Hello and goodbye from India

[Prashanth]

Hello all,

This is Prashanth from India. I had created an account on here because I was interested in buying something from a member. That was the honest reason why I came here but found this forum to be quite interesting with the variety of posts. It was up there with most of the "bigger" forums and it was pretty impressive at the first sight. That was until I posted a requirement in the WTB section when things nosedived.

I had posted a requirement for Kessil lights and was quite aware of the fact that my being a new member here would raise flags for a lot of people. And that is why I had given my ebay user name so that people could to a background check. The first reply on the post was quite appalling where a member calls me an "idiot" without having any idea about my identity. I do understand how the "conning" business works and I myself have been the moderator of one of the if not the biggest biking forums in India where there's probably close to a million members. And I have come across a whole variety of spammers and tricksters. So I knew enough to give a genuine reference in the Ebay ID.

Except for that one reply, every other one was genuine and decent and I appreciate the two guys who thought there was no need for being rude and "name caling" . So I reply to the guy who called me an idiot and then go on to give more reference about who I am. I give my facebook name and my qualifications and what do I get next? A message from a moderator which goes something like this

"You have been banned for the following reason:
Lies about who you are. Professional race driver or helicopter pilot or who knows what

Date the ban will be lifted: Never"

Apparently, the moderator thought I was lying the minute I post a reply. I wonder if there was even any research done before banning me. And who am I? I dont think that matters anymore. I sent out a mail to Mike who I believe is the administrator. He was quick in his reply and was courteous enough to lift the ban. Appreciate that Mike.

Again, I do have anything against this forum and I think its a pretty neat place. But there needs to be a little bit of courtesy extended to people even if he/she was fake. If you find out that a person is fake, throw him out by all means but there is no need for being rude. All in all Im happy that I saw place this but Im getting outta here!! Again, thanks mike , your a good man!! Il be surprised if this post even remains tomorrow.

Cheers all,
Prashanth Tharani

 

[wickedfish]

Welcome back.

 

[campge]

Welcome to scr

 

[EyeReef]

Prashanth thanks for the intro thread. We do not take spammers lightly here and usually swift to clear them out. This has to be the first time we mistaken a real person for a spammer and for that I apologize. Hopefully you will look past this and be part of the community. We would love to see the reefing scene in your part of the world.

 

[LAreefguy]

Awkward..... No body thinks it's weird that he is looking for Kessels in a SoCal reef forum from INDIA? Shipping alone wouldn't be worth it. Shady, no need to call names but it don't add up.

 

[hernandez101]

if it doesn't add up or it does people should not be calling other reefers name or putting them down we are all here for one reason to b part of a community and learn from one another but lately all I see in some post is other reefers putting ppl down we should help one another not put each other down.

I know a lot of people make the mistake and think that this place is to buy n sale only wich I think it wrong too and instead of talking crap to people who maybe don't know about the rule admin should let them know but only admin not other reefers so no body would get out of hand

 

[smartchoice]

Im with LAreefguy:usa2:

 

[Prashanth]

@ LAreefguy and others : A reply with that tone would never have caused any problems. Let me explain. The way you put it , does it sound shady? Absolutely. Now here's my version. Kessils are not available in India. If I have to buy one it either has to be on ebay or I buy from one of the numerous online shops. I dont want to do that because I can save a lot of money by buying used. But why buy used from an unknown person?

1) kessils are LED's so Im not worried about the life issues on the bulbs and so I can buy.
2) shipping is something I have to pay eitherways if I want those lights. And shipping is probably gonna cost about 50bucks or 75 at best. When Im gonna spend a few hundred bucks, 75 doesnt seem to bad to get it down .
3) what if it gets damaged during shipping? there's insurance. And shipping damage is quite easy to make out if you are used to shipping and receiving items that were shipped. the box is intact but the lights dont work? thats no shipping damage!!
4) paypal is there to cover my backside should something go awry. Its the same for the seller. Everybody wins.

How did I end up on a socal reef forum looking to buy lights? I was browsing through another forum that Im a member of ,looking to buy these lights. One of the members there had posted saying that he saw those lights on sale in this forum. That is how I learnt of the forum. I did come here to pick it up but then I did go through a few threads and thought they were fantastic. I dont usually post much in any forum but I do a lot of reading and this one does have some pretty interesting views about certain topics.

Does it sound shady now? Il let you decide

 

[wickedfish]

When you get a chance please post pics of your current tank and talk to us about your reef and it's inhabitants. If you're on a biking forum then I'm sure you have to upload pics often.

We like pics and a intro build thread will give you the street cred you want.

 

[jessesoto33]

:welcome20smiles:

Tank pics would be nice!

 

[smartchoice]

Prashanth, search for Marinedepot.com they will ship out the lights you want call them to confirm. Below are their instructions and requirements for shipping. Good Luck! any pictures of your tank will like to see them!...
International customers may purchase from MarineDepot.com using Visa, MasterCard, American Express Discover and PayPal for orders up to $1000. Any brokerage fees, tariffs and/or taxes will be billed to you directly by the shipping courier. International customers placing their first order with us must fax or email a copy of the front and back of their credit card along with a copy of a photo ID that has the billing address printed on it. This is a precautionary measure to protect you and our company from fraudulent activity.

International customers must use the same billing and shipping address. If you are an international customer and would like your order sent to an alternate address, you must first contact your credit card company and request that they add the alternate shipping address to their records or you can pre-pay for the order using PayPal or a bank wire transfer. All first-time international orders over $1000 must be paid via bank wire transfer. We will email you the wire transfer information after you've placed the order.

Drop-ship and special ordered merchandise can require an additional 3-4 weeks for delivery. Overweight and/or oversized merchandise may be subject to additional shipping charges. Some products are available in 220/240V configurations; please contact us for pricing and details.

Customers are solely responsible for any shipping charges incurred when sending back defective merchandise including but not limited to brokerage fees, taxes and tariffs. Warranties for some products are handled directly by the manufacturer. Please click here for details.

NOTE: Please contact your country's Customs Department for current regulations regarding the importation of the items you intend to order. Some countries require you to obtain a permit before importing certain products, such as foods, additives and test kits. All orders and portions thereof returned to MarineDepot.com will be considered refused packages and automatically assessed a 25% restocking fee.

Hello all,

This is Prashanth from India. I had created an account on here because I was interested in buying something from a member. That was the honest reason why I came here but found this forum to be quite interesting with the variety of posts. It was up there with most of the "bigger" forums and it was pretty impressive at the first sight. That was until I posted a requirement in the WTB section when things nosedived.

I had posted a requirement for Kessil lights and was quite aware of the fact that my being a new member here would raise flags for a lot of people. And that is why I had given my ebay user name so that people could to a background check. The first reply on the post was quite appalling where a member calls me an "idiot" without having any idea about my identity. I do understand how the "conning" business works and I myself have been the moderator of one of the if not the biggest biking forums in India where there's probably close to a million members. And I have come across a whole variety of spammers and tricksters. So I knew enough to give a genuine reference in the Ebay ID.

Except for that one reply, every other one was genuine and decent and I appreciate the two guys who thought there was no need for being rude and "name caling" . So I reply to the guy who called me an idiot and then go on to give more reference about who I am. I give my facebook name and my qualifications and what do I get next? A message from a moderator which goes something like this

"You have been banned for the following reason:
Lies about who you are. Professional race driver or helicopter pilot or who knows what

Date the ban will be lifted: Never"

Apparently, the moderator thought I was lying the minute I post a reply. I wonder if there was even any research done before banning me. And who am I? I dont think that matters anymore. I sent out a mail to Mike who I believe is the administrator. He was quick in his reply and was courteous enough to lift the ban. Appreciate that Mike.

Again, I do have anything against this forum and I think its a pretty neat place. But there needs to be a little bit of courtesy extended to people even if he/she was fake. If you find out that a person is fake, throw him out by all means but there is no need for being rude. All in all Im happy that I saw place this but Im getting outta here!! Again, thanks mike , your a good man!! Il be surprised if this post even remains tomorrow.

Cheers all,
Prashanth Tharani

 

[Prashanth]

@Wickedfish : Haha Im after no street cred my friend. Those days are gone and this is probably the maximum amount of posting on any forum, that Ive done in a very long time. But since you ask , Ive attached a few pics. A brief of the build?

Well its no biggie. The tanks 72inch long and about 36 inches deep. It was made by my friends and myself . A fancier word would be custom made! cost of the tank build? 125$ or roughly about that much :lol (2): Stuff here is cheap!!!

equipment right now? I have a reefoctopus sss 2000 int skimmer , jbj att, chinese 36w Uv filter, various pumps that I dont even remember the names of, a chaeto chamber with light bulb and a couple of wavemakers and about 200lbs of live rock and about 100lbs of live sand. Thats pretty much it as far as the build is concerned. Ive been into marine aquariums for about 2 years now. And a majority of that time, the tank was pretty much neglected due to absolute lack of time. I just recently shifted the tank to its new location in the middle of my living room. And this time , Im planning on setting up properly. which is why Im after those lights. I need to pick up a chiller asap but since I dont have corals its not a big deal for a few months atleast.

As far as the inhabitants go, Ive not had anything fancy, Ive had banded baby shark, green carpet anemone, a couple of clowns , a "cow" fish , and a myriad of damsels, yellow tang, powder blue tang, a grouper ( yes I was misinformed and it was one of those impulsive buys) , niger trigger and thats as much as I can remember. Before anyone starts flaming , all these fishes were not there together at the same time. This is over the period of two years. Ive had two major tank crashes that wiped out the livestock not cos of my carelessness but unforeseen happenings. One happened when I was not in town for a couple of days, unfortunately that day there was a power cut that lasted close to 30 hours and it was a mess by the time I was back. the most recent one was just two months ago. the ATT bucket ran outta water, I was out for a weekend of racing. the folks at home had no idea what to do and you get the idea!

Ive had no corals because it is illegal in India. So unfortunately there is no way I can legally buy corals here and I think the rule is stupid

. Why am I buying so much lighting then? err welll you know its a public forum afterall !!:lol (2):

So this time im trying to make it all as automated as possible but thats huge $$$ that I could use for racing :twitch: . Lets see where I end up this time!! trying to manage a full time career as a racing driver and a pilot is pretty darn hectic. As for the pics, Im posting random stuff that I have over the years.

@Smartchoice : I do know marinedepot and was thinking about picking up the lights from them. But then why pay full retails when I can save money getting used ones !! Ive been scouring ebay for a while now and almost made a deal with a guy who had posted exactly what I needed but he withdrew the auction for some reason!! And used kessils dont hardly come up on there for some reason and even if they do its usually just one.


PS: excuse the crappy looking filter in the first pic and that horrid plastic piece of coral. That was the first marine setup and I had that internal filter inside to help speed up the "clearing" up of the water after I had put the rocks in. I just figured I dont really have too many pics of the tank from before. Im gonna have to take more this time. And the smaller one is a planted fresh water tank that has since been through two different experiments and currently serves as a gold fish aquarium. I do have other plans for that..maybe convert it into a little mandarin goby spot perhaps!!

 

[janiners305]

@Wickedfish : Haha Im after no street cred my friend. Those days are gone and this is probably the maximum amount of posting on any forum, that Ive done in a very long time. But since you ask , Ive attached a few pics. A brief of the build?

Well its no biggie. The tanks 72inch long and about 36 inches deep. It was made by my friends and myself . A fancier word would be custom made! cost of the tank build? 125$ or roughly about that much :lol (2): Stuff here is cheap!!!

equipment right now? I have a reefoctopus sss 2000 int skimmer , jbj att, chinese 36w Uv filter, various pumps that I dont even remember the names of, a chaeto chamber with light bulb and a couple of wavemakers and about 200lbs of live rock and about 100lbs of live sand. Thats pretty much it as far as the build is concerned. Ive been into marine aquariums for about 2 years now. And a majority of that time, the tank was pretty much neglected due to absolute lack of time. I just recently shifted the tank to its new location in the middle of my living room. And this time , Im planning on setting up properly. which is why Im after those lights. I need to pick up a chiller asap but since I dont have corals its not a big deal for a few months atleast.

As far as the inhabitants go, Ive not had anything fancy, Ive had banded baby shark, green carpet anemone, a couple of clowns , a "cow" fish , and a myriad of damsels, yellow tang, powder blue tang, a grouper ( yes I was misinformed and it was one of those impulsive buys) , niger trigger and thats as much as I can remember. Before anyone starts flaming , all these fishes were not there together at the same time. This is over the period of two years. Ive had two major tank crashes that wiped out the livestock not cos of my carelessness but unforeseen happenings. One happened when I was not in town for a couple of days, unfortunately that day there was a power cut that lasted close to 30 hours and it was a mess by the time I was back. the most recent one was just two months ago. the ATT bucket ran outta water, I was out for a weekend of racing. the folks at home had no idea what to do and you get the idea!

Ive had no corals because it is illegal in India. So unfortunately there is no way I can legally buy corals here and I think the rule is stupid

. Why am I buying so much lighting then? err welll you know its a public forum afterall !!:lol (2):

So this time im trying to make it all as automated as possible but thats huge $$$ that I could use for racing :twitch: . Lets see where I end up this time!! trying to manage a full time career as a racing driver and a pilot is pretty darn hectic. As for the pics, Im posting random stuff that I have over the years.

@Smartchoice : I do know marinedepot and was thinking about picking up the lights from them. But then why pay full retails when I can save money getting used ones !! Ive been scouring ebay for a while now and almost made a deal with a guy who had posted exactly what I needed but he withdrew the auction for some reason!! And used kessils dont hardly come up on there for some reason and even if they do its usually just one.


PS: excuse the crappy looking filter in the first pic and that horrid plastic piece of coral. That was the first marine setup and I had that internal filter inside to help speed up the "clearing" up of the water after I had put the rocks in. I just figured I dont really have too many pics of the tank from before. Im gonna have to take more this time. And the smaller one is a planted fresh water tank that has since been through two different experiments and currently serves as a gold fish aquarium. I do have other plans for that..maybe convert it into a little mandarin goby spot perhaps!!

Man I would love to sell you mine I'm just skeptical and a lil worried about the whole thing! I don't know if it is legit you sound kool and all but how do I as the seller cover my behind if I do the whole shipping and paypal ordeal ya know I hear so many horror stories about people scamming paypal and that makes me real nervous ya know like I said tho you sound legit but your not local and I don't know you .. For all I know it can be a stollen credit card that's used for the paypal transaction ya know I'm just trying to figure out a way that I can make sure my behind is covered and I'd totally do the transaction..


135 sps dominated tank.

 

[Prashanth]

well I do understand your skepticism but paypal sends out the money to the seller as soon as the buyer pays right? Atleast thats what I remember when I sold a few things on ebay about 3 or 4 years ago. so if you have the money you should be safe. As far as stolen credit cards go, I dont really think you can create a paypal address verified account with it..or maybe I need to lookup the scams with paypal. I always thought it was completely reliable?

And yes I used to live in Mesa, Az and flew into palm springs and vegas a lot of times. If I was still a local Id have bought these lights a looong time ago . But you can take your time and decide and shoot a mail to the address that I had PM'd you. If you want to put it up on ebay and I buy it on there, thats fine too. Just make sure we agree on a price before you put it up on there so I can just use the BIN option.

I cant think of any other option and if you do feel insecure then thats completely fine!! atleast your not being rude!!

Cheers!!

 

[MRCYCS805]

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

 

[reefes pieces]

Welcome Prashanth!

 

[gr1mm]

welcome! dont leave just yet not every one here is rude and not all the mods are so strick either.

 

[Reefomeez]

Welcome Prashanth!

One of the benefits of this forum is that people are local making transactions more likely to leave people happy with the transaction, although there's always some that don't end so happy. I think what Wicked meant is that putting up a build thread would give you the "street cred" WE need in order to really trust. You sound legit but without the benefit of having built a relationship with this forum and it's members it's not easy to trust. It says nothing about you...it's just how it is.

I do hope you stay on. This is a great forum and the people here are good people. I think your experience and perspective could be useful and you too could gain much by participating. If you choose to move on, best of luck to you.

 

[F-Dawg]

Welcome Prashanth :hello:

 

[Six2seven]

Welcome. I hope the few have not completely ruined It for you here. This is a great forum.