concise, generalized breakdown of corals in general--but it's outdated and there is a lot of information that needs to be added and/or revised. In any case, you can usually judge a good book (and author) by the sources that were used to write it. If you don't see many or none at all, I'd try to steer clear of it, because much of it is most likely going to be opinion and conjecture. The same applies to internet sites, etc., as well. Even then, don't take those at face value, especially internet sources. I've come across some fabricated sources on forums before (or sources that had nothing to do with what was being said). I guess the point I am trying to make is to discern information and its validity for yourself or take the time to learn how to do so. A bit of healthy skepticism can go a long way, especially in a hobby like ours.

[Lance]

They still make theses...

"these" means more than one, so it doesn't require a plural.

And yes, they do make plenty of annoying emoticons.

[Lance]

book

OMG, I had to google that one.

But on a more serious note, there are a lot of bad books available, too.

Yes, there are some bad books but they typically are easily recognized as such and don't go far. There is far more faulty info posted on the interwebs by so-called experts.

[Amphiprion]

They still make theses...

"these" means more than one, so it doesn't require a plural.

And yes, they do make plenty of annoying emoticons.

I do believe that was a simple typo, not an intentional grammatical inclusion. This is somewhat rude and uncalled for, IMHO.

Yes, there are some bad books but they typically are easily recognized as such and don't go far. There is far more faulty info posted on the interwebs by so-called experts.

That's really true only of the more recent ones. Up until about 5 or so years ago, pickings were somewhat slim on books that had correct information and not misinformation--or misinterpretation (and you could count the only informative authors on one hand). I'm surprised at how many marine fishkeeping books still talk about how minuscule concentrations of nitrite are highly toxic to marine fish--I've seen this from Robert Fenner, John Tullock, and Jay Hemdal. I never said forums were any better, but forums to tend to have more up-to-date information and can be much more informative if you are able to glean through the mire. That being said, I have many, many aquarium related books and I still enjoy glancing over them or even reviewing some solid information--I wasn't necessarily deriding information obtained from books in general, nor was I deriding James' suggestion (I know James fairly well and I respect him and his knowledge). What I was attempting to point out was that both resources can be problematic when they aren't viewed in a more skeptical light.

[Fishfood]

Its ok Andrew I can take it. Unfortionatly I know I can't spell and knew that would be a problem since middle school when I forged my parents signature for an english report card... I got a D and they still found out because I have sloppy lefthanded hand writing. I'm sure you could find thousands of errors just on this forum from my posts.

I use to read the saltwater magazines when I was young. I had a book or two also, still think I have them. For any new info I go to the interweb. After you read enough threads on numerous forums you can come to a decent conclusion for the info you are looking for. I typically look for equipment info and mods to the equipment. I'm betting its hard to find that info in books, but hey I could be wrong.

[AuroraDrvr]

Its ok Andrew I can take it. Unfortionatly I know I can't spell and knew that would be a problem since middle school when I forged my parents signature for an english report card... I got a D and they still found out because I have sloppy lefthanded hand writing. I'm sure you could find thousands of errors just on this forum from my posts.

Sorry, I had to... (Unfortunately)

I use to read the saltwater magazines when I was young. I had a book or two also, still think I have them. For any new info I go to the interweb. After you read enough threads on numerous forums you can come to a decent conclusion for the info you are looking for. I typically look for equipment info and mods to the equipment. I'm betting its hard to find that info in books, but hey I could be wrong.

You're absolutely right about equipment. There aren't any books, that I'm aware of, which cover equipment at an indepth level. It's just not efficient enough, as there's new and innovative products coming out on the market daily.

We also don't have access to the books, magazines, forum posts, etc. while we're staring at a fish in an acrylic box, as we stand in a fish store. That's why it's important for LFS owners/workers to be atleast some-what knowledgeable to the proper care and requirements for specific species of fish, corals and inverts; AND be willing to give proper advice. Not every person who walks into a fish store knows even the basics.

[Lance]

They still make theses...

"these" means more than one, so it doesn't require a plural.

And yes, they do make plenty of annoying emoticons.

I do believe that was a simple typo, not an intentional grammatical inclusion. This is somewhat rude and uncalled for, IMHO.

Grow a sense of humor... IMHO.

[Lance]

We also don't have access to the books, magazines, forum posts, etc. while we're staring at a fish in an acrylic box, as we stand in a fish store. That's why it's important for LFS owners/workers to be atleast some-what knowledgeable to the proper care and requirements for specific species of fish, corals and inverts; AND be willing to give proper advice. Not every person who walks into a fish store knows even the basics.

You do in my store. I encourage people to crack a book and do some reading. From time to time a person will ask me a question that I'm just not sure about, so I'll say "let's find out together" and take them over to our book section. It's a great way to learn things and it let's your customers know you care about their purchase.

[Amphiprion]

Grow a sense of humor... IMHO.

I would have had you meant it to be humorous to start with. Either that or I have an utter lack of appreciation for your sense of humor. This isn't the place to correct grammatical errors, so let's keep it that way and we'll get along just fine. Thanks.