Beware Of So Called "professionals"

Janice

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Location
Mississauga
Hi guys and gals.

So as some of you may recall, when my son got his AIO 32 G biocube in Sept he mis-programmed the lights (am for pm), which I did not discover for several months, which meant the lights were on 24 hours a day and we developed a serious algae problem. For many months we tried every technique on an almost daily basis every recommended technique to get rid of the algae. In the end, the tank was becoming too much work, and not enjoyable enough for my son. We were mowing the lawn every day for months, and it kept growing back.

So while my son was away on March Break I decided to hire a local "professional" to help me put new rock in the tank in a safe manner. I will not get into details on this professional, but he has a great website, lots of big clients, and lots of experience. In short, I trusted him. THIS WAS MY MISTAKE.

He insisted that the only choice was to put new live rock in. I wanted to keep the live rock-which Big Als claimed had been in their tank for 4 weeks- in half of my tank water for a few weeks and then add the new rock and slowly change the tank water. He said the water in my tank, which was tested at 10, was the problem,and insisted-(against my better judgment I allowed him), on changing 80-90% of the water for 0 ppm water and putting the new rock in all at once, and taking all the old rock out.

In short, I deferred to his "expertise" on everything-instead of going with my gut, and have lived to regret it. Two days after he left our beautiful $60 yellow tang died. Two of our hammer corals started to turn hard and met their demise within a week of his professional assistance. Today one of our mated clownfish (the girl-(who were named Ace and Grace)), died. Several of our other creatures are looking unhappy. For example, our banded starfish has been out of the sand for the past 2 days-which is not normal.

I paid him $350 and now it will cost me at least that much to replace everything that I will lose-not to mention all of the tears.

EVEN IF YOU ARE NEW TO THiS HOBBY, THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU DEFER FROM YOUR GUT INSTINCT AND ALLOW A SO CALLED "PROFESSIONAL" TO HELP YOU!!!!
 

Nighthawk26

Active Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2015
Location
Waterloo
Unfortunate. So what do you attribute the demise to me? Ammonia spike? I assume there would have been a decent die off from new live rock, and the loss of the biological filtration with all the live rock pulled?
 

Janice

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Location
Mississauga
Loss of biological balance in the tank as evidenced by bloom in the tank. And the fact that he did not test the water temperature before he put about 28 gallons of water in the tank and the water temperature was more than 4 degrees below normal for about 3 hours before it warmed up! Shock to all of the live creatures.
 

nathan

Super Active Member
Website Affiliate
Joined
Mar 27, 2016
Location
sarnia
Your tank started a new cycle..... it would be like starting over completely. Way to much for your livestock. as EricTMah pointed out id be giving him a call and to discuss the situation with him.
 

nathan

Super Active Member
Website Affiliate
Joined
Mar 27, 2016
Location
sarnia
In this hobby it pays to do your homework.... there is so much information available that you can google or ask a member here. Id double and triple check anything your told or read on line. Good luck janice sorry for your loss:(
 

SamB

Super Active Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Location
GTA
Hey Janice I feel your pain and as Nathan said, I too am sorry for your loss.
Reef keeping is a challenging hobby and consistency and patience (as Heath always reminds us) is a critical factor. The oceans have been around forever and there they contain a ton of water volume so not a fair comparison but we must strive to maintain "mini" oceans in our home aquariums.
I'm in Toronto and I would be pleased to pop by if there is anything that I can do. I'm no expert but I have successfully been keeping fresh and salt water for decades (sigh).
Also may I suggest that next time (and there will be a next time) you face a challenge in the hobby, I wouldn't call an expert but rather post your issues on this great forum for comments and suggestions
There are very experienced people on this forum and we can offer our collective solutions. There are no silly questions and there is no judgement because I bet that we've all gone through the same things in our reef keeping history
Best wishes
Sam
 
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heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
OMG, I don't know if I would be in tears or super pissed... the "professional" would be receiving a call from me... and it might not be pretty...so sorry for your loss...
 

Canadianeh

Active Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2016
Location
T-dot
Sorry for what you are going through Janice. Before hiring anybody, I would ask people around and in forums. This is best practice in hiring anybody to do any jobs. Advertising as "professional" does not mean anything in today world. Not related to reefing but remember Ponzi schemes that happened all over the world? How about doctors that got prosecuted for malpractice? Were they all not done by professionals?

I regretted it that you went ahead and replaced all of your liverocks as this may have contributed to your tank crashed in addition to the other things that went wrong.
 

Kman

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Location
KW
Next time if you are unsure ask on TFT. If you get many peoples opinions it gives you a more informed way of going about it and you can make a better decision. Most of us on here have no reason to mislead you and are not trying to up sell you. The nice thing about a forum is you can read what a person has to say and look at their tank build. If they talk a lot of game and the tank looks like crap don't listen but if the tank reflects what they have to say listen to them. In the end do as much research as possible and base your decision on as much info as possible. Sorry got the loss of your livestock as that always sucks.
 

Janice

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Location
Mississauga
Thanks for your support everyone. I sent the "professional" a detailed, lengthy text message last night telling him everything that has happened, why it happened, and who disappointed I am with his services and pointing out that it will cost more than I paid him to replace everything we will lose in the tank. NO RESPONSE!!
If I ever (god forbid) need "professional" help in the future, does anyone have any recommendations in the GTA? I don't men to tease you , but if you guys knew who this professional is, and whose tanks he looks after, you would be shocked that I would have this experience.
And BTW, his motto is never listen to anything anyone says on a forum, because they don't care for twenty or 30 tanks a week like he has for 20 years, and only know about their own tanks.
 

Kman

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Location
KW
Thanks for your support everyone. I sent the "professional" a detailed, lengthy text message last night telling him everything that has happened, why it happened, and who disappointed I am with his services and pointing out that it will cost more than I paid him to replace everything we will lose in the tank. NO RESPONSE!!
If I ever (god forbid) need "professional" help in the future, does anyone have any recommendations in the GTA? I don't men to tease you , but if you guys knew who this professional is, and whose tanks he looks after, you would be shocked that I would have this experience.
And BTW, his motto is never listen to anything anyone says on a forum, because they don't care for twenty or 30 tanks a week like he has for 20 years, and only know about their own tanks.

Funny thing is most of us that are over the 20+ year mark have looked after mutable tanks over the years as when you give good advice and people see our systems they come to you for help and advice. Guys that try and downplay people on forums and others and are just trying to up sell themselves. Instead off selling themselves by providing great service and giving solid advice they need to downplay others. Just because someone is in the business or called a "professional" doesn't mean they are knowledgeable.
 

EricTMah

Aquariums by Design
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
Website
www.aquariumsbydesign.ca
Do you travel from Kitchener to Mississauga though Eric?
Sorry I don't.

I've been doing this for many, many years. This is outrageous to be honest. For him not even to respond would push me to the point of calling him out here and on social media.
I'd give him a few more days and maybe another call/text. If he still doesn't respond. I'd be calling him out. Just my professional opinion on the topic.

Sony Xperia Z3
 

EricTMah

Aquariums by Design
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
Website
www.aquariumsbydesign.ca
And BTW Eric, I don't think you would have done what this guy did!
No chance in hell I would've don't what he did.

And BTW, his motto is never listen to anything anyone says on a forum, because they don't care for twenty or 30 tanks a week like he has for 20 years, and only know about their own tanks.
I have and still do!

But I guess because I am on this forum I don't know my shit



Sony Xperia Z3
 
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