What store do you go to?

Just wondering what your favorite local fish store is and why you like it.
I like both vivid aquariums and aqua realm both have great customer support and take good care of their livestock.

Been going to Tat's in Ventura for years. Got to know the owner fairly well. Never had any issue swith any livestock I've bought from them.

Sorry but I can't say the same for other stors in the Ventura/T.O area.

I like extreme marine, especially their weekend sales.

I enjoy the owners of Fins in Camarillo. Love her store and her selection. If she doesn't have it she will order it fast.

Not a fan of Fins, really like Extreme, been years since i have been to tats

I want to swing by tats again. I haven't been there in about 4 years. I am sure things have changed. I have just been going to extreme. without a specific date(cause I'm not trying to solicit ) does tats ever have sales and does anyone know how to get their fliers like extreme?

Hey what happened to the other thread? I don't think it's wise to delete threads, you can close them, edit them, but you start down a slippery slope when you delete information.

reefer87 wrote:Well let's just make it to where she loses more money.

Reefer, that kind of statement can "legally" land you in hot water if the store owner wants to pursue it.

As well as posting a "bunch of yelp" just to make them lose business maybe construed as malice.

Take a deep breath you guys and cool off. As a small club you don't want to be making enemies this early. This is the kind of stuff that divides people in our hobby, there's absolutely no reason for it!!!

I would expect more from a board member. You can't be doing that.

I can share my experience with yelp and club members. I will not slander her business, just share my experience. The other thread was deleted because it was not allowed by our forum rules. It was decided before today to remove the thread.
If you want to know exactly what happened PM me, and i will share it, or look on yelp, the place for it.

As a board member, I do need to make sure that what happend today stays off of the forums. And I have edited my previous posts

Just as a side note. The thread that was deleted, was not intended to solicit, I intended it to be just a simple note to anyone that wanted to stop by and check out the sale. If anyone was offended I'm am truly sorry. Just to state the facts I did not receive anything in return for the post.

wow whats going on guys? ok so as president i think i need to step in on this. so here is how its going to go.

yes you can talk about your experience in a lfs. but leave it as just your experience there is no reason to be saying stuff to hurt them like that. if you had a bad experience than you had a bad experience share it with us and we will decide what to make of it. when you go so far as to bash them like that it makes this club look bad and that is not our plan for this club. so from now on write out your experience and leave it at that and please be kind there is no reason for bad language or threats or anything like that. be polite and mabbey even leave a comment saying what you think the store could do better.

as for soliciting i think it is fine to share sales from local places like that (derrick i know we talked about this last night but after thinking about it this is what ive come up with). MASVC is a club it is not a big forum like reef centeral and therfore we all basically know eachother. for this reason i think it is ok to share that type of info. even if it is not a sale from a sponsor of our club. we are not about making money in this club we are about helping eachother out and hellping this hobbie grow and helping local stores get bisness by mentioning a sale is not a bad thing this will help the hobby grow in our community. and like i said before we are not a big online forum so we are not trying to make money or anything we are just trying to help the hobby grow.

i hope this all makes sense and that we can move past this and make the club bigger and better for all of the saltwater community in the ventura county area.

thanks,
Nick

and please if you do need to comment on a lfs or other store or sale that you encountered make a new topic for it.

dwolson2 wrote:I can share my experience with yelp and club members. I will not slander her business, just share my experience. The other thread was deleted because it was not allowed by our forum rules. It was decided before today to remove the thread.
If you want to know exactly what happened PM me, and i will share it, or look on yelp, the place for it.

As a board member, I do need to make sure that what happend today stays off of the forums. And I have edited my previous posts

it dosent need to stay off the forums it just needs to be polite. there is no reason to put the store down like that. get what im trying to say?

I did, it may have been taken the wrong way. I would just say, I don't find her business ethics to my standard. I find it wrong to complain to one customer about another customer. Especially when I did tell the lady I was talking to that she needed. To buy something from fins(test kit)

Gee, I mieesed all the drama.

Clownfish, very well put.

Just a little "experience" from me. As long as I've been keeping tanks, both FW and SW here in teh Ventura area, I can tell you of bad experiences in just about every LFS there is in the area. Some have taken care of the problems, others have not.

If you don't like the way a store does bussiness or are unhappy with the merchandise you buy at the store, then vote with your feet and walk on over to another store to conduct your bussiness. Those who will not change and continue to do bad bussiness practices will not last long in this bussiness. Look at who's been around the longest. Not many stores have been here for a long time.

i started out going to tat in T.O then i went to aquarium connection but they closed but the owner of aquarium connection owns peters fish store in thresas pet store. i have a really good relationship with them. i also like extreme marine. these LFS have always been really cool and a good experience. i hope soon we can do big group coral buys from the wholesaler i think i have the connection if we spend enough lol

So today I became increasingly motivated to set up a RO/DI after purchasing fresh water at a LFS and actually receiving saltwater. I didn't realize this until I got home and wasted 2.5 cups of tropic Marin. frustrating

Luke,
That's a good idea, it's hard to pay someone for water that might or might not be RODI water, and if it's RODI does it have 0 TDS? You can definitely take the guess work out of it by getting yourself your own system.

I said it before but I'll say it again, when you factor in the cost of the unit the filter replacements etc, you are making salt water for pennies a gallon. Yes, it cost a bit more up front but it pays for itself rather quickly. I'm not sure what the LFS's are charging per gallon but I can assure you that they aren't giving it to you for what they are paying for it, why not cut out the middle man?

If you need some RODI water to dilute your 2 cups let me know, I just made 15 gallons and I haven't put any salt in it yet, let me know if you need a few gallons.

Thanks for the offer, the SG is at 1.054 right now!!! I am going to go back and have them replace the water- plus refund the diifference. They are charging 45cents per, which is about 5$ week.

I have to go back and find it but a guy on rc calculated what it actually cost to make your own rodi water, factoring in the cost of the unit, routine maintenance, filter changes, price of water out of your tap, average rejection of 3 to 1 etc... and he came up with $0.09 a gallon, and then factoring in the average price for salt it came out to be $0.14 a gallon for salt water. you're nearly paying 3 times that much just for rodi.

edit I was way off on the salt water price. depending on the salt you use, you have to add another 30-45 cents added onto the $0.09.

I use reef crystals and I paid $60 for 200 gallons. which is $0.30 per gallon.

Wow. That's good info.

Wow, really puts things into perspective. Any suggestions on brands of ro/di units?

it all depends on what kinds of bells and whistles you want. they come with gushes and inline tds meters and that can get pricey. many people suggest that you have an inline tds meter to make sure you stay up on when it's time to replace filters or di resin. I personally bought a 6 stage 75 gallon rodi system off ebay for $99, then bought a hand held tds meter to ensure proper water quality. I have had no complaints about not having all those extras on my setup.
if you don't go the route of ebay there are knuckles other choices, 2 of our sponsors sell them ( brs and air water andthe ice) I would also recommend melevs reef for a setup as well. those are a few choices and im sure some others will chime in as well.

Btw, what store made this mistake? If I bought store water I would use a handheld tds meter to check the water before I buy.

Lots of used units if you jump on it fast on RC.

One of the members on here is selling an rodi. Let me ask him for you.

nikecivic wrote:Btw, what store made this mistake? If I bought store water I would use a handheld tds meter to check the water before I buy.

I bought the water at Tats. I am in no way speaking badly of this store either, I truely enjoy everyone who works there and the service I receive.

It was a simple mistake. The water is all right next to each other. But that simple mistake could have destroyed the tank. I love tats as well but man that was a close call. Good catch. I would not of even noticed. Nice way to get a dead sea tank started though. Lol.

Ya, I bought water there just the other day, otherwise I would have tested it prior. I recalibrate my refrac every week just to make sure. It was a simply mistake, bu now I know which hose is which. I too love that store, very clean and good livestock. I brought home a diamond goby last night.

As for a handheld TDS meter, that's a good idea.

Yeah, tats has a very friendly atmosphere.

Do you test the tds of their rodi? I was getting water from all the store and had issues w algae a couple years back until I bought a tds meter. Eventually I bought my own rodi filter and is one of the best investments.

$40 for a unit on RC

www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2105456

That looks just like my ebay special, except the filter housings on mine are clear. Membranes and filters will roughly cost another $40.

Thanks, I just sent him a PM

I like Fins in Camarillo. It's close and the owner has always been kind and helpful to me. Some things may be pricey but the customer service I receive is unparalleled with other LFS. Several times she has sorted through the huge live rock bin to show me and cherry pick choice LR with coralline and polyps. I get a military discount as well, which I appreciate.
While I may be able to find better dry foods prices online, I have community pride and attempt to support all forms of local business. The selection seems to have greatly improved since she took over for that previous undesirable individual.

I come from Orange County and still visit there on a regular basis. 2 weekends a month. I usually try and do my shopping down there, the stores in TO/Ventura have a little higher prices than i am used to. Also, with HB/Garden Grove being so close to the port of long beach you get very good quality products at low prices.

If anyone ever wants me to pick up anything or video chat them while i am shopping at Tongs, Eye Candy, Coral Collection, Seaside Tropical, 405 Tropical, Reef Lounge or Tropical Fishworld. I am always at these stores.

I prefer TONGS. I personally know David the owner from Tongs Fountain Valley, i have been doing business with their store in Fountain Valley for many many years. They have some of the best livestock i have ever seen and they always have nice corals in. They get the really rare stuff, and if they don't have it they will order it for me.

Is david partner with tongs in Whittier ?

Ya im pretty sure it is a family company

Yeah I like tongs in whittier but that one in Whittier to me they're a lil pricey I always went to discount tropical in la habra

Tongs can be a bit pricey if you just walk in and don't know anyone but they will give you a deal if you are a frequent customer. If you or anyone you know has ever been to any of the wholesalers you can ask them about this. Every time I go there all of the top notch corals and fish always say "reserved for tongs"

Has any heard of aquatic reef designs in Ventura? Just saw there maintenance van at trader joes today. Never heard of them. They do have a website..but wasn't helpful...

Saybng wrote:Has any heard of aquatic reef designs in Ventura?  Just saw there maintenance van at trader joes today. Never heard of them. They do have a website..but wasn't helpful...

You know I saw the guy at the wholesale last tuesday. Not sure what he is all about.

Its the older lady (Dotti) that used to have a store on seaward years ago by Von's . She has been doing tank servicing for years. Since TAT. Closed they decided to open up they small warehouse where they store there stuff to the public. Not much to look at. She has a helper . That's probably who you saw at the wholesaler. Their shop is on Eastman in Ventura

Wow is it really Dotti, I use to go to her store in SB back in 98' , as a matter a fact bought a few tanks from her. Ill have to give her a visit if its the same person.

bringing this thread back from the dead!

i recently went to dotti's store and ya thats the same person. i went to her store waaaay back when in santa barbara with my pop. she treated me like a grandkid haha even now even though she didnt remember me. she hooked it up on a picasso clownfish and live rock when i went there last. super reasonable prices. but watch out cuz she will talk your ear off haha

I brought my 2 clowns from her years ago.

Just went last month. Their getting pretty cool stuff now.

I almost exclusively shop at Reef Lounge in Orange County these days. I will venture over to Aquatic Reef Designs here and there. Sometimes Dottie has good deals on large colonies. Extreme Marine IMO is getting better now that Aaron is there but the prices still make me feel like i'm getting taken a little bit. 14.95 for filter socks? or $19.99 for a small container of carbon.. it kinda hurts the piggy bank. Dry goods = Online, livestock = Reef Lounge. They QT AND they have the best prices around. Let me know if you guys ever want me to check price down there. I know they have great pricing sometimes. IE Small Purple Tangs 79.99 3 inch. 69.99 on sale.

I have no need to shop at any LFS but if I were to I would most defiantly use the inter web for dry goods and Aquarium City or Vivid Aquariums. Aquarium city goes to quality marine which is the best fish wholesale in California. Fish leave QM ready for tank life so their is really no reason for QT. Vivid also uses quality marine for fish and they also qt their fish with the bonus of a 7 day guarantee. Vivid is more on the pricy side but worth it in that they will give you that guarantee. Also note that if you go to a specific LFS because they have cheaper fish, just remember they got those fish at a cheap wholesale so the chance of survival is much less. I talked to Aaron at Extreme and he said they are now going to Sea Dwelling Creatures (my number 2 choice) where they were previously going to All Seas marine (absolute worst fish wholesale). So if you didn't have good luck before at extreme marine give them another chance. Not sure where Dottie goes and I have never been in there so I can't comment about here store at this time.

Thanks for that info mxreefer, I've had bad luck with fish from extreme so I may give them another shot now. The Aaron that you guys speak of working there now is the Aaron that used to be a part of this club?

I'll have to check out both stores, I need to get a blue tang and a flame angel.

I go to ATM and I go there because I get deals on coral and fish and well its ATM