Local Fish Store : Where Do You Shop?

[metrokat]

I live in Manhattan. I usually go to:

 

1. Manhattan Aquariums (owned by Unique Corals) which is in the city.
2. Absolutely Fish which is in Clifton, NJ and is 45 min from Manhattan.
3. Elos AquaStudo New York which is actually in Short Hills, NJ and is 30 min from Manhattan.

 

Good luck my man!

#1 and #2

 

#2 will be at RAP-NY. They're the guys I already talked to and sent you a copy of their message,

#1 will also be at RAP-NY - not the store itself, but their California counterpart - Unique Corals

[WhiteWulfe]

Marine Aquaria here in Edmonton (Alberta). I like them so much I deal with a bus ride that's over an hour long to visit when I'm not working (don't have a pesonal vehicle). Also, they're the only store I've been to before business hours (two hours in this case) to see if they had something in the front display, and then had someone wind up talking with me for ten minutes.

 

Josh there is an awesome guy.

[evanski]

AQUATEK in Austin, TX

[Gamby]

Tidal Gardens in Coply, Ohio and Triton Marine in Macedonia, Ohio

[Pancetta]

Dave,

Albany Aquarium in Albany, CA. It is a small but busy place that specializes in freshwater fish and plants.

But they also specialize in Nano tanks.

 

http://www.albanyaquarium.com

 

Aquatic Collection in Hayward, CA

 

http://www.aquaticcollection.com

 

Let me know when you will be in the Bay Area. I'll buy you a good micro- brew beer!

 

David

[Sully375]

Neptunes Reef: Columbus GA. already told them where my new lights came from.

[HM3105]

Aquatic Design in Plano http://dallasaquariummaintenance.com/store/aboutus

This place is a "classic" LFS but the guy who owns/runs it knows his stuff. They sell complete nano kits completely stocked ready to go so your lights could be paired nicely with those.

 

Dallas North Aquarium http://www.dallasnorthaquarium.com/

Probably one of (maybe the) largest store in Dallas.

 

Dallas Elos Aquastudio http://elosaquastudios.com/

Yeah Elos has their own lights. However, this store uses AI (Primes if I recall) in the shop to light the nano size display tanks. Your lights are better and would fit into the overall theme of the store IMO.

[NYfishies]

#1 and #2

 

#2 will be at RAP-NY. They're the guys I already talked to and sent you a copy of their message,

#1 will also be at RAP-NY - not the store itself, but their California counterpart - Unique Corals

 

Absolutely Fish is our favorite place to buy Fish. They have a few great people working there too.

 

I didn't see Nanobox on the vendor list for RAP-NY. Hope to meet Dave there!

[RJWalters]

You could try Sea Dwellers in Angola, IN their phone number is (260)665-1966 ask for the store owner Joel he is a cool guy. I doubt he would be able to carry a huge inventory of your lights but it would be cool to get them locally. Good luck with the expansion I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

[SgtBhaji]

Our LFS doesn't carry too much in the way of equipment, but these chaps up the road may be worth talking to.

 

Worlds Underwater, Fayetteville, AR.

http://worldsunderwaternwa.com/

[NorthGaHillbilly]

Reef Shac in Atlanta, Shac's a top tier guy, and also a huge proponent of LEDs. You can find him on FB, or I can get your his contact info, his site is still in the works (newest store in ATL)

[michaelrzachmann]

absolutely fish in clifton nj is a LFS i could see loving to sell your lights if educated about them and they get a lot of customers

[rturiak]

Your lights would look great at East shore coral in Columbia SC! I was there yesterday and was super impressed with there systems, abundent knowledge, and how clean the place was!

[Sancho]

San Diego:

AquaSD, super awesome selection of corals with some fish

Aquatic Warehouse, mega fish section with a nice selection of corals as well

Vets Pets, great fish and knowledge

Shipwreck Cove, just reopened with new store and pretty sweet coral area and fish as well

Reefers garage, awesome lil needle in the haystack, great prices

+1 that is almost my list. I would add Encinitas Tropical Fish and Pet Kingdom. Although since this thing came out called the internet Amazon and Ebay are my go to places for Lights, Pumps and other hardware. Marine Depot, BRS and Fragtastic Reef have also been very good options. I like Fragtastic Reef they are always a couple dollars cheaper than the others. I have noticed that LFS have stopped stocking Lights pumps and other supplies and have focused on livestock. MAP pricing has made it impossible for the LFS to be competitive on some of these high priced items. Profit margins are slim and most of the money goes to the manufacturer. If your looking in San Diego Aquatic Warehouse, Pet Kingdom, and Encinitas Tropical Fish are the big 3 that still stock lights.

 

Online

1. Marine Depot

2. Fragtastic Reef

3. BRS

Local

1. Aquatic Warehouse

2. Encinitas Tropical Fish

3. Pet Kingdom

 

If anyone cares the reason I did not mention the other LFS in San Diego are Aqua SD is into high end coral and not hardware. Will has his sps under halides and the rest of the shop is either AI or Ecotech. Shipwreck Cove is a firm believer in T5. Vets Pets I have only been there a few times. Very knowledgeable staff but dont know how your lights would do there. Reefers Garage is my honorable mention and he could use someone like you to outfit his shop but I dont know how sales would be.

[Felicia]

Bay Area, CA

 

1) Aquatic Collection in Hayward, CA

2) Neptune Aquatics in San Jose, CA

[cuber14]

In southwest Connecticut the top 2 I shop at are Exotic fish and coral in Milford,Ct. http://exoticfishandcorals.com/and The Coralreef llc. In Stratford,Ct this one sells their own lights so I dont know if their a good choice but talk to Bobby the owner at Exotic fish and coral hes a good guy and will probably go for it.

You may want to contact Greenwich Aquaria and House of fins both in a very affluent part of Ct and are very high quality LFS.

http://www.greenwichaquaria.com/

http://www.houseoffins.com/

[DaveFason]

This is great guys! I can't thank you enough for the opinions and options on all of this.

 

-Dave

[tibbsy07]

In our area, Dave, The Fish Room in Raleigh and Cary. High customer number - though their livestock is poor and their prices are a bit high. The Reef Shack in Raleigh is a great place, though they sell their own DIY leds so thry may not work with you, but they deal and negotiate corals and have healthy systems, so they might. Plus i like that they are a local aquaculture facility.

 

I personally think Triad Reef Critters in Greensboro is the best and i make the 1+ hour drive when i can. They have one of your original lights on their tanks. Other than that, there isnt much here. This is partly why i dont shop much - dont trust online livestock deals, and the local stuff is ok but not great and the only place i really like is far enough away that it can be difficult to get to regularly.

[kimberbee]

I'll third Reefwise and add Aquatica in Tinley Park, IL

[matty0206]

Cuttlefish and Corals in Portland Or. http://www.cuttlefishandcorals.com/and The premium Aquarium in Salem Oregon http://www.thepremiumaquarium.com/would be good options in the Portland area.

[itsyahboydanny]

Summers Aquatics, Gainesville FL

[Halo_003]

Coral Reef Junkies

Coral Logic

 

- Jacksonville FL

[D Z]

I don't shop there too often because their distance from me but Top Shelf Aquatics and World Wide Corals are in Orlando, FL and have a good customer base.

Personally, for the Orlando area, I prefer Top Shelf and Living Reef. Although, WWC would get you a lot of exposure. You may want to look into all 3 since Orlando is so saturated in this market.

[nivekid]

Here in Southern California I only shop at a few places:

 

• Amazing Aquariums and Reefs in Orange, CA, http://www.amazingaquariumsandreefs.com- Ali is the owner and is a great guy. The shop is small, clean and nice.
• Mystic Reef in Riverside, CA, http://www.themysticreef.com- Two young brother own this shop. It is small and dirty, but they do a fair amount of business in the inland area.
• Age of Aquariums in Signal Hill, CA https://www.ageofaquariums.biz- Large LFS near Long Beach. They are a large operation and do tons of business in the area.

Good luck Dave!

[brad908]

Bay Area, CA

 

1) Aquatic Collection in Hayward, CA

2) Neptune Aquatics in San Jose, CA

 

+California Reef co.

 

Quantum Reefs in Springfield, VA. Probably the best physical store in the DC area. King of Corals is good too, but I moved after they relocated and changed their name, so I haven't seen what their new place looks like. Paul, the owner, was always super cool though.