Hello from Southern Maryland

[Travis442]

Hey everyone,

I have been kind of lurking around gathering information as I begin to set up my first reef aquarium which is going to start out in a standard 10 gallon tank. I have quite a bit of experience on the freshwater side, but have seen how much more expansive the saltwater side of fish keeping is. For my tank right now, I have an Aqua-clear 70, a preset 50w heater (will probably just use to get the tank going then upgrade later), Aqua Knight led light and a DIY lexan lid. I am planning on getting the tank wet just before Christmas (might move that timeline up sooner; I'm starting to get restless having an empty glass box). As I begin to get everything going, I will start a journal so you all can stay up to date and also help me out (inevitably) when needed.

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

to NR! 😊

[Jakesaw]

3 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

to NR! 😊

This!

[mcarroll]

You have any good stores around your area?

[Murphs_Reef]

Welcome to nano-reef 👍🏼

[Travis442]

 

11 hours ago, mcarroll said:

You have any good stores around your area?

Unfortunately no not that I know of, the only place local is Petco. Unless someone else local knows of a secret honey hole, it looks like I’ll be ordering mostly online.

[Fant]

Welcome aboard.. if it's close enough I would make https://pacificeastaquaculture.com/ high on the list of places to check out.

 

I spend my summers in the OC area.. love Delmarva.

 

[mcarroll]

I don't know where you are exactly but there are a few good ones in MD that are close to VA.   One I think is in Rockville?  Local is better than online any day of the week for livestock....don't even write Petco off wholesale.  That's actually where I got my Yellow Tang.....of all places.  (There are no real stores within an hour of me...). It totally depends who they have running the saltwater section, and what shape he livestock is really in.  (Online you never get to know any of that...you have no chance to avoid the fish that are sick, let alone the ones that just give you a bad vibe.  Be choosy when you go....be willing to come home with nothing every time.

 

(@Fant, PacificEast is awesome – maybe even worth the trip for some folks – but it's very far from everything, only partly thanks to the fact that there is no bridge to get there anywhere close to them...it's R-U-R-A-L...maybe 10 people live in that area and 5 of them are cows. 😉)

[Travis442]

2 hours ago, Fant said:

Welcome aboard.. if it's close enough I would make https://pacificeastaquaculture.com/ high on the list of places to check out.

 

I spend my summers in the OC area.. love Delmarva.

 

I will definitely add that to the places to visit. Every summer we go to OC multiple times. So I may just drag the fiance and kids along next time we’re out that way. 

[Travis442]

28 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

I don't know where you are exactly but there are a few good ones in MD that are close to VA.   One I think is in Rockville?  Local is better than online any day of the week for livestock....don't even write Petco off wholesale.  That's actually where I got my Yellow Tang.....of all places.  (There are no real stores within an hour of me...). It totally depends who they have running the saltwater section, and what shape he livestock is really in.  (Online you never get to know any of that...you have no chance to avoid the fish that are sick, let alone the ones that just give you a bad vibe.  Be choosy when you go....be willing to come home with nothing every time.

I’m In St Mary’s County, the Petco we have here has a couple of really good employees that are knowledgeable. They just lack in their selection of equipment/ supplies. The few guys that actually care about fish keeping that work there have done their best to try and grow their salt water section but have been hindered by a manager that believes that it would be a waste of time. As far as fish go, the saltwater tanks are always pristine when I go in, I was even surprised the other day to see that they had a red spined star. For the fish i will consider them for sure but for corals I’m definitely going to have to go elsewhere. 

[Fant]

48 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

I don't know where you are exactly but there are a few good ones in MD that are close to VA.   One I think is in Rockville?  Local is better than online any day of the week for livestock....don't even write Petco off wholesale.  That's actually where I got my Yellow Tang.....of all places.  (There are no real stores within an hour of me...). It totally depends who they have running the saltwater section, and what shape he livestock is really in.  (Online you never get to know any of that...you have no chance to avoid the fish that are sick, let alone the ones that just give you a bad vibe.  Be choosy when you go....be willing to come home with nothing every time.

 

(@Fant, PacificEast is awesome – maybe even worth the trip for some folks – but it's very far from everything, only partly thanks to the fact that there is no bridge to get there anywhere close to them...it's R-U-R-A-L...maybe 10 people live in that area and 5 of them are cows. 😉)

I haven't done business with Dr Mac in 15 years.. got some stuff from him when they were in Salisbury. I head there when I'm at my place in Bethany beach. So I just come out 54. So it depends which shore you are on.

 

I am willing to drive for a good store.. I run between southeastern pa and southern Delaware every weekend from May through September. 4-5 hours one way isn't far to me.

[Jakesaw]

1 hour ago, Travis442 said:

The few guys that actually care about fish keeping that work there have done their best to try and grow their salt water section but have been hindered by a manager that believes that it would be a waste of time. 

The manager is probably right financially.  More expensive fish, more sensitive to swings in tank, more equipment.  Smaller marketplace to sell to.  You can buy a guppy, dried food and a fishbowl at low entry with reasonable success predicted. S/W is a bit more commitment. 

 

That's why you see S/W specialty stores.  The owners have a passion for the hobby and the life inside the tanks.  The owners of Reef / SW stores support the retail store by travel regionally weekends for Coral swap shows.  Have an online presence.  You also see them closed a few days a week to clean / maintain customer tanks.  

[Travis442]

Yeah that’s understandable. 

[SantaMonica]

Maybe you could be the local cultivator/grower that sells small fish and frags from your location.

[Squid_reef]

Welcome!