Email We Will Not Answer
 We wish we could answer every email we receive.
We really do! However, some questions and requests require more time than we have to devote. If we answered every email we received, we would have time for nothing else! We receive
literally
hundreds of emails each day from hobbyists in need, and that keeps us busy enough as it is. Below are links to examples of email we simply do not have time to answer. Avoid making these mistakes, and rest assured you will get a reply, provided you followed our instructions for sending us email.
Security Precautions We Take With Email
If you attach unapproved files to your email, request a read notification, or try to remain anonymous, we won't even receive your email, let alone answer it! Due to all the nasty people out there who are creating viruses left and right that attack computers, our email now passes through a secure server which deletes any email that has the
following properties:
Attachments: You may attach TXT, PDF, BMP, PNG, JPEG and GIF files to email you send to us, but any email we receive that contains any other form of attachment will be deleted and we will not answer you.
Read Notification: Do not request a read verification! We do not allow our email clients to respond with verification that we have opened your email. Email that contains any type of macro or hidden instruction including a read-verification or open notification will be automatically deleted.
Anonymous: Want to remain anonymous? Don't email us! We will not answer your email if you put anonymous in the sender's field. Nothing in the subject line? Same thing! We need to be able to identify what the email is about BEFORE we open it and run the risk of getting a virus.
Free Email?
For any type of product question, or if you are asking for help with your aquarium, please use your internet provider email address! For questions about an order you placed or We may not be able to answer your email if you use an internet-based email account such as
Hotmail, Bigfoot or Yahoo. Nine times out of ten, the email gets bounced back to us because these email systems get flooded with spam. We are not going to spend time to answer questions, only to see our time wasted when the reply we send bounces back to us. We won't spam you, or put you on any mailing lists so please use your Internet email. Read our privacy policy.
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Use Our Forums!
Our forums are free and you'll get fast answers with more information than using email!
Click here to join our forums. Our forum moderators are top-notch and very attentive. Most have many
years of experience with aquariums and will take the time to answer all your questions. We receive hundreds of emails a day and have to prioritize them based on need (sick fish and disease problems come first, water quality problems second and so on) so it sometimes takes us up to a week to give you an answer. On our forums, the average wait time is only several hours or less. On weekends, when we have as many as 20 moderators working, questions are often answered within an hour!
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Who Are You?
Reply to our e-mail when we answer you! Don't start a new message!
We delete email as soon as we answer it. When we reply to your email, you may need to write back or supply us with more information. Please include all correspondence to date in the body of your email text so that we can
recall all the details and continue helping you.
The person that helped you last time might not be the same this time. If you don't include prior text, they won't know what the heck you're talking about! When we say hundreds of emails a day folks, we are not exaggerating!
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Buy a Book!
Keep it simple! Our Email Aquarium Support is a public service and it's free. If you want to keep it free, please don't email requests that would require us to type a couple of pages or more of information, or conduct a day's worth of research. For that, please use our forums.
We are without question, one of the best sources for aquarium information and we are happy to provide product information before you buy. We actually answer all email. We don't mind making product recommendations or helping you with specific questions. We'll also be glad to help you with products you have purchased from us. However, we do not reply to questions that require detailed answers that could easily be found in any good aquarium book. The reason retail aquarium stores charge so much
more than online sources is because THEY WILL spend this kind of time with you. Time is money
folks, please respect that. The Internet is a great place to find bargains, however the trade-off is that it is also a do-it-yourself environment.
Examples:
"I've never had a saltwater aquarium before. Could you please tell me how to set one up and list everything I'll need to buy?" (Buy a book!)
"I want to set up a saltwater aquarium and want to buy a wet-dry filter and protein skimmer. Please list which products you would recommend for this system. Include all necessary parts and fittings, and tell me why you recommend each product. (Buy a book!)
The good news is that we do take note of these questions and eventually they join the ranks of our FAQ's. If you don't get an answer from us, check our FAQ pages a week or two later. We do offer a resource where you CAN find this kind of help, our
forums. There you will find several dozen people who are willing and eager to help you with all the details you need. They are our forum moderators, and each one is an aquarium guru in their own right.
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Respect Our Time
This one is related to the "Buy a Book" category. Here we're talking about emailing us with requests that are somewhat related to aquariums, but are not exactly questions about aquarium problems. In some cases, if we can help - we will, but don't get upset if we don't.
Examples:
We won't show actual email examples here, but suffice it to say that we do not do homework for architectural students. We do not teach people how to start an aquarium business unless they want to hire us as consultants. We do not answer questions about how to start an aquarium-related business, or inappropriate questions about our business. We do design store aquarium systems, but we don't come cheap. We would be glad to bid on that out-of-state project, but
once again, we don't come cheap. We're not being snobs. We're just saying that we're good enough at what we do that we can command a good price so please don't write if you're bargain-hunting.
Don't Abuse Us
C'mon People! Email with impolite, rude or unreasonable requests will be deleted immediately. Have a problem with an order? We will go to great lengths to take care of you. We know that some problems can be very annoying. However, start swearing and we guarantee we'll stop caring.
Example:
"I need to know what kind of filter to buy for my tank. If you bother to reply to this email, I'll give you the details of my aquarium. If you don't answer by tomorrow, don't even bother. I'll buy it somewhere else" (We won't and you do that!)
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Details, Details
Vague or incomplete questions are impossible to answer. Remember that we don't just rattle off simple automatic answers, we actually treat each aquarium as the unique environment that it is! We need to know the details of your aquarium, in order to provide an answer that covers all the
bases. We don't have time to ask you for that information, so you need to provide it in the first place. Please read our rules for using our free email advice service, and follow the instructions. We have to include several examples for this category.
Examples:
"My tank is cloudy, what can I do?" OR "I have too much algae, how can I control it?" OR "My fish have white spots, what do I need to cure them?"
Without knowing any details about the aquarium or fish, we are left with only three choices:
1) We could just give out an all-purpose automatic answer which might work, but might also make things worse. We won't do that to you.
2)
We could list every possible reason for these problems, along with possible solutions for each. To do that right would take more time than we have, and we still might be guessing.
3) We could request more information and if time allows, we usually do. However, we often get back only half of the information we asked for. We then have to give up, and we delete all emails related to the subject.
Say What?
We ignore all email that is un-related to the subject of aquariums. Requests for quotes on pumps to move oil in a hydraulic system (an actual case) are one example. (Huh?) Questions about the mechanics of fluid viscosity as a function of friction in a chute system plan for an amusement park (Yes! Believe it or
not!) would be another good example. (Say what?)
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NO TANK QUOTE REQUESTS!
Folks! You're not going to buy it so why ask? Shipping any aquarium to you will cost more than you're willing to pay unless you have no other choice! In spite of the
fact that we state very clearly in several places on this web site that we do not provide quotations for aquariums to be shipped out-of-state, we still receive about twenty requests a day from people who want a price on an aquarium.
We used to provide these quotations, but we quickly learned that the only reason people were requesting prices on aquariums was that they thought they would be saving money by buying their tank through the internet. WRONG! Sure, we can give you a great price on an acrylic tank, but then it will cost several hundred dollars to ship it to you by truck.
Aquariums are too big for UPS or FedEx. Freight charges start at more than $100.00 and that's if you live in or near Illinois!
There are only two legitimate reasons for buying your aquarium out-of-state and having it shipped to you. One is if you live more than a day's drive away from a good aquarium store, and you don't care that you'll be paying twice as much for the aquarium. The other reason is if you don't have a store near you that sells acrylic tanks, and once again,
you don't care that you'll be paying twice as much for the aquarium. If either one of these holds true for you, let us know that when you make your request and we'll be happy to oblige.
Click on the link below to email us for help:
Aquariumpros.com Support Team.
You should receive a response in two to three business days
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