The
Cultured Reef
Aquacultured
Corals, Clams, Fish, Invertebrates and
Select Lines of Equipment for Successful Reef Keeping
The Cultured Reef Copyright, all
rights reserved.
Testimonials
|
The
Cultured Reef Testimonials |
|
Must Read Subjects of Special Interest to
Marine Aquarium Hobbyists. |
|
Our Customers become Friends! We deeply appreciate EACH and EVERY one of you! Here's what they're saying. |
9/08/08 - Solaris customer Via e-mail
Good Morning Richard,
WOW! That is GREAT News! I will confer with my CFO, aka Wife and
arrange to arrange the balance payment via pay pal by mid week. Thank
you Richard, for being such a pleasure with which to do business. I
wish I lived in your area so I could be a local customer. Personally, I
do not care for, nor trust, any of my local suppliers.
Kind Regards,
Keith H
Lowell, MA
On 3/31/08 Lori wrote to thank me for suggestions given.
After receiving his Solaris I4 LED light, via e-mail Terry B writes on 3/31/08
Dick,
The light is here, I plugged it in and everything works fantastic! Thanks for everything!
Terry B.
Round Hill, VA
Purchased Solaris I4 LED lights, E-mail received 3/20/08
Purchased Solaris I4 LED lights, E-mail received 3/18/08
Hi Richard. Just wanted to let you know that we received the light yesterday. It installed easily and looks great! We'll be experimenting now with some of the settings. Thanks for all of your follow up on this order.
Shelly R.
New Hill, NC
E-mail received 10/9/07
OK, thanks, I appreciate it! (I'm impressed by a store that
doesn't try to hype the $$$ merchandise!) For lights, I'm specifically
interested in something for the clam(s) . I can go metal halide, but I'd really
rather not have a hanging light over that particular tank. If the Galileo would
work for clams and sps, I'd be interested in looking at it.
Sue P.
Eugene,
OR
Via E-mail 6/2/07 Telling us his experience with the new PFO 400W Solaris LED light.
Looking good!
Posted 6/2/07 on Talking Reef Forum
Kyle O.
Brentwood, CA
Via E-mail 5/16/07 responding to our notification that his new PFO 400W Solaris light would be shipping soon.
Dick
Outstanding!
E-Mail message 5/11/07
Ed L.
Lodi, CA
E-mail message 5/4/07
Dick,
Via e-mail 3/2/07 after phone conversation voicing concerns that LFS advice was at best, confusing.
Hi Dick,
I appreciate all the advice you gave me this morning. You don't
even know how grateful I am, I was getting SO confused. I will be ordering the
light within the next week.
Like your wife, I am a nurse also. I joined your web site under the user name
MaryLou. Hope you feel better soon and thanks ever so much!!!
Mary Lou
The following day 3/3/07
Mary Lou
By e-mail 3/13/03
Hi Dick It was great talking to you. I can't tell you how
much I appreciate your help! I am so excited at the prospect of setting
this tank up right.
I now know where you live! How long does it take to get to the ocean? You
are out in the country--the best of both worlds, ocean nearby and a big back
yard!! I'll be waiting for your email on the sump whenever you hear.
Thanks again!
Via e-mail 2/21/2007 after receiving his new Solaris LED light fixture
Via e-mail 2/6/2007 after receiving her Ocean's Blend Additives
Dick,
I got the trace elements, Thanks. I did have one question about them. Do I need
to still put Kalkwasser (lime water) into the R.O. water to facilitate in the
coral's absorbtion of the calcium? Also, can you e-mail me another invoice, I
accidentally recycled the one you sent with those totally awesome shirts. I
thought they were just going to have your logo on them but they are really cool.
Thanks again for everything.
Dawn W.
Denver, CO
Via e-mail 1/27/07
Diana C.
Centralia, WA
Via PM on Reef Central 12/18/06
I feel compelled to add a
huge thanks for "Amphibious" and all the great information you have shared
relative to the Solaris light these past few months. I am just getting back into
the saltwater hobby after an absence of about 20 years. So very much has
changed; I am somewhat overwhelmed by it. I intend to set up a reef system in
the next several months and have been doing quite a lot of reading on the Reef
Central site, learning as much as I can so that I keep the mistakes to a
minimum. It is folks like you who are so willing to share your knowledge and
experiences that gives me confidence I will be doing things somewhat correctly.
I had to do a bit of convincing, but I was able to get my wife to okay the
purchase of the Solaris. It seems like it will be unbeatable when compared to
other options. Via e-mail 11/9/06 after receiving
her Ocean's Blend Additives Dick - Pam Z. Via e-mail 10/13/06 Jon R. Via e-mail, 10/11/06 Hi Dick,
E-mail from Customer
about the new Solaris LED Illumination System from PFO (Dick) UPS brought my light!. I don't
have it over water yet - still building the new aquarium stand. Should be
all up and running in a couple of weeks. I did plug it in and check it
out. It works flawlessly and man is it bright. I am going to post a couple
pics at TR. E-mail from Customer
about the new Solaris LED Illumination System from PFO
thanks Ed
P Via Private Message on Talking
Reef Forum Dick, Via e-mail I'm very happy today, the temp finally
broke 50 (that means the golf season has started) and the stand came as
ordered, unfinnished and all holes in place. Looks great, going to make a
template of the bottom today and will give it to the sump maker later
on. Thanks for the help and enjoy the nice weather and if you golf, hitem
straight and long. Eric S. Via e-mail From a post on TalkingReef
Forum YAY YAY YAY... Mr.
Richard!!!! Glad to see you here in this new community. Go to Talking Reef Forum -
Here. We set up a page for our
reefing friends to submit their reef related photos for posting. February 13, 2006
Wow! That’s
such a nice page! Thank you for using my photos in such a respectful way! I
hope they bring joy to all of the visitors to your site!
Tracy, aka,
Sweetpea472 on Creative Reefing Forum In 2004 we installed a squid
rearing system at the University of Wisconsin, Department of Medical
Microbiology September 6, 2005 Dear Dick The sea water system is running
like a top. Your 'brain child' has been a
great success and Ned and I owe you lots, Cheers, Here's a link to the story -
http://www.theculturedreef.com/squid.htm July 26, 05
Via e-mail Dick I went and picked it up
yesterday. I am very happy with it! Thank you. Dustin N. May 19, 05
Via e-mail Dick - Thanks for the service. The
Joe's Juice worked perfectly! February 21, 05
Via e-mail Diana C. February 4, 05 -
Posted on our "Guest Map" View or sign our
"Guest
Map". The best ethics in the business
are found @ theculturedreef.com veganman
December 28, 2004
Via E-mail Thank you. I appreciate your ethics. I will definitely look at your site again
for more of my tank needs. Jay F. October,
31, 04
Via e-mail Hey Dick, Thanks for the
follow-up. I was meaning to contact you regarding the aquarium. A big-rig
showed up at my house the other day, very much to my surprise. I was not
expecting the aquarium for at least a couple of more weeks. In fact, I had not
even begun to build the stand for it because I thought it was not going to
arrive for probably three more weeks. Anyhow, I definitely cannot complain
because I heard a lot about tank manufacturers usually taking longer than the
quoted time to finish an order. In fact, I was not even expecting to have it
delivered to my doorstep. The tank is beautiful and
I am amazed to see it in front of me. My wife was equally impressed as well. I
could not even sleep the other night because I was so excited to get to work on
the stand. I am hoping to have the stand finished in the next day or two and
the tank up and running soon after. I will send pictures eventually. Thanks again for the
great customer service and exceeding my expectations. I don't think I will be
needing another tank too soon, but when that time comes, I will definitely buy
from you. But I hope you get your coral propagation facility up and running
soon enough. I hope everything is well with your house in Florida. Nate K. September 8, 2004
Via
e-mail Dick Thanks for the reply to my
request for a quote despite your unfortunate evacuation. I tried to call you
back Nate K. April 1, 2004
I met Dick Hilgers
for the first time at our local Madison Area Reef Society. I was amazed
at the vast amount of knowledge he has in Reef and Aquarium systems. I
was so impressed by his acrylic reef aquarium that I purchased a
215 gallon aquarium for my new Chiropractic Clinic. I also bought a
protein skimmer from Dick. He did the plumbing for the main tank and the
75 gallon refuge tank.
I had a problem
with fine sand particles in the water. No matter what I did I could
not get the tank to clear. Dick solved the problem by finding an
extremely fine (Diatom) filter. After two days the tank finally cleared.
You can view my tank on Dicks web site,
www.theculturedreef.com/beyler.htm
I would recommend
Dick Hilgers to you. He is an expert in this area. Dr. Michael Beyler January 17, 2004 (Rob), great to hear from
you my friend :) Wow... Richard, you never
cease to amaze me :) Anthony Calfo, author, "Book
of Coral Propagation" and "Reef Invertebrates"
January
12, 2004
Dick,
What a
wonderful web site. I thoroughly enjoyed perusing it and thank you for that
great link to the zoosrus.com site.
Jeff ---->
http://www.zoosrus.com
December 24, 2003
240 gallon Bowfront Hey Dick, I picked the tank up yesterday. It
barely fit in our SUV, but we got it to fit sideways. It looks great, really
nice work and love the way Update: Jan 13, 2004 Hey Dick, I just wanted to let you
know I was very happy w/the tank, and really impressed w/how much they have
improved the size of the holes in the top and the covers work much better than
before. I have it up and running, looks great, although in less than two weeks
everything is already completely covered in brown algae! I already have two
Banggai Cardinals, Flame Angel, Green Chromis(5) and Royal Gramma, plus several
anemones and an arrow crab. I'm trying to slow down to make sure the tank gets
through whatever cycle its going too before I add anything really nice. December 9, 2003 Dick, Picked up the tank today, couldn't be
happier. Thank you for all your help. Mike B October 31, 2003 Richard, Greg B Oct 11, 2003 If you are looking for
reef supplies, equipment , books or just information Dennis (fish2223) Jul 21, 2003 I am very happy with the service I got from The Cultured Reef
and have no problems suggesting them to anyone as a location
fishfreek July 12, 2003
What
else can I say except, "Awesome Service".
reefstr, Edwardsville, IL July 7, 2003 Just wanted to let
everyone know that I received an e-mail today from Amphibious that my book is on
its way. Also not to mention July 1, 2003 Hey Everyone.... Blugobi
Join
our "Member's Club" by clicking this button ........
Thanks again for all you have done and have a great Christmas and a Happy New
Year!
Fred M.
Chincoteaque, VA
Wow! What service! We ordered one afternoon, and it was
delivered by noon the next day. The product is exactly as specified. Thanks.
We'll be ordering from you again.
Ocala, FL
The father of the fifteen year old young man below responds to this transaction.
Mr. Hilgers
I'm Ben's dad and I wanted to write and
thank you for dealing so kindley
with Ben. He's a super kid and he was so
disappointed when the other used
aquarium he bought cracked. This new one
looks great and I know how much
Ben will love creating a new coral world.
Oxford, OH
Fifteen year old young man who designed his own reef aquarium, 72x20x24 -
150 gallon
It's here!
I was very excited today
when I came home from school to find my aquarium waiting for me in my
garage, still packed up. I've unpacked it and its perfect. I have decided
to paint the back of it black after it won the popular vote of the rest of
my family. The returns are a perfect size, and the 3 openings on top are
perfect for my metal halide fixture. I will send you some pictures of it
once I have it painted, and then once I have got some creatures for it. I
will probably send them to your account on reef talk, if that is even
possible. Now I think I have just 2 more questions concerning my aquarium.
First of all, I wanted to know if any special sealant is needed for the bulk
head, or if the rubber o-ring on the inside of the acrylic is enough. Also,
I remember you mentioning that the tank would come with lids for all the
openings. I received one for the overflow, but none for the other 3
openings. I think I told you that I was going to keep my aquarium open,
without a lid, but they would be useful if I need to cover it up to keep
perhaps new scared fish additions from leaping to their death, or if I
needed a easy and fast way to slightly reduce the light over a new coral
addition that not acclimated to the halides. If these were for some reason
not included, that's fine, I just wanted to make sure they aren't sitting
lost somewhere in a storage bin.
It really has been great
ordering from you Dick, and if I had any friends who were into aquariums
like I was, I would definitely recommend you for there next "upgrade". Its
always great when someone older and more experienced than myself are willing
to help me out.
Ben R.
Oxford, OH
September 28, 2006
Thanks again,
Scot M
North Little Rock, AR
September 27, 2006
(Dick) I like it a lot. I am eager to use it. I have been running it
every now and then. I'm in the process of setting up the tank when I
have the time that this light is going on. Right now, i am trying to
get my racks built in my fishhouse built, so that is eating up most of
my spare time.
No
problems so far with the light though.
Birmingham ,AL
April 1, 2006
i just wanted to thank you for all your help. you truly have been a wonderful
member of our forums. full of very good information, and a very personable
attitude towards everyone.
so i just wanted to take a minute to let you know i really appreciate
everything..
Thanks alot
Rob
Talking Reef Site Admin and Owner - I
highly recommend you check out this forum -
Talking Reef - Lots of
good info along with good people.
March 29, 2006
Hey Dick,
Pelham, NH
March 13, 2006
Aministrator's note: After the Postal Service failed to deliver a package of Ocean's
Blend to Rob and their tracking system couldn't produce results, we re-shipped
Rob's order.
Dick,
I sincerely appreciate everything you've done
to rectify this situation. Believe me, I don't blame anybody but the USPS
for this. This isn't the first time I've seen them mess something up.
I agree, I would use UPS for OB in the
future...even if it does cost a few bucks more.
I'll let you know what I'm going to do with
the original package if it ever arrives.
Its a real pleasure doing business with you!
-Rob
Jersey City, NJ 07306
February 16, 2006
Can you do me a favor and PM me. I'd like to catch up, see how things are going
regarding the farm, AND, I think that YOU and Rob need to know each other. I
feel that this site and it's various mediums, married with YOUR dreams, could be
a win-win for all.
Again, welcome to TR. I'm glad to have you here.
Folks... Amphibious...is a QUALITY person that I've known for some time now. He
is in the midst of living out MY dreams and is in the processes of a wonderful
project. Say hello to him, and entice him to tell you about his story. You can
also see more about his travels here:
http://www.theculturedreef.com/
Dick...Please do jump in and enjoy the folks here. There are MANY here who could
use another helping hand in their projects and YOU could be a great resource to
them.
David, aka, JustdavidP on TalkingReef Forum
Via e-mail
Atlanta, GA
View
Tracy's photo - here
Visit Creative Reefing Forum -
here
and Immunology for Professors Margaret McFall Ngae and Ned Ruby.
Professors McFall Ngae and Ruby were
formerly from the University of Hawaii's Department of Medical Microbiology and
Immunology.
Via e-mail
so we're hoping that you and Sue can get together (with us before you leave for
FL).
Margaret
Upon picking up his custom Reef Ready 55 gallon Acrylic aquarium.
Casselberry, FL
Jeff H.
Fredericksburg, VA
Hello Richard,
Thank you for your e-mail. I appreciate the
contact. Better than any other I've dealt with. I can't wait to try Ocean's
Blend. I came across it will surfing your site. I'll let you know how my
critters like it.
Thank you again for all you've done. ~ Diana
~___/>
// \\
Centralia, WA
Mapleton, UT
140 gal, custom designed (36 x 30 x 30) "Reef Ready"
CA, 90631
at your toll free #, however I could not get through from several different
phones. If you can, please try calling
me again at 714-931-****. (Edited for privacy.)
You seem to be really knowledgeable and helpful, and I appreciate you taking the
time to address each of my requirements
for the tank on the message you left for me. So I would really like to do
business with you. Others in this
business have been flaky at best. Hopefully I can talk to u about my specific
plumbing needs and get your input.
Thanks,
CA, 90631
Beyler Chiropractic, Madison, WI
In an e-mail from Anthony Calfo to Rob Toonen and forwarded to me.
alas, I don't recall anyone specific in WI that has specialized qualifications
for the job,
although there is a very nice and knowledgeable chap named Richard Hilgers
(friend of mine)
who is honest to a fault(!) and a very good industry professional.
In a second e-mail the same day, to me.
Much thanks for helping us/Rob/those cheese-eating Wisconsinites out. Oh!
Wait a minute... you are still one of those cheese-heads! ha. Well... not for
long ;)
We can call you a snow bird pretty soon and you can send us oranges :)
he covered the overflow and the hole covers. I was a little disappointed on the
front. I was expecting the front piece to be all one piece, wrapping
around the sides, but its seperate pieces. Its prob strong this way though,
because the sides are 3/4". Its also almost 20" on the ends, which I was
planning on 18". I was also expecting the overflow to be bigger, but I'm glad
its not! So do you, or would he, know how many g.p.h. that overflow
could handle? I'm wanting to get a bigger pump and i'm afraid i'm going to get
more than it can keep up with.
Brian B
Indianapolis, IN
Brian's tank Pic
Via E-mail
215 gallon Custom Designed Reef Aquarium
Madison, WI
Personal Conversation
75 gallon Pentagon and Custom Hood
Here are some pics of my setup. Not too far off from my Lightwave final render.
(Pics)
Thanks for supplying the tank ............ All in all no leaks so far and am
very happy.
I remember you said something about a t-shirt. Make it a kids size for an
8 year old or
men's xlarg as 2nd choice.
Springfield, IL
Via E-mail
Dick of: www.theculturedreef.com would be an excellent source. Dick is
very knowledgeable, friendly and ships very fast. Remember "The Cultured
Reef".... Thanks,
West Hollywood, CA
to pickup the new Fenner book
("Reef Invertebrates")
as well as to eventually purchase other live and dry goods.
I got an e-mail confirming my payment via paypal. This was also followed up with
a personal conformation e-mail from
Richard at The Cultured Reef.
Richard also confirmed my shipping address after for some reason the zip code
that i
gave him (it was correct)
came back as being incorrect from UPS.
Top notch service from Richard and
The Cultured Reef.
Site Admin,
Aquarium Advice
I ordered an autographed copy of Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner's new book
"Reef Invertebrates" from The Cultured Reef Thursday morning and received it
Saturday. Can't get much faster than that!
And the book, it's Awesome too!
Here's a link to the page so you can get your copy for $32.00 + shipping.
http://www.theculturedreef.com/books.htm
I can't wait for them to get the coral farm up and running.
Thanks to Richard and Sue for the great service!
Mark
Posted on
Reef Central
that I am getting a $4.00 rebate because he saved
money on the shipping of the case that he ordered...so he passed on the savings
to me...You could not ask for a more honest transaction...so my overall cost
including shipping went from $40.00 to $36.00...Thanks
a bunch Amphibious...will
plan on doing business in the future as well....I would encourage anyone to try
and use "the cultured reef"
in the future for there hobby needs.
5***** in my book!
Blugobi, Van Etten, NY
I had to the chance to talk to "Amphibious" today about ordering the new book
("Reef Invertebrates") by Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner.
I wanted to thank him for his personal touch...He has great web site which I
would expect many things in the future...I hope to see you in September at the
MACNA XV...I would urge anyone to pay his site a visit, www.theculturedreef.com
...Thanks again Amphibious
Van Etten, NY
