Marine Aquarium Solutions

[VIC]

What can I say about a company who charges $80,000.00 to install a reef tank and never finishes the job!
Sound interesting.....
There is much, much more.....including boxing matches and delivery at 10:00 pm..
Interested....
The best is yet to come...
Stay tuned......

[VIC]

Just a Quick reminder...as this is the section where the money gets spent.
Please do not make the same mistake I did. Always check out the
"Vendor Experience" section before you get involved with a vendor.
In fact, the next time I use a vendor from reef central, I will post a general inquiry to my felow reefers so I don't get taken.
More as the story unfolds

[DerekW]

Vic,
Let's get over the crap and just say what's going on.
By making multiple posts and sending e-mails to people like me that you don't even know, to "keep your eye on vendor experiences"... already makes me assume that you are going to come up with some one-sided story that is going to be full of exagerations.
If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, save the drama for your mama.

[DgenR8]

Okay Vic, I'm on the hook. I'm curious about why you'd post so little information, and even more curious about what you were getting for 80 Gs.
So, spill it.

[Jeremy Blaze]

Yeah, so whats up? I read your other vague post about an $80,000 dollar reef system. So, please tell us the story, or quit posting over and over about the huge screw job you got.

[LHHFMF]

You're not the only one looking for him:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=434534

[Neptune's Nemesis]

$80,000? I'd laugh but I see you are a body builder and are into guns.

[DgenR8]

This thread is hanging by, well, a thread. If it's a story about your experience with a vendor, it belongs in the vendor experience forum, but you have already made a very vague post over there about what appears to be the same situation.
Now that you have opened the bag, let the cat out.

[Heinz]

my guess, he is trying to force MAS to finish the job by saying, see i posted on RC, and if you dont do what i say, i will go and badmouth you all over RC .

[VIC]

After posting my original message, I have gotten many responses from Reef Central as well as Boston Reefers Society on the frustration of finding John Marshall and MAS.
Some claim that they ordered on e-bay and did not receive their items after months, there are even a few who claim that they have yet to meet someone who has had a positive experience with John or MAS.(you can check that out yourself)
First let me tell you my experience with John and MAS.
Last year I called MAS to order a new canapy light for my home tank. It was then That I met John Marshall.
After 2 months he was helping me plan an offoce tank which you have seen on reef central.
Besides constantly being late, John would vary as to what day he would come down as he was traveling from Nashua, NH to New Jersey.He moves at a snails pace and was never prepared with the right pipe or accessories. Cruising to home depot became an ordinary experience. He Has slept in the executive conference room of my business and I have even put him up at a motel as he travels with his dog and his girlfriend.
Because he has no where to cut material, the building I was in was kind enough ,at my request, to give him space to work.
His Equipment stayed there for months until after leaving severalmessages, he let him self in at 4:00am and retrived it leaving my key. so much for trust
The stand for my office tank was subcontracted out to a friend of John's. They were supposed to deliver it at 1:00pm. They showed up at 10:00pm and did not finish putting it together until 4:00am.
Since the stand was not fully finished, John suggested that he hold back $500.00. Upon exiting to my vehicle, discusted at the inconvienience and the time, there was john and the subcontracted throwing punches which I had to break up.
This is only one of many unprofessional acts initiated by Mr. Marshall.
After 6 months of full payment, I am sitting in my office with 800lbs of live rock circulating with a hobby pump as I have no filtration system. Equipment is scattered all over and I cannot get a hold of Mr Marshall as he refuses to e-mail me or call me for 3 weeks. Our last converation was 1 month ago in which I was upset as he had stopped in new Jersey on his way to Maryland to work on my tank. (I had tried to have as much patience as possible as he was evicted from his Nashua address by order.)
He was upset that I Questioned what he did at my office all weekend besides screwing lighting up. After hearing his response of "I was looking for a place to live as I am out on the street and that he could not beleive I was busting his ....!
As he was just starting out, I also designed him a new logo,business cards and a web site. This was in exchange for the labor on my tank.He has the cards, the logo and the website. I did make sure the website was encrypted so it cannot be used until my tank labor is done.
Bottom line here....If you have any sense, you will not use MAS.
He still owes me a $3500.00 electrical timing box, a $4000.00 livestock credit (given to me as compensation after the boxing match) and assorted valves, ball valves and joints to finish my tank.
At this point, I have someone else finishing it but its not over. You will see many unsatisfied postings on vendor experiences in the near future. If you are using MAS do not pay up front. as this company will only be around for a limited time. There are just too many people who have contacted me with their dissatifaction and wanting some type of resolve.
As a side note... they are no longer located in Nashua, N.H. They are lookingfor a new home, all calls are forwarded to Johns cell phone and he decides through caller ID who he will speak with. Anyone wanting his whereabouts can e-mail me through reef central.
Hopefully, this will help other people not to get taken.
Vic

[Foster]

Originally posted by Neptune's Nemesis
$80,000? I'd laugh but I see you are a body builder and are into guns.

[Fliger]

For those who haven't yet made the connection, a popular thread here a while back. I can see how this tank would be $80K.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hlight=schuran

[DerekW]

Guess you spoke too soon in this post, eh?...
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...35#post3264235

I would assume you were having problems with him at that point, why the nice comments about him?

[VIC]

Initially, MAS was doing a good job, they seem very knowlegable and professional. Also as a start-up business I attempted to have some patience as this was a huge undertaking for such a small company.
It was only later that my requests for tank completion were ignored
I guess I did speak to soon.
Vic

[H20ENG]

Wow,
I knew I didnt like the guy right off. Sorry about your experience. Everyone on RC will get you through.

[nolofinwe]

does john have any connection to Inland Reef? It was a reef-only shop in Nashua, NH where I had a few extremely annoying visits with a very unprofessional owner.

[Marco67]

No connection.
Well many connections actually but all negative.
I'm surprised you had a bad experience there most folks seemed to like Inland.

As far as MAS goes (Disclaimer I could be wrong but ......99.99999% sure) you will find he is http://reefcentral.com/forums/member...fo&userid=4396 that dude a search might provide some interesting reading.

[nolofinwe]

dont mean to hijack the thread... but!

I only had two experiences. One where I showed up during open hours to find it closed after driving 50 minutes. I called later that day to see if thier hours had changed, but when I mentioned they were closed when I got there, the guy really blew me off.

me: "hi, i came by around noon today, an hour or so after your posted open time, but the place was closed."
IR: "Yep."
me:"... Will you be open tomorrow during posted hours?"
IR: "Yep"

on the first successful visit i stood at the counter with my girlfriend, waiting to buy some things, while the clerk (i would assume owner) chewed out and swore at what I gathered was his live rock vendor.

Maybe I just dealt with a disgruntled employee

[Marco67]

Right lets try not to hijack but ....LOL
That does not sound like Matt (owner)
I only went in a few times myself and there was a heavy guy Tom? maybe that didn't have the best attitude in the world.
Oh and I did have one of those noontime experiences too

[Nanook]

When I contacted Schuran in Germany, they gave me John Marshall as their SOLE US DISTRIBUTOR I kindly told the gentleman that I would NOT do business with John Marshall under ANY circumstances. He was also know as R&B and several other names. His business tactics and dealings have been shady for several years.

Your tank is gorgeous!! I would join the local reef club and enlist the help of a few dedicated and handy hobbyists to complete your wonderful project. As for your money, well I hope you can get it back somehow.

As for Schuran, I hope they will read this thread and find a US distributor that has integrity, not just in finely scripted emails, but a reputation that is solid like some of our great vendor's here in the USA with 99% positive feedback.

Nanook

[Heinz]

ok you got the right to be upset, really bad expierince,

thanx for letting everybody know.

[hsvtoolfool]

Vic, I find it fascinating that on 8-13-2004 in this thread
you said..

"As a side note the people at M.A.S. are the
most knowledgeable, considerate professionals
that I have had the pleasure of working with."

...and later...

"My good friend at M.A.S. John helped me
design this system for 3 months."

Now a month later, MAS is the devil himself.

It sounds like John is a bit schizoid, a fabulous actor,
and/or you were a bit premature in posting such
gushing praise of his service.

I think the lesson here is to view any recommendation
or product review with a grain of salt. Just because
the reviewer is a "unbiased" hobbyist, doesn't make
him infallible.

And I REALLY hope this works out, Vic.

[VIC]

I already addressed this fact on my earlier post..Lets read before we reiterate some point that someone already brought up.
Vic

[hsvtoolfool]

Lets read before we reiterate some point that someone already brought up.

Ha! Sorry. We did read that post and even followed
the link. But then we ran across the other thread early
this morning, we did a double take, and we totally forgot
that the post had been mentioned yesterday.

Regardless of our netiquette gaff, our main point was
not made in the earlier post: Look at all reviews with
scepticism, even reviews from hobbyists.

Good luck!

[A Reef Scene]

Is the tank finished yet, or do you stillneed parts?