I have been a regular customer of Vivid Aquariums for what i think is a year now! time sure flies!
I remember long before that, before I even started on my first saltwater setup, I came in here mainly to see what they offered, a fair assortment of quality dry goods but low variety, spotless tanks, and helpful staff! I didn't stay long since I was also looking for threaded bulkheads for a large freshwater planted tank project
I don't quite remember who it was, but someone was at least willing to take time out, at least 15 minutes, and dig through ALL the little plumbing parts drawers in an attempt to find me what i wanted or a workaround with the bulkheads they did have, they sadly did not have anything I could use. However my experience in there practically cemented the fact that this store would be my very first stop for anything I needed as far as saltwater.
Months to maybe a year after this initial visit, I returned, May of last year deciding that I would start my first saltwater setup using a pair of rimless tanks that I got for my computer desk. I did most of my research on as far as basic parameters and what to expect, but wanted some not so obvious tips and tricks from the more experienced guys in there.
James was the one to show me everything from what products I need to use and essentials that would make my life A LOT easier in the long run. All this on top of the basics I knew and how i wanted my system to turn out. We eventually hashed out a simple tank 12 gallon rimless with 7 gallon sump with refugium and chemipure blue since I wanted a natural approach. Worked great with regular water changes!
I was recommended Salifert test kits and was also shown exactly how to use all of them, though I was told to test my water myself after the first time as doing them all is very time consuming, FAIR ENOUGH! I'm not about to waste the time of a handful of guys who are constantly multitasking just for something I can do myself.
Eventually, I found the desktop tank to simply not be enough and decided to convert my discus wall rack of 4x 40 gallon breeder tanks into a saltwater setup. Naturally the guys at Vivid took care of me nicely, I researched what I wanted, they got it for me, if I had trouble, someone was always there, even if I had to wait a little.
There was a time that I wound up having a brown jelly epidemic on my wall hammers, In an attempt to save them, James and I were looking up ways to treat it but we wound up resorting to cutting infected tissue off directly using the frag saw and then dipping in Lugols. Robert was the one that handled the cutting and dipping. After doing this several times, we eventually tried sticking what I had left in a high flow area of the store's rear holding system but sadly those did not make it, likely due to too much stress from being chopped and dipped constantly, while the attempt to save them failed, the time and effort put in from everyone meant a lot to me as a customer. Thanks to Vivid's 7 day guarantee, I was even able to get credit back from one of my pieces! Quality service and a reasonable bit of assurance in this hobby where anything can happen.
Since my unfortunate incident, I have since asked for best methods of prevention and was simply told that stability was key and when someone was free to talk, I was guided to key methods like dosing pumps, feeding corals, good lighting types, PAR readings, powerful skimming, the pros and cons of UV sterilization and carbon on the reef, and their opinion on ozone.
I now have a system of 5 aquariums that total up to 220 gallons, linked together that is heavily refugium filtered, Is equipped with a used large downdraft skimmer, Rox carbon, poly filter and even an Oxydator (one of very few items recommended to me from online forums that I rolled with excellent results)
I look forward to coming to Vivid often, though lately I do not have much time to, and have always been helped thoroughly. While sometimes I had to wait a decent while for someone to assist me with a question, I did not mind because everyone is either extremely busy, James is usually calling up customers, sorting out orders for the day, and dealing with customer emails ALL AT THE SAME TIME while Arturo and Rudy are busy packing orders right up until the cut off time. If around for the day, Dave, Robert or Elliot would be taking care of people while making or inspecting frags. Naturally everyone would be extremely busy when the store operates as both a retail outlet and an online store, slow periods only in the morning and 30 minutes before closing.
I can't recommend them enough, I learned so much! they are the best!
EDIT: As of 2 months ago, I am now a proud member of the Vivid Aquariums team, as a hobbyist, former customer and and now current employee of Vivid, I will do my best to help our customers with the same quality of service that won me over! Within reason, we will do what we can to make sure everyone has success in the hobby! read more