Show off your LFS!!! Post up a pic (or maybe a few of them!) and tell us about why you frequent this shop!

GlassMunky

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Messages
2,674
Reaction score
3,402
Location
Philly
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
@tsmaquatics , Matt sold me my very first fish since getting back into saltwater keeping :)
This news was heartbreaking….
I stopped in to the store unannounced not knowing they were closed to the public, like 3 days before it happened, and Matt, just like always, made an exception, let us in and took care of what we needed without any complaints and in a heartbeat.

To me, them loosing MATT is going to make them like a whole new store, he was the one who was always there and always so friendly. (Not that the other employees weren’t)
 

Danroo

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Messages
504
Reaction score
366
Location
USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is the closest to my house I usually go there after work and I really like their collection. If there are good lfs in New Jersey please let me know.

the owner is pretty knowledgeable and friendly, can tell me if I’m having problems with my tank barely had them and I mistook something and he told me that problem might be different, I might saved money cause of that.
 

Attachments

  • 9A654C57-0C36-4F6F-B75E-144A03B75F93.jpeg
    9A654C57-0C36-4F6F-B75E-144A03B75F93.jpeg
    253.9 KB · Views: 57
  • 116C855D-9CE7-4FE6-878D-23DF41FB2397.jpeg
    116C855D-9CE7-4FE6-878D-23DF41FB2397.jpeg
    244 KB · Views: 58

iamahab

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Messages
215
Reaction score
111
Location
seattle
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Living in seattle you'd think that there'd be plenty of options but there's not.There are plenty of small freshwater places. I have petco and a local place I wouldn't buy anything but dry goods from.I do not own a car so bussing it to the east side and buying livestock or corals is out of the question.
 

BrianH

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2021
Messages
16
Reaction score
13
Location
07436
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is the closest to my house I usually go there after work and I really like their collection. If there are good lfs in New Jersey please let me know.

the owner is pretty knowledgeable and friendly, can tell me if I’m having problems with my tank barely had them and I mistook something and he told me that problem might be different, I might saved money cause of that.
Not sure where in Jersey you are but here are some places in North Jersey I like.

Absolutely Fish
Sea Level Aquarium
Iconic Aquarium
 

DannoOMG

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 23, 2021
Messages
495
Reaction score
438
Location
NH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0

^^^ This is my go to for the moment.

Had another in the town I live in but the guy who used to maintain all their saltwater had to quit to make more money for himself. Their saltwater tanks are starting to go to hell.
 

Lebdeb87

New Member
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2021
Messages
13
Reaction score
6
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is the closest to my house I usually go there after work and I really like their collection. If there are good lfs in New Jersey please let me know.

the owner is pretty knowledgeable and friendly, can tell me if I’m having problems with my tank barely had them and I mistook something and he told me that problem might be different, I might saved money cause of that.
Is this Ocean Gallery? I bought my 25g nano from them. If you haven't been there yet, check out Reefco a couple miles down the road! They're a little pricier, but you definitely get quality there. Their store is immaculate and they have a bigger selection of corals. Here is a preview of their shop.
 

LeftyReefer

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Messages
2,535
Reaction score
2,821
Location
Saginaw
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I may not have the best LFS, but I bet I have one of the biggest, if not the biggest. lol

Their new building takes up almost an entire block.

They recently put a video of a quick tour of their facilities on their facebook page.
doesn't show much (anything) of the actual LFS, but lots of the other behind the scenes stuff they do.

LFS tour

They started out as a water feature/pond installation company and recently expanded into the aquarium biz. They opened the LFS just before the pandemic hit. They are by far the best place to go locally for aquarium supplies, and one of the only LFS's around here that sells saltwater fish. Most LFS's around here are freshwater only. not many carry saltwater unless you want to drive 2+ hours. For only being in biz for 2 years, they seem to be doing much better than any other LFS around here. They are pretty new to corals... they only have a couple frag tanks, and don't grow out anything themselves yet...

As with most LFS, I do occasionally see a fish with ICH in their tanks, so I be sure to QT anything I get from them.. but compared to most other saltwater LFS here, they have a good selection and GREAT prices. much cheaper than other stores for fish. They also build custom acrylic tanks and now make complete systems with stands and tanks and also do custom acrylic tanks/systems.

few pics (stolen from their facebook page)
263978790_4504288032972511_6047728075086474409_n.jpg


243911217_4285307914870525_6249011157014197302_n.jpg


241056509_4188698584531459_2552631021814600292_n.jpg


At Bluethumb, they take blue very seriously... the lights are blue, the shirts are blue, thumbs obviously, and even the hair is blue at Bluethumb. lol

247885181_4372595789475070_811941176211278536_n.jpg


Custom acrylic tanks built in-house.

245922320_4332181643516485_3633496435458141746_n.jpg


240594353_4197966400271344_1102761710190161906_n.jpg

176798706_3814401591961162_7686549618372055139_n.png


many of their display tanks were built in-house. Like this reef drop-off tank.

255937518_4414420798625902_6506129505972063808_n.jpg


Or their freshwater plant tank.
239734857_4156710241063627_6641346065963793956_n.jpg


Building some giant tanks and stand combos for some customer... (Four 96"x36"x16" coral frag tanks w/ overflows)
131347347_3450816038319721_3470714654107418456_n.jpg
 

Danroo

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Messages
504
Reaction score
366
Location
USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is this Ocean Gallery? I bought my 25g nano from them. If you haven't been there yet, check out Reefco a couple miles down the road! They're a little pricier, but you definitely get quality there. Their store is immaculate and they have a bigger selection of corals. Here is a preview of their shop.

Yup ocean gallery. Reefco looks great. Thanks I’ll check ‘em out.
 

RobB'z Reef

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2020
Messages
2,783
Reaction score
5,772
Location
Eau Claire
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I unfortunately don't have a decent lfs near me. All I have is a few petcos (one of them actually isn't too bad) and a little mom and pops store that'll occasionally get in a few saltwater fish.
So my favorite not so local fish store is a 9 hour round trip for me and it's worth it. Here are some pics I stole off of facebook.

Here is one of their grow out tanks
FB_IMG_1643345591406.jpg


Here is a picture of several of their frag tanks
aboutus4.jpg


Here is where my family sits because they're bored because I've been in the fish store for way to long.
FB_IMG_1643345759853.jpg

That's not my kid I just found the pic of their sitting area online.
9 hour drive and you didn't even mention the name of it?
 

Gtinnel

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2020
Messages
21,074
Reaction score
29,647
Location
Charleston, WV
Rating - 0%
0   0   0

Gtinnel

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2020
Messages
21,074
Reaction score
29,647
Location
Charleston, WV
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
9 hour drive and you didn't even mention the name of it?
I didn't think about it, but it's Nemo's Reef in Charlotte, NC. I love the store and I can see their current fish stock and prices on their website so I know if it's worth the trip. They also sell corals online, but the frag tanks for online orders is only about 1/4 of their in store frag tanks.

 

JaimeAdams

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 22, 2015
Messages
4,102
Reaction score
5,879
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've been wanting to go there and I've been up that way several times but they're always closed on the days I could stop.
Let me know next time. I'll come open the doors and we can take a ride over to check out the owners grow out tanks too.
 

Mr_Knightley

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 30, 2019
Messages
2,677
Reaction score
6,686
Location
Southeast USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Dang, I thought my store was top-notch, but it's half the size of most of these ones!
I go to Pure Reef in Alpharetta, GA. The other stores I know of in my area are OK, but one of them duped the crap out of me when they were moving my tank, and the other one tried to increase revenue by becoming an 'all-pet' store and the fish section is suffering hardcore.
Back to Pure. They have the highest prices, smallest coral selection, and most limited staff, however they make up for it 100 times over in their fish selection. They frequently get rare fish in, and almost always have a couple of monster tangs or quirky wrasses in stock. They also get their frags straight from WWC, which is neat, however that contributes to their increased prices. These past few years have been really yucky for them coral selection wise, so I'm hoping that things will pick back up now that the Solomon islands are opening for export.
But the greatest thing about the shop is their staff. it's run by a husband and wife & their son, and all of the staff is kind and helpful. I've been gifted things & given discounts on things more times than I can count, and nobody there is afraid to tell me not to do something. They'll stop someone from making a stupid purchase & redirect them to a better option, or ask them to wait until a tank is more mature.

I don't have any pictures of the store myself, so I'll link their ancient website, which has a gallery of photos.
 

mbmax

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 12, 2014
Messages
243
Reaction score
253
Location
Watchung, nj
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have visited all LFS in New Jersey and definitely my favorite one is Reefco .
The best selection and cleanest tanks I have seen. If you want a rare fish, you could order from them . Very knowledgeable staff too.
 

Noxsolaris

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 11, 2022
Messages
206
Reaction score
346
Location
Virginia Beach
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have two go-to’s here in Virginia Beach. Aquariums unlimited and Premier Aquatics. AU has a wide selection of fresh and salt with a jaw dropping 900 gallon reef in the back of the store. The have a good range of equipment and dry goods with a very knowledgeable staff. Their prices are reasonable, but definitely higher than premier. Premier is salt only and a super clean store. They have some really beautiful DTs and competitive pricing. The frags for coral grown in the store are significantly cheaper than what you can get elsewhere. The owner is very knowledgeable and friendly. It feels like the planet fitness of reef stores; judgement free zone.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top