I have two local LFS that are wildly different in approach to reef keeping. Both have great looking corals so they must be doing something right.
To make things a bit easier I’ll label the LFS “A” and “B”. Shop A got me up and running with a tank, live rock from their sump, live sand and also all the water I needed for setup; for free I might add. Everything I got from them seems to be pest free and without any complications. Any time I have a question they are always willing to help. They run a clean shop and all their saltwater tanks are run under one system sump and all.
Shop B on the other hand loves the analogies and can’t help but get side tracked when asking questions. His biggest suggestions have always been to get the best water and you should never have to dose, especially for nano tanks under 30 gallon. He is always quick to state how everyone else is out to sell products whereas he’s there to get you moving towards a stable system. He runs multiple frag tanks with great looking corals off a…HOB! As a new reefer he kept praising a simple approach to reefing which I bought in to right away. That being said he states much of any problem I’ll have will be because I’m not using Coral Pro which is the saltwater they use as opposed to Instant Ocean or Aquaforest.
I know consistency is KEY and from what I’ve read differences between brands are negligible when compared to having your system stable using the same brand over and over. Can I get your guys’ opinion? Should I be buying this coral pro water at almost double what other LFS are selling?
To make things a bit easier I’ll label the LFS “A” and “B”. Shop A got me up and running with a tank, live rock from their sump, live sand and also all the water I needed for setup; for free I might add. Everything I got from them seems to be pest free and without any complications. Any time I have a question they are always willing to help. They run a clean shop and all their saltwater tanks are run under one system sump and all.
Shop B on the other hand loves the analogies and can’t help but get side tracked when asking questions. His biggest suggestions have always been to get the best water and you should never have to dose, especially for nano tanks under 30 gallon. He is always quick to state how everyone else is out to sell products whereas he’s there to get you moving towards a stable system. He runs multiple frag tanks with great looking corals off a…HOB! As a new reefer he kept praising a simple approach to reefing which I bought in to right away. That being said he states much of any problem I’ll have will be because I’m not using Coral Pro which is the saltwater they use as opposed to Instant Ocean or Aquaforest.
I know consistency is KEY and from what I’ve read differences between brands are negligible when compared to having your system stable using the same brand over and over. Can I get your guys’ opinion? Should I be buying this coral pro water at almost double what other LFS are selling?