Marine Concepts

I have read the glowing reviews of Dave @ Maine Concepts. Unfortunately, I did NOT have the same experience. I called hem to clean a KOI Pond at my home in Chicago. It was last Saturday June 11^th. It was extremely hot outside and the person cleaning my KOI pond with 8 fish in it put the KOI in a Rubbermaid trash can with no air bubblers as he emptied the pond. As I watched from my porch I decided to go to the yard and check on the fish he put in the trash can. They were floating on their sides and gasping. He tried to tell me they were relaxing !!! Try dying! I grabbed the air bubblers threw them in the trash can and started trying to feed them air. Because they were clearly in distress, we put them back in the pond and began adding water. Sunday morning I awoke to three dead koi floating in the pond. Dave originally charged me $ 600.00. do you know anyone who walks around these days with 600.00 in cash on them? At the last minute he notified me he wanted cash. He said a cash deposit would show good faith?? And something about me being a new customer.
I always have 600.00 lying around my house don’t you?
I didn’t understand his thing about good faith. Shouldn’t the business be trying to build the customers faith instead of vise versa? He was acting like he was doing me a favor by charging 600.00and coming out to do the job. He got the cash deposit he insisted on so, maybe he has good faith in me but I have absolutely none in him or his company.
The issue for me is a business owner who cares more about the money than the job that is being done. While he was calling and texting me about the cash requirement… I think he should have been talking to his staffer about the pond conditions, weather and how the fish were going to be removed without harm. Of course, when I called hysterical the next morning he did not answer. Later that day his assistant called and started telling me the fish could have died for any number of reasons .That is true however, in this case it was heat and lack of oxygen and a Marine Concepts staffer who had no idea what he was doing with fish that size in such heat
Needless to say, I am sick at heart to have lost a 3 year old KOI that I raised from the size of a tadpole. Fu was more than 12 inche long. Now I have to wait and worry about my female who is ready to lay her eggs … what a mess.
Very sad and careless on the part of Marine Concepts. Of Course, I would never call them or use them again. I think they know aquariums, but a pond I a different ecosystem all together.

I don’t frequently post reviews; but this guy totally deserves a great one! I contacted Dave for a one time cleaning bc I was very pregnant & too big to properly clean my 90gal tank. needless to say that was a year ago. Dave is very professional & does a great job. my community tank continues to appreciate his business.

Dave helped us out of a bad situation. He responded promptly to an emergency call when our 72 gal bow front frame decided to split. He set-​up our new 150 gal freshwater tank and both the fish and I couldn’t be happier.
He was prompt, conscientious, knowledgeable and fantastic to work with.
I am a tough consumer and you can’t get better than this.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Dave has helped setup my 55 gallon saltwater tank and recently helped me move it. He’s always responsive and I have had great experience working with him. I called a few maintenance guys and never even received a call back! Dave was prompt and quickly fit me into his schedule. I would highly recommend Marine Concepts.

Awesome! I hired Dave to move my fish tank. He was prompt, quick, thorough, and extremely nice. I recommend him highly for moving, and I wouldn’t hesitate to hire him to set up a new tank or maintain an existing system.

Dave is awesome! Prompt customer service. I have two 100 gallon turtle tanks and these guys are messy critters. Dave works his magic and makes the tanks sparkly clean!!!