LFS Blues

OK one of my LSF guys and owner recently (a month or 2 ago) has let me down after I was thinking he was a reefing god.
Most of his opinions go about the same as ours here at 3 reef but when it comes to refunds or something like that he is a penny pincher and will try to put the blame on the customers and not make the problem right.

I bought 4 URI bulbs (still have my old coral life ones) which cost me $150 for all 4.
I made it home and put them in and as soon as I fired them up and working fine.
Now before I go further one need to understand that on a Ice Cap ballast if 1 bulb is bad non will fire up.
OK so about 1 month after install I came home and lights were out. I checked all bulbs and connectors and found 1 bulb burnt out and replaced it with my old coral life so we know it is the bulb and not the ballast.
a couple of months go by and 2 more bulbs burn out. Now these are URI bulbs and they say they are the best and last longer. I was busy and did not make it back there for a couple of months and 1 bulb still working as of today.
I took the 3 bulbs back and asked if I could get them replaced. The owner and 1 of the workers kept saying it was the ballast. I kept saying if it was the ballast then why are they firing the coral life bulbs?

He finally said I was right and he would talk with the URI sales rep. but he did not offer me replacements. so I bought 3 more URI bulbs and made it home.

Once home I installed the lights and fired them up. 20 seconds later I saw the front bulb flicker and go out. So took that bulb back to the LFS (30 minute drive 1 way) and they replaced that bulb and again said it was the ballast. I say thats not right because it is firing other bulbs and if it were the ballast it would not fire any bulb.

Down the road 2 to 3 months I ask what the URI guy said and they say it can't be our bulbs fault they are perfect.
I say well I have had no problems with the current bulbs I have bought so maybe the first batch of bulbs were defective.
The owner says it is possible but does nothing for me.
6 months now and I have had no problems with the URI bulbs I have installed and no refund of any kind either. Not even a sorry about that.
So let just say I will be changing to MH when these burn out.And I am out $120 bucks.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh man what a ride. That had to suck.
That's why I mention the replacement cost of bulbs in the lighting section. Something that not everyone thinks about when they buy fixtures.

I'm actually going to the LFS today, I'll vote after that!

[NUGIO]

My LFS person is very good when it comes to something he doesnt know hell tell me so. and everything ive gotten from him is doing great
He dosent come off as a know it all. Which is why i voted never which in fact is a good thing in this case

[Matt Rogers]

You're lucky.

OK > Just went to two local fish stores. Because of this poll I picked out fish and asked if they would hold them for me, neither of them would, I had to buy them right then! >

So I didn't buy any.

I did buy a nice Ricordia frag.

But this is an eye opener.

Luckily I can get fish from Gresham. But for others, this is lame!

What color was the frag?
I wish we had LFS selling frags and or had a Frag exchange program going.

[Matt Rogers]

Here's a pic!

WOW those are cool.
I have the same blue mushrooms you do and they seems to be exploding right now.

[Matt Rogers]

Aren't they?
After Craig posted a pic of some a few days ago, I had to get some.

Yeah the mushrooms are dropping everywhere, I even have some on the sand.

Back to LFS', I'm still mad about the attitudes I got yesterday when I asked to have them hold the fish. How lame.

They wanted you to buy them and then they would hold them for ya?