WARNING: EVERYONE READ THIS THREAD!!!!!!!!!

[jojo22]

Do not buy water from walmart. I bought 8 gallons of "RO" water. I did the water change went to bed and when I got home from church today everyting was dead. Well it was not RO it was straight tap water with a copper content exceding the limits of the test at the LFS (which is .25 mg/l) and a phosphate content of 1.0 mg/l. I went back to walmart and filed a claim with their insurance company who I was told would probably call me tomorrow.
I will keep you all up todate. Needless to say I am very upset and frustrated. I will not be rebuilding this tank but focusing on the new 72 gal. the skimmer and filters/powerheads will be used in the FO (clowns) tank that I am setting up in the baby room to avoid cross contamination.

:WHY:Do stores do stupid things like this??????

[graphixx]

OH JOJO. Man I dont know what to tell you. man I am soooo sorry, let us know how it turns out!!!

[jojo22]

Well I am in high spirtit about the new tank. I can reuse most of the supplies in the the babies clown tank so that helps.

P.S. you can tell me that you will never return to walmart but then again you shouldn't lie so I guess what you have said is plenty. Thank you.

[Sweetpea]

Oh Joe, that is horrible. I am SO sorry that you have to go through this... I hope they take care of you and reimburse you for your losses.

[seahorsedreams]

How does Walmart have RO water packaged/contained?

[Sweetpea]

Since Joe isn't online now, I will say that my WalMart (like the local grocery stores) have a machine where you can place a gallon container and fill it with "supposedly" RO water. That's the way it is here, but it may be different where he is.

[seahorsedreams]

Ohhhhhhh.... they were everywhere in Texas. I know what you mean now.

[lReef lKeeper]

jojo, that sux buddy !! sorry to hear about your tank man !! i am kinda like Greg on this (don't know what to say). make you a deal though ... you pay shipping and i will send you a few NICE frags for FREE, for the new tank, when it is ready !! how's that sound ??

[AuntKaren]

jojo's horrible experience can teach us ALL a lesson....if it's not from your equipment, before you put it in your tank TEST IT!!!

[PurpleAardvark]

Personally I would buy R.O. water form any store. I know 2 LFS in town that doesn't change filters but once a year. R.O.'s are cheap if you break it down. It cost about $.01 to $.02 per gallon. I use mine for drinking water too. out here is cow country not as bad as dakar and reef angel but still bad. They have a little more pos. and nitrates up there. Either way if you own a tank I always recommend a R.O. with two D.I. I think that would be a great artical for everyone to read. Would you guys like to see if I can dig it up?

[MedicMike]

All i know is i use tap water in my 20 gal and just and PRIME to it and i've got feather dusters and pods everywhere maybe i'm just lucky

[lReef lKeeper]

same here Mike, but Louisville has some of the best tap water in the country !! thats about all we have, but that is all i need. lol
i have my tap water tested by my brother in law (enviormental chemist) every few months to be on the safe side though.

[jojo22]

Thank you all for the kind replys. I am waiting to see what they say tomorrow (if they call). I will keep you updated. Bobby I really appriciate the offer. I will make you a trade for your knidness. When I get some frag plugs made with the diy agrocrete you will be one of the first to get a shipment. ( I know I havent mentioned them but I have some Ideas to talk to dakar about.)

[PurpleAardvark]

Jojo if you are making them, can you post how you do it? I have alot of poeple ask me how to do it. P.S. if you are in the madison wi area, I have some nice zoo's and sps I can give you. Sorry to hear about your tank man. Kent makes a nice metal sponge that will suck all the copper right out. Sorry I only read part of your post the thread jumped on me.

[jojo22]

Thank you for the offer but I am in Canton Ohio. I will be useing my new mix of 5 parts rock salt 1 part portland. Mix the portland first add the salt and plop the miw into a form of your likeing. I plan to use egg containers and dixie cups for the frag plugs. Here are a few links in which what I am calling "Aquacultured rock" is discused.

http://www.captivereefing.com/showthread.php?t=3771

the second link is in that thread.
After I get things going I will be selling rock and plugs (if it is ok with dakar and angel)

[lReef lKeeper]

that sounds great jojo, i could always use some more plugs !! i am going to be doing some large colt and taodstool fragging in the next few weeks and will gladly save you a couple until you are ready !! my toadstool is getting out of control huge (about a 12" cap), and the colt is ALWAYS growing !!

[jojo22]

Quick update. So CMI (wallmarts ins. company) said that they lease the machine and are not responsible for what comes out of it. I explained that under this thinking if I leased a car and ran someone over hey its not my fault I don't own the car. They stuck to their guns but said they would turn the claim over to Glacier Water Services who owns the machine. I called this company and they said that I should have called to see if this was a "recomended use" of their product, which it is not, that would be hard to do since their was no name or phone number on the machine.. I explained to them that they where commiting fraud as the water I was charged for was almost IDENTICAL to the city tap water(it would have filtered better through a brita). They said that one of their execs would call me back, after repeated tries on my part to get him on the phone I decided that he was blowing me off. I then called the walmart stores inc. head office and and was told that I had to talk to someone from region 49. needless to say this person was out of the office. So I called back and was transfered to someone in region 3. This lady was very helpfull. I explained the situation for the bazillionth time and she was simpathetic. I also told her that if need be I would file in small claims court not for the $610 I am willing to take now but for every penny it took to get the tank to this point ( every bag of salt gallon of water, fish for the cycle, water and every crab or snail that had died), on top of this I would be contacting the local tv stations to expose this fraud and filing a report with the bbb. She took my name and number and asked that I hold off on any action untill the day after tomorrow to give them time to look into this. I said OK but they have to call me before the 24 hour mark with an update. If I still get crap tomorrow I will point out that this copper level could have killed my wifes stepmother as she is alergic to any type of copper and if that had happened $610 would pail in comparison to what they would be looking at (maby they will see how lucky they are. If all else fails I'll go down to the county court house spend the $40 dollars to fial a suite against both companies and let thjudge figure it out. Worst case sinerio I loose and both companies are out more than the $610 (each) in lawyer bills and whatever other costs they incure. So I will keep you guys posted as things progress.

JOE

[spsreefer]

We have publix here in FL and they have a Glacier machine-.25 cents a gallon. When I had my 55g and 75g in college I used this water. I had a TDS meter and never had a problem

[lReef lKeeper]

nice, i knew i liked you for some reason !! please do keep us posted, i am kinda anxious to see if ALL walmart stores pull that brand after this gets settled. it would not surprise me if they didn't !!

[jojo22]

We have publix here in FL and they have a Glacier machine-.25 cents a gallon. When I had my 55g and 75g in college I used this water. I had a TDS meter and never had a problem

Well I had used this exact machine before and never had a problem. What really tick's me off is that the sticker said it was serviced and inspected the day before I used it. It should have been running at it's prime.

[spsreefer]

Does anyone know how these machines work? I am under the impression that there is a holding tank attached to the machine and the water is filtered off site. After all the machine shuts off and says its out of water. I dont think that the machine filters the water in the store.

[jojo22]

I don't know, the machine has a picture of all the filters "used" and there are lots of visable tubeing and what apears to be an ro unit if you look thru the plexi above where the water is dispensed.

On a side note: This is a matter of what is right and what is wrong I will do everything within the limits of the law to make this store pay. If I do not get what is fair not only do I plan to sue but I will file for peaceful protest permits and stand in front of their parking lot with signs stateing that they are selling contaminiated water. It is contaminated with copper but if people choose not to stop and talk to me they may asume it is contaminated with other things. Hey I cant control what other people think. I think a sign saying "Walmarts sells contaminated water that killed my pets" would be quite effective.

[Dirt4dinner]

Kickin' @$$ and takin' names! If you end up with a phone number to someone important at WalMart let us know and we will stuff his voice mail.

[jojo22]

William Burke-district manager (330)821-0026
Mr. Spencer-located at the home offices and manager of my region (479)237-4000 ask for region 49 and then Mr. Spencer

I really hope some people from this forum call, the more calls the better my chances.

P.S. Thanks for the idea Dirt

[Dirt4dinner]

Jojo what's your name? I will wait until you hear something back and then I will call.

[mutts]

Oh man jojo! that really sucks, you have got me freaking out, when i get the wild hair that i should be useing RO water i go to walmart... i hope everything works out for you, make sure to keep us posted. good luck we are behind you 110%

[jojo22]

My full name is Joseph M. Buchanan Sr. (just because it is hacked daily Bu-can-an)

[jojo22]

Oh man jojo! that really sucks, you have got me freaking out, when i get the wild hair that i should be useing RO water i go to walmart... i hope everything works out for you, make sure to keep us posted. good luck we are behind you 110%

Thank you and the most support anyone of you could give me is to follow Dirt's example and if I don't hear anything by lets say day after tomorrow call and blow up both of these guys phones/reseptionists notepads.

[Sweetpea]

What really tick's me off is that the sticker said it was serviced and inspected the day before I used it.

Do you have a picture of the service sticker? Do you still have any of the water left?

A picture of the service sticker to go along with your receipt and samples of the contaminated water makes for good evidence... ;)

Go get 'em Joe!!!

It might be interesting if several of us from different areas of the country went to our WalMarts and purchased some water and tested it. I can't help but wonder if it's an isolated incident or an "epidemic".

[jojo22]

Yes that would be very interesting. I'm not sure I want to know the results.

[mutts]

i will try in the next few days to get to walmart and test the water they sell here in central il. maybe if all of us in differant areas we can figure this out like tracy said, i hope this was just a freak accident because lots of places recomend using walmart water if you don't want to go out a buy a RO unit

[jojo22]

Yeah tell me about it that is why I used them!!!

[Dirt4dinner]

Jojo,
I cut and pasted your thread into the group forum for my area on Reef Central. Everyone is very interested in how this turns out, so I am keeping them posted as well.
I look forward to the next update.

[jojo22]

well I got ahold of glacier water servis and Mr. Spencer at wally's. Glacier is going out today to do an independant testing. Mr. Spencer said that he is in a meeting untill tomorrow and will do what he can to get the ball rolling on the breaks. Glacier said they will call me tomorrow Mr. Spencer by the end of the week.

[PurpleAardvark]

Jojo way to go. You call also call the city on them too. That will really get there attention. I believe it is a $5000 fine. I did the same actions to charter here is WI and finally someone suggested the city. Charter has be treating me like royalty since, however doesn't change the fact that the stink for intenet and cable here in Cross Plains. Nice to see you putting your foot down, if more people did this IMO the big corperations would be more Honest.

[lReef lKeeper]

i am linking this post to my local fish clubs web site. i know a few people that use thier water when they are in a hurry !!

[jojo22]

Please share this info with anyone who will listen as it can still go either way for these companies. If they handel it right it will be a promotion for their customer service. If they handle it poorly it will warn others. Either way it is a fair reflection of how they treat their PAYING customers.

[jojo22]

This is the end. I got a call back from steve at glacier water services. He said that after long thought he was going to refund my money. I am leaving to go to the lfs to get an estimate (which they are faxing to him before he will release the check) and put a few things on hold untill the check arrives. It will be for the $610. As I am very happy with how Steve treated me after we got in touch and how the situation was handled I would recomend them (just not for tank water). I will be calling walmart when I get home from the lfs to let them know that the problem has been handled and they no longer need to work on it.

[Sweetpea]

I'm really glad to hear that they took good care of you, Joe! That's fabulous!

[PurpleAardvark]

Great news. Hope everything works out for you and on a positive note, now you can change the things you didn't like before. If you need help with the estimit let me know and I can also do one for you.

[lReef lKeeper]

GREAT NEWS jojo !! glad to hear this was taken care of, now lets ALL run out to Wallyworld and buy a gallon of the water and test it !! i will do that tonight !! i think i have a copper test around here somewhere.
Jojo, dont forget to add in the price of a new tank, and all other equipment !! the copper will always be in there, and could leech out from the silicone and contaminate again !!

[jojo22]

We settled at a price of $610. Their fault for bad water my fault for lack of research. I feel that this is fair.

[lReef lKeeper]

the water here tested clean !! but thats not to say that i won't test it everytime i need to use thier water. i am glad that this was settled so quickly for you, buddy.

[Sweetpea]

I don't have a copper test, or even a TDS meter for that matter, but I can buy some water at the big W and take it to my LFS. I bet they would be willing to test it for me.

[dakar]

Great to hear it's settled in your favor!

(I'd suggest as soon as you get that check take $80 and but and RO/DI unit)

[jojo22]

RO/DI is on the top of the list with a few other things. Where could I find one for $80???

[lReef lKeeper]

probably on e-bay jojo, i see them on there all the time from people needing bigger ones due to upgrading tank sizes.

[Reef_Angel]

Wow Joe, I just read this today which I apologize for. I'm usually up on things, but have been sick again, and haven't been online as much as I usually am and should be. This is absolutely unforgettable on WalMart's part. They will likely blame it on "whatever they bring them". That's what I've been told by them in the past when they've changed products or the quality of a product. I don't trust them for much anymore. One thing they are good at though is taking between $600-$800 every 2 months when I do BIG grocery shopping. They do know how to empty a wallet, and take all the credit for that! I am so sorry to hear that you lost everything in your tank. I do know how that feels since I've lost a tank load of coral and fish. If we can ever help you in any way, please just ask. We will do whatever we can to help.
Again, sorry for your loss! I do hope you get total satisfaction from Walmart on your loss. Your original tank inhabitants can never truly be replaced, but in time your tank will be beautiful in no time. Hang in there! .....Angel :angel1:

[dsfdbutterfly]

Jojo,

They were lucky to settle for $610. Even if you feel it's fair due to not testing the water before using it. Time and effort alone was worth that when it comes to our tanks. I know you feel part to blame but it would have happened to anyone of us. I don't know how often I've foregone testing just to get it done. I've done it so many time before. I wish you all the luck in the future and hope that this turns into a minor setback for you. Thank you for the heads up and hopefully saving someone else the trouble of losing what they have worked on.

Angie

[dakar]

RO/DI is on the top of the list with a few other things. Where could I find one for $80???

Check ebay for the seller 'filterdirect', thats where we got our 5 stage unit, now they have 6 stage units (two DI chambers) for the same price. On their website filterdirect.com they sell the units as well, but for closer to $200.... eBay is their primary market it seems. Quite a few of us use their units, and sure beats paying for some other companies to put their name on the unit and charge 4-5 times as much.

[seahorsedreams]

I bought mine from ebay and have friends who have done so also. It will be the best thing you ever bought. And on ebay it's CHEAPER!

[seahorsedreams]

And get the biggest you can afford. I have the 125G/day. Although I will very rarely use 125 gallons of RO/DI in a day I can make a 5 gallon bucket of water in an hour. I originally bought the 25 gallon/day filter becaue I thought I would never need more than that in a day..... but it takes 5 hours to make 1 jug full.... you'll be happy you went for the larger version.