DES MOINES IA Blue Reef Aquatics

[frustrated]

http://www.bluereefaquatics.com/store/comersus_dynamicIndex.asp

Is anyone familiar with this place? Added it to vendors as well but not getting much there so thought I'd ask around here since you guys are a little closer.

[flyj3]

I haven't met or done business with him yet, But I have had a few nice conversations with him.
Seems like a nice guy.
In fact he just called me an internet junkie. I guess he'e on to me now.
John

[dknape]

Well, almost all you ever wanted to know.

I can get almost anything you want. If you choose to purchase from Blue Reef Aquatics at this time, all items are dropped shipped, via next day carriers like FedEx.

I currently maintain no inventory. However, I am in the process of setting up a large system to hold mainly SPS corals and clams. I will maintain a small inventory of common marine fish, inverts and other soft corals.

Once I get it up and running, I will welcome anyone in to see my operation. I am licensed by the state of Iowa as a Pet Shop owner and have been inspected to ensure proper health of animals.

The con of ordering through me is the same as any other mail-order and that is that you cannot normally see your product before you purchase. On the other side of things, if you purchase from me, you will save alot more, you know the person you are purchasing from and if you are unhappy with your purchase, I will make it right with you.

My business is still in the early stages, however, I have had many happy customers who have been returning customers and have sent me positive testimonials.

Contact me with what you can't find anywhere else, and I will do my best to match or beat the price, and give you the highest quality animal or I will buy it back from you, minus shipping.

I am open to group buys to the Des Moines area and have many other local reefers who are oftentimes interested in group buys as well to get shipping on large orders down to nothing.

I welcome any questions at dknape@bluereefaquatics.com. My MSN ID is DKNAPE@HOTMAIL.COM.

[dellrio]

i am looking for a pink or purple or maybe red frogfish.. i sent u an email..

[dknape]

I now grow corals and no longer drop ship from other locations. I now maintain inventory and get in new products weekly!

[sully1000]

dustin,
what type of lighting are your sps currently held under? thanks.

[dknape]

400-watt XM 20k lights (still in burn-in period).

[reef01]

He's got quite a nice setup, i had seen some of his corals when he first got them, and a peticular acro has some nice purple tip growth coming out that was not there at first.....very nice corals!!!!

[mikej]

I live in western Iowa and shop mainly at lfs in Omaha but my daughter is at ISU and always swing through DesMoines on my way home from visiting her looking forward to stoping in sps selection in Omaha is very limited

[dknape]

Mike,

Sent you a PM.

- Dustin

[dknape]

REEF01,

You will have to show us some pics of the Purple Monti in your tank. :)

[dellrio]

mikej- i was just in omaha... got back about 5 minutes ago... i went to Aquapets. decent store.. but nothing like what an lfs should look like.... i saw a couple brown montis and a brown acro. very dissapointing..... we have one real nice store that sells sps up here. i go to isu.. does your duaghter have a tank?

[mikej]

Dellrio-- I agree, Aqua Pets not the place for sps. Sometimes they have descent selection of lps and softies. You need to be there when the plane lands though, been there when 8 to 10 people standing around waiting for Dylan to get back from the airport with new shipment. I do really like a couple of the guys that work there
have you tried reeftectonics in Millard, Michael1 who is an RC member works there. Probably a better place for sps corals.
My daughter dosnt have a tank.She thinks Im crazy for staring at mine so much.
mikej

[dellrio]

actually yes i have been to reeftectonics, and i dont plant o return.. unless they have super great stuff. i dont like the owner very much. he's not a people person and is sort of an @ss..., he made me not want to buy anything.. just b/c of his attitude. can u tell me what sort of sps he has... like colors? how bright and colorful and prices?

[dellrio]

frusterated... i think i forgot to mention.. i had a fantastic experience with bluereefaquatics.com... 100% satisfied.

[Lskufs]

Speaking of Blue Reef Aquatics, does anyone know what's going on with them now? I ordered a tank stand and canopy for a 90 gallon tank over a month ago from them only to have their website go down and my attempts to e-mail and phone them go ignored. I have already paid for the order, including shipping (more than $400 total!) so I am anxious to know what's going on. I've been ripped off on stuff like Ebay before, and I really hope that's not what's going on now. I see a number of you guys appear to know the owner, Dustin Knape, and think he's a good guy. Is there any possibility you could tell me whether or not he's on vacation or something? I want to believe there's a good explanation for the lack of contact here.

-Lisa K.

[lllosingit]

Have you tried to PM him?
He is still active on RC here's one of his posts from yesterday 6-02-2004
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=381728

[dknape]

I have been in talks with and correcting this order with Lisa.

Thanks,
Dustin

[dknape]

As many have noticed, the Blue Reef Aquatics web site is currently down. There are two reasons for this.

1.) A main item I had been selling were the cabinets that were pretty unique as far as quality, features and price. After several months of doing very well, my manufacturer starting shipping kits incomplete, two left doors, wrong stains and on top of this, was taking an additional 30-days beyond the expected ship date to even get them out of his door.

We mutually decided to end the business relationship and I would seek a different cabinet manufacturer, who could be counted on for shipping all orders within 5-days, have all the same features and then some.

I have found that manufacturer. However, I have decided to keep everything down until after I complete my move.

The decision to end the relationship with the manufacturer was on Saturday, May 1st. I had thought that all ordering capabilities were disabled but recently discovered that ordering was still capable should customers find the products via a Google search or similar method. There may have been other methods as well, but this is the one I am sure of.

Beginning Monday, May 2nd, I started refunding everyones order who would not be shipped out. It was my understanding that all orders had either been refunded by the end of Tuesday, May 3rd or arrangements had been made to ensure that an order would be shipped out, if the manufacturer had already recieved payment.

Unfortunately, Lisa's order was the only one not included in either of these two scenario's.

2.) While I am in the process of moving, I do not want to delay responses or have my attention divided into to many directions while moving, thus causing the business to suffer.

It will remain offline until I complete my move in July or early August and will feature a brand new line of even higher quality stands and canopies.


<B>End Result</B>
The manufactuer has been holding onto one remaining cabinet of mine which happens to be just the same size as the one Lisa had ordered. I will be contacting the manufacturer and asking him to ship the cabinet combo to Lisa no later than Monday, June 7th.

At this time, all orders "should" be closed with Blue Reef Aquatics until after my move is complete and I am sure that I can resume orders with an even higher amount of quality, both in service and in product.


<B>DISCLAIMER</b>
This individual post is not an attempt to advertise on ReefCentral but rather it is simply an explanation of what I am doing to correct the unfortunate situation that has arisen with Lisa.

[Lskufs]

Well my tank stand arrived as promised, and I couldn't be happier!

It looks beautiful, and all the specified parts appear to have made it! :) I want to publically thank Dustin for all his hard work figuring out what happened and apologize again for resorting to using a public forum to resolve this problem. I completely retract my former complaint-- I'm totally happy with the outcome, and the doors in particular are beautiful! Thanks so much!
I would definately recommend Blue Reef Aquatics no matter what state it finally ends up in-- a quality establishment! Good luck with your move, Dustin! :)
-Lisa