I would also give a good thought on tank depth, for cleaning and lighting reasons. Not saying don't go that deep just make sure you know the negatives and positives

He stated he was willing to pay up front and they told him no need for a deposit, how is that a kick in the pants to the store, if anything this likely would have secured a long term relationship. I doubt the op will be back there anytime soon. That's poor business.

That's definitely disappointing.

I wouldn't sweat it too much though, you should be able to get a new tank within the week.

To be perfectly honest here, I would have waited for the tank if Big Al's would have been honest from the start, or they handled the miss communication better. There is more to this story, so far i only touched the surface. During the conversation about when I might see this tank arrive, the manager suggests that I could go to the 120gal which is the same dimensions, just not as deep. The wife and I discuss the idea (and I have read that the depth might have caused me some difficulty in the beginning). Seeing how I was about to get on a plane to come home, I asked my wife to phone him back and tell him we will go with the 120gal. This was his reply: "I never said that tank was in stock, I can see if that one might be on the next truck". Now at this point all I can do is shake my head and think maybe some management training is in order.

The years of investing in this hobby that will easily reach into thousands of dollars will never ever be spent in a Big Al's store

We??????? You're working with Dave now?

I will say Dave at concept is a better way to go.

I will be heading to concept aquatics late this morning.

I thought that was old news lol;)

Doug doesn't let you out much does he? :lol:

I normally try not to touch on the vendor bash as Big Al's has some REALLY good people working in that fish room.

That being said the manager there is practically the largest tool I have ever met, its people like this that need to stay AWAY from the hobby as they only accentuate the stupid qualities in uninformed customers.

Statements such as "Oh ya, Percs & Ocellaris clowns interbreed all the time" or "The two major things you must have test kits for in your salt water tank are strontium & calcium" don't really help the uninformed public...

Again, that fishroom has some brilliant people back there I feel sorry that they have to work under such a troll.

I have to agree about the guys in the fish room. They were fantastic and Answered every annoying and trivial question I asked. The only issue I have is with that Manager. My wife was visibly upset when she got off the phone with him.