# Big Al's and Marineland, Instant Ocean, etc



## twobytwo (Oct 25, 2014)

Was at the Mississauga store and realized I couldn't find any Reef Crystals. Then, I noticed other things I buy missing from the store (TLF ZoPlan, Hikari Corallific, etc...).

Asked about it on a FB page and realized they're no longer selling Marineland, IO, Tetra.... All the SW livestock and display tanks have "Seachem Vibrant Sea" stickers on them. No more marineland tanks, what was there looked like mostly Seapora.

It was just very surprising to see that the most iconic aquatic retail (and distribution) company in Canada would stop selling some of the more popular products on the market.

Boxing Day this year will be different!


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## littletnklvr (Nov 1, 2010)

I just went in to Big Al's on Steeles last week for IO reef crystals and had to buy the Seachem Vibrant Sea salt, have not used it yet still had some of the IO salt so the next water change I have no choice.


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## Car2n (Jun 7, 2011)

Same in the Whitby store.


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## Dominipino (Jun 18, 2017)

*Tanks*

Do you know if they are clearng out marineland tanks?


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## default (May 28, 2011)

There's apparently some retailer-supplier disagreement that led to the dropping of those particular brands. The Marineland tanks were the main thing during their last tent sale.

The company seems to like Seachem (must have high margins, coupled by MAP pricing? that's making it more difficult for smaller establishments to compete). I would expect the store to shift even more heavily towards Seapora and Seachem.


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## garwood (Oct 27, 2012)

no RC in scarborough either. sucs had mixing RC down to a science. shy 2 1/2 cups in a 5 gal. bucket with heater and power head and ready to go next day. didn't even need to check salinity, it was always the same. this vibrant sea has very vague mixing instructions. mix vigourously but don t over agitate or will be cloudy???. should use right away... tried mixing last night and was cloudy. any one have exp. on best way to mix and use


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*Instant ocean*

There are other stores other than big als..just saying
Coral reef shop is my go to store...


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Hi everyone, I will give you the rational that I received but there are probably more parts to this...

As per the store manager, there had been several complaints about the quality of the tanks being received by Marineland Aquatics specifically the seams and plastic trim. He explained that customers had no problems until the tank would be filled for several weeks and the trim would start to split at the corners. Apparently they have sent back numerous tanks over the past few years. Additionally rimless tanks apparently had bad silicone lines which lead to poor sales.

Lastly regarding the salt, he explained this to a quality issue but logic would say that they probably struck a deal with the Seachem NA Distributor knowing that they were not satisfied with their tanks.


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## littletnklvr (Nov 1, 2010)

I just mixed up a batch of the seachem salt and it's dirty and smells funny, hope it's ok!


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## Creature (Oct 13, 2017)

littletnklvr said:


> I just mixed up a batch of the seachem salt and it's dirty and smells funny, hope it's ok!


I find it goes clear much faster than I.O.


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## lilliesandirises18 (Mar 22, 2017)

littletnklvr said:


> I just mixed up a batch of the seachem salt and it's dirty and smells funny, hope it's ok!


I thought it was just me, because I'm new at this. I'd been using aquavitro salinity (which I thought was another Seachem product) but they didn't have another pail at Big Al's. So I tried this stuff on the assurance that this is what they use in the store. It was cloudy and very snowy when we put it in the tank, and cause the only pH drop we've seen. Buffer fixed the problem, but I thought it smelled weird too. The salinity smelled like the ocean. This one did not! The fish didn't like it. But the snails, shrimp and coral are all OK.

Does anyone have a recommendation to try because we didn't like this... (and where to buy it)


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## littletnklvr (Nov 1, 2010)

lilliesandirises18 said:


> I thought it was just me, because I'm new at this. I'd been using aquavitro salinity (which I thought was another Seachem product) but they didn't have another pail at Big Al's. So I tried this stuff on the assurance that this is what they use in the store. It was cloudy and very snowy when we put it in the tank, and cause the only pH drop we've seen. Buffer fixed the problem, but I thought it smelled weird too. The salinity smelled like the ocean. This one did not! The fish didn't like it. But the snails, shrimp and coral are all OK.
> 
> Does anyone have a recommendation to try because we didn't like this... (and where to buy it)


 I'm definitely going to go and get some IO reef crystals like it a lot more than this seachem stuff, guess that's less money I'll be spending at Big Al's!


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## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

My vote goes the aquavitro


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## lilliesandirises18 (Mar 22, 2017)

mmatt said:


> My vote goes the aquavitro


Where did you find your pail? Thx


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## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

lilliesandirises18 said:


> Where did you find your pail? Thx


I saw some at big Al's.whitby this week. But I have been having a harder time finding it.


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## carl (Feb 11, 2010)

I sell instant ocean and reef crystals and Kent marine


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## Dan Cole (Dec 9, 2010)

We're still selling Reef Crystals, Instant Ocean, H2O and Tropic Marin salts as well. 

In regards to the relationship between Big Als and Marineland it is our understanding that it was terminated by Marineland.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*instant ocean salt*

I think the Christmas boxing day sale at big als will suffer huge from this , I know others have come up to the plate matching prices and sale prices .
I have not tried the new product and would only consider after reviews and price .I am a firm believer that getting a product at a store when in need is huge for me ,I liked the convinence of walking in and getting it if I needed it or ran out . I can still get the product that has tonnes of reviews on reef central .
good luck I'm still using instant ocean I have no issues getting it .
cheers 
tom


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

I suppose those who are IO/RC salt lovers will have to make a deal with Red from Coral Reef for xmas sale......if BA is not going to have the normal year end sale.


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## littletnklvr (Nov 1, 2010)

Used the seachem salt today for a water change everything is still alive,lol! Will have to use it for at least a few months till the box is finished, then I'll see if it's any better or worse than IO reef crystals.


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## lilliesandirises18 (Mar 22, 2017)

mmatt said:


> I saw some at big Al's.whitby this week. But I have been having a harder time finding it.


Hi Mmatt -- We were in at Big Al's Whitby yesterday afternoon, and the AquaVitro was back in stock! So happy, we picked up 2 buckets, so we don't end up in this mess again!


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## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

lilliesandirises18 said:


> Hi Mmatt -- We were in at Big Al's Whitby yesterday afternoon, and the AquaVitro was back in stock! So happy, we picked up 2 buckets, so we don't end up in this mess again!


I'm hoping they go on sale for boxing week. Or at least continue to carry them. Whitby store is a franchise of big Al's so I think they deal with distributors directly instead of dealing with head office. Only down fall is that they have a really difficult time with coral and live stock. Not a huge market in Durham and getting dicked around with suppliers. So the story goes anyways.


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## lilliesandirises18 (Mar 22, 2017)

It can't be that small -- We're out here shopping! And there have always been people buying coral/marine fish while we're in there.....


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