New to the area. Need advise.

[ichthyoid]

Welcome to the ARC. I grew up in Fla (a long time ago) too. I have been active here at he ARC for about a year and a half. All I can say is, they are A GREAT GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS!

Sorry for your prior troubles, but as you can see, most of us have had terriffic experiences with the ARC community. Very generous people. Very knowledgeable people. We can even disagree sometimes, and usually without disrespecting one another. Also, I think we have some of the best sponsor stores anywhere.

We can't wait for you to officially JOIN THE CLUB...ahemm, errr, cough, cough :thumbs:

 

[raisedonnintendo]

cr500_af;506871 wrote: I find the opposite. All of the great deals/pay it forwards/favors (ALMOST without exception) come from long time members. There are some relative newcomers who are very generous with their knowledge, so I don't mean to discredit them... but to say the "regulars" are less helpful is just wrong.

I've bought from people who are "fixtures" here a lot, and there have only been one or two times when my purchase was exactly as described... almost every time I got more than I made the deal for. Maybe an additional frag, maybe a discount I didn't ask for, maybe extra polyps... but something.

You should know exactly what I'm talking about. People are shady n sell you bunk k3 with messed up elictrical cords. Most people are not this way just it's kinnda like Craig list if your not meeting these people normaly like at meetings n such I'm sure if he attends a couple of meetings he will make some good friends that will b more then willing to bend over backwards to help him

 

[ralph atl]

I suggest you search through some members prior threads and see what you get!

 

[cr500_af]

RaisedOnNintendo;507177 wrote: You should know exactly what I'm talking about. People are shady n sell you bunk k3 with messed up elictrical cords. Most people are not this way just it's kinnda like Craig list if your not meeting these people normaly like at meetings n such I'm sure if he attends a couple of meetings he will make some good friends that will b more then willing to bend over backwards to help him

Yeah, I almost referenced that when I posted... but decided to keep it positive. The seller wasn't a member (for what that's worth) if I remember correctly, and I could have raised a fuss about it, but I bought a K2 and a K3 at the same time, and the K2 that was perfect was really worth the whole price anyway. He should have mentioned it, though, of course... I probably wouldn't have driven all the way there if he had, but that's water under the bridge.

That, along with a colony I picked up that had GHA on it, made me ask more questions before buying, but I'm still confident in 99.9% of the club.

 

[acroholic]

Personally, I always make sure my stuff for sale is as described because I don't need anyone posting that is wasn't after the sale!

Also, when advising anyone asking for help, I will qualify what is "personal experience" and what is "what I have heard."

One of the biggest problems with the reef keeping hobby, IMO, is people passing other's anecdotal type experiences or what they have read in a post somewhere as fact. Newbies often have no other sources except other reefers, so I try to follow a "if you can't help them, don't hurt them" principle when advising anyone.

There are many different paths to a successful reef tank, so my way is not necessarily the only way.

 

[raisedonnintendo]

Acroholic;507224 wrote: Personally, I always make sure my stuff for sale is as described because I don't need anyone posting that is wasn't after the sale!

Also, when advising anyone asking for help, I will qualify what is "personal experience" and what is "what I have heard."

One of the biggest problems with the reef keeping hobby, IMO, is people passing other's anecdotal type experiences or what they have read in a post somewhere as fact. Newbies often have no other sources except other reefers, so I try to follow a "if you can't help them, don't hurt them" principle when advising anyone.

There are many different paths to a successful reef tank, so my was is not necessarily the only way.

I wish the world was filled with people like your self. I like upfront people makes life easier less wasting peoples time