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LFS in Gainesville, FL Suggestions


Jwilken02

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Just moved up to Gainesville and am looking for a reputable LFS in the area and was wondering if anybody here had any suggestions? I used to live in West Palm Beach and found out very quickly not to trust reviews you find on google, I trust the fellow nano-reefers much more. Also would be interested meeting anyone local to the area that might have some livestock for sale, not ready for livestock yet but figured I would start the hunt. Thanks for any input!

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Jeez you were on it! I will definitely have to go check them out, how is there live rock? Have you ever used it?

 

I would recommend summers aquatics also Jack and Matt are very helpful, but if you ever have a chance to go to ocala check out ocala reef beats anything in town. I am not sure about their live rock though but check it out.

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I was looking into getting live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater but I am undecided because I am only going to need roughly 15 lbs for my new build and don't want to pay the amount for shipping... I have always used locally bought live rock without ever thinking about the risk associated with it but have yet to run into any major issues I could directly relate to the LFS rock on my previous three tanks. I might just gamble the fourth time too if I can find some good quality live rock in the area. Thanks for the input guys and maybe one weekend when the Gators play away I can make a trip down to Ocala to check it out!

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I was looking into getting live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater but I am undecided because I am only going to need roughly 15 lbs for my new build and don't want to pay the amount for shipping... I have always used locally bought live rock without ever thinking about the risk associated with it but have yet to run into any major issues I could directly relate to the LFS rock on my previous three tanks. I might just gamble the fourth time too if I can find some good quality live rock in the area. Thanks for the input guys and maybe one weekend when the Gators play away I can make a trip down to Ocala to check it out!

How far is Naples from Tampa? It would probably be cheap if you could drive down there

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I will be up in Gainesville, I think it's about a 2 hour drive from where I am at unfortunately. Just haven't really been able to talk myself into making a 4 hour round trip for the rock and sand. I wish something would come up that I had to have from there

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I will be up in Gainesville, I think it's about a 2 hour drive from where I am at unfortunately. Just haven't really been able to talk myself into making a 4 hour round trip for the rock and sand. I wish something would come up that I had to have from there

 

 

Go to SummerAquatics then if not go to Ocala Reef you won't regret it trust me it's only 30 mins away.

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Aquatropics on SW 34th is a nice store. Have done all my LFS shopping there in the past. A place called 'Aquaphoria' recently opened up literally just down the street from Aquatropics... the sign for that shop just says 'Fish Store'. I haven't been to that one yet so I can't comment on its reputability. Haven't been to summer aquatics either, I'll have to check that place out!


Btw, Naples is more like 4 hours from Gville ;) . Also... GO GATORS!

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I picked my rock from Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater, I live in Orlando and scheduled with Richard to pickup the rock a day i had to do some errant in Tampa, 4 hours drive back and forth is going to cost you more than the 20 bucks shipping fedex overnight.

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Aquatropics on SW 34th is a nice store. Have done all my LFS shopping there in the past. A place called 'Aquaphoria' recently opened up literally just down the street from Aquatropics... the sign for that shop just says 'Fish Store'. I haven't been to that one yet so I can't comment on its reputability. Haven't been to summer aquatics either, I'll have to check that place out!

Btw, Naples is more like 4 hours from Gville ;) . Also... GO GATORS!

Awesome, I am glad to hear there are some options in the area! And I wouldn't have to drive to Naples just to Tampa where the rock is from, not sure how Naples came into play but I appreciate your input. Let's hope the Mac Attack Era can bring back some relevance to The Swamp again this year, man it's been a down couple of years watching Muschamp's offenses take the field....

 

I think in the end I will need to just email Richard again and figure out how shipping will be done with Gainesville only being 2 hours out. On the shipping info page it is kind of confusing with all the air freight charges and then says that will cost more for ground shipping?... Maybe I am just reading it wrong.

 

Again, thanks for all the great info and can't wait to hopefully meet a few of you while up here in Gainesville whether it be through reef keeping or some Gator Tailgating!

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Why not get pest free, pre/cured dry rock at John from ReefCleaners? Another Floridian rock supplier.

 

Plus it's be about $2 a pound shipped

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Why not get pest free, pre/cured dry rock at John from ReefCleaners? Another Floridian rock supplier.

 

Plus it's be about $2 a pound shipped

Or dry Fiji rock from BRS. I need to go check out summers aquatics sometime.

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I thought about getting some dry rock from reef cleaners, originally the decision was between the reef cleaners dry rock and the Tampa bay saltwater live rock and the girlfriend and I decided that we liked the look of the live rock and the life that comes with the rock. Give us something to inspect and look at for that first month or two while we cycle.

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I'd say Summers aquatics and Aquaphoria are both solid shops. Aquatropics is decent if you're looking for fish. If you're looking for higher end stuff, you will not find it in Gainesville (Save my tank and a very select few others). Welcome to UF, I'm finishing up my B.S in Marine Sci this Spring. Feel free to come take a look at my tank anytime you'd like, I stock higher end zoanthids and mushrooms

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Awesome, thanks for your thoughts on the stores! That's also pretty cool that you are finishing your Bachelors in Marine Science, I looked into that degree when I was applying for school but unfortunately I never took the higher end science classes to apply as a transfer student during my A.A. I will definitely take you up on checking out your tank in person and maybe once mine is all cycled you will have some frags for sale

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I live in Ocala and Ocala Reef is by far better than any shop in Gainesville and I was a long time regular of Aquatropics. They keep high end stuff and their shop is immaculate, every place in Gainesville I never feel good while shopping there.

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I'd say Summers aquatics and Aquaphoria are both solid shops. Aquatropics is decent if you're looking for fish. If you're looking for higher end stuff, you will not find it in Gainesville (Save my tank and a very select few others). Welcome to UF, I'm finishing up my B.S in Marine Sci this Spring. Feel free to come take a look at my tank anytime you'd like, I stock higher end zoanthids and mushrooms

I just transferred to UF, I left my tank home but am going to move it in a few weeks, have to finish my LED build first. Home is in Jax so I go back weekly to check on it. I have a major in Business Admin, minor in Entrepreneurship and a specialization in Physics.

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Interesting, I have an A.S. in Business Admin but at UF I am majoring in Public Relations and am aiming to get my Masters one day in Web Design. It's great knowing that there is a solid group of reef keepers up in here, i saw that at some point there was a club in Gainesville but seems to have dissipated over time I am guessing.

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  • 2 months later...

Well thought I would try and see if anybody had any frags for sale in the Gainesville area? I got my tank set up a week ago and want to start lining up some local deals if I can before I resort to Summers Aquatics (which I have been in there a few times now and was pleasantly surprised with the customer service and every time I am in there and a new shipment has come in there is a massive dipping party going on.)

 

I have also visited Aquatropics looking for some bottled bacteria and they could not understand why I was dosing ammonia with my reefcleaners dry rock (common cycle info?) and tried to rather sell me green water out of a refrigerator in there. They did however seem to have tons of fish and quite a bit of coral but sporadically spread throughout the place. Mostly satisfied with this store but was a little confused about not understanding that I needed a source of ammonia since I did not have any die off.

 

Anyways again just seeing if anybody in the area has anything for sale?

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I would be willing to take a look at what you have, I have never been too involved with my last builds in stocking named corals I just go off looks. Plus it's always nice meeting and checking out another members tank!

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Summers Aquatics is by far the best store around Gainesville. If you ever go to Jacksonville then Orange Park Aquatics, Bioreef, and Coral Logic are all top notch.

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I will try and get down there at some point, I visit family back near Daytona Beach so maybe next weekend when I am heading back to Gainesville I'll try and stop by and check it out if it's open on Black Friday.

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