Who lives the closest & farthest from a saltwater fish store? What do you do if you live FAR away?

How far away from a saltwater fish store do you live?

  • 0 - 5 miles

    Votes: 197 30.3%
  • 6 - 25 miles

    Votes: 237 36.5%
  • 26 - 50 miles

    Votes: 98 15.1%
  • 51 - 100 miles

    Votes: 61 9.4%
  • 101 - 150 miles

    Votes: 21 3.2%
  • 151 - 250 miles

    Votes: 14 2.2%
  • 250 miles+

    Votes: 14 2.2%
  • 500 miles+

    Votes: 1 0.2%
  • 1000 miles+ (you better post in the thread)

    Votes: 2 0.3%
  • 2500+ miles (where the heck are you)

    Votes: 5 0.8%

  • Total voters
    650

revhtree

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Thanks to @CanuckReefer for the QOTD idea today!

CanuckReefer - "Just thought to myself, as I was dreaming of a future cabin way out in the woods. Oh yes, the peacefulness lol. Many of us are lucky enough to live reasonably close to LFS or ability to have shipping overnight thankfully...however, what about those in extremely remote locations? How do they manage? Who on the site worldwide is the most remote and what do they do in terms of attempting to mitigate a problem if one arrives? Is there a reef in Antarctica, the far north of Norway, Canada etc that is hours and hours away from assistance on the site?"

Let's talk about this today!

1. How close to a saltwater fish store do you live? Tell us about it!

2. If you live FAR away how FAR are you?

3. For those that live too FAR away from a LFS to drive or to even get an overnight package how is reefing effected by the distance?


uktykyktkkt.png
 

MaxTremors

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I put 6-25 miles. I live less than a mile from a Petco that has salt water fish, and a quarter mile from an aquarium store that has some saltwater stuff but is mostly freshwater (they just recently opened and don’t have a lot of SW stock), but it’s around 15 miles to a dedicated SW/Reef store, and then there’s another one that’s roughly 20 miles away.
 

James_O

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1. How close to a saltwater fish store do you live? Tell us about it!
Takes me around 20 minutes to get to my LFS! Love how close it is, because the fish/coral don't get stressed out too much from that short of a drive.
 

CanuckReefer

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Bout 40 minutes to closest LFS, so not too bad. In and out of Toronto daily ( 1 1/2 hr drive) so often stop on way home and usually spend all kinds of money lol.
Anyone on the site a massive distance away with a reef? Antarctica lol?
 

davidcalgary29

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I have a ten-hour round trip drive to Edmonton for the closest LFS -- about 1000km of driving for mysis and the like. The only way to do this is to make a day of it, but I still end up driving in the dark on two lane highways with logging trucks and moose, which is certainly not ideal, and especially in wintry weather. In addition to Human Emergency Equipment, I always travel with Fish Emergency Equipment, including styrofoam coolers, heat packs, extra bags, and I even have a small pump with a USB port.
 

shanzfish

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Thanks to @CanuckReefer for the QOTD idea today!

CanuckReefer - "Just thought to myself, as I was dreaming of a future cabin way out in the woods. Oh yes, the peacefulness lol. Many of us are lucky enough to live reasonably close to LFS or ability to have shipping overnight thankfully...however, what about those in extremely remote locations? How do they manage? Who on the site worldwide is the most remote and what do they do in terms of attempting to mitigate a problem if one arrives? Is there a reef in Antarctica, the far north of Norway, Canada etc that is hours and hours away from assistance on the site?"

Let's talk about this today!

1. How close to a saltwater fish store do you live? Tell us about it!

2. If you live FAR away how FAR are you?

3. For those that live too FAR away from a LFS to drive or to even get an overnight package how is reefing effected by the distance?


uktykyktkkt.png
I put 6-25 but I think those stores are pretty awful, so I actually drive about 45 minutes to my favourite saltwater fish/coral store
 

CanuckReefer

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I have a ten-hour round trip drive to Edmonton for the closest LFS -- about 1000km of driving for mysis and the like. The only way to do this is to make a day of it, but I still end up driving in the dark on two lane highways with logging trucks and moose, which is certainly not ideal, and especially in wintry weather. In addition to Human Emergency Equipment, I always travel with Fish Emergency Equipment, including styrofoam coolers, heat packs, extra bags, and I even have a small pump with a USB port.
Wow, I knew you were far away but the way you've described it... now thats an adventure!
 

afrokobe

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I live super close to many stores. The closest one, Odyssey Pets, is about a mile down the street. The larger one, Fish Gallery, is about 2 miles away. Then I have petsmart, petco, and pet supplies plus all located very close to me, which all sell fish stuff. I have another bigger store, Dallas North Aquarium, about 5-7 miles from me as well.

Needless to say, I have a lot of lfs near me. Although, I don't really care for any of them. Odyssey Pets is probably my favorite.
 

Schraufabagel

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I live about 10 minutes from saltwater aquarium stores. Are they good... no. Realistically, I live about an hour and a half from good ones. Thankfully Wisconsin has some very good coral suppliers and shipping for online orders is always easy.

I just wish Madison had some better aquarium stores in general.
 

davidcalgary29

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Wow, I knew you were far away but the way you've described it... now thats an adventure!
Five hours of driving, followed by ten minutes of masked, panicky, rushed buying during the height of the pandemic...followed by five more hours of driving (and befouled highway "rest stops"). I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

This is nothing. Think of what the people in Yellowknife and Iqaluit have to do for supplies.
 

afrokobe

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Five hours of driving, followed by ten minutes of masked, panicky, rushed buying during the height of the pandemic...followed by five more hours of driving (and befouled highway "rest stops"). I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

This is nothing. Think of what the people in Yellowknife and Iqaluit have to do for supplies.
My gf thought I was crazy going to pick up coral from this guy who lived about an hour away. Granted I did go two weekends in a row...
 

Reefing102

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The closest true LFS is about 35 miles away. There’s an LFS near me (1.2 miles) but you’re lucky if they have any saltwater fish in and don’t sell coral
 

aws2266

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It takes me five minutes to get to one of the best LFS's. Gerbers Tropical Fish in Dayton, Ohio. They have an amazing selection. Outdoes anything I've seen in Cincinnati or Columbus. The staff are mostly hobbyists and is on the younger side, can't say I've had a bad experience there.

https://www.gerberstropicalfish.com/
 
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DracoKat

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I put 0-5 miles.

about 5 miles from home is a Pets Warehouse which is great.

And 3 blocks from my job is another Pets Warehouse, and 3 more within 10 miles from my job. I go at lunch time to get what i need/want and kills time at break too

Not counting chain stores like Petco
 

icedearth15324

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I have multiple Petcos within 1-3 miles from me. But the closest quality Reef store is about 6 miles. I used to regularly drive about 35 miles to my favorite store, but have cut back. I have driven over 1.5 hours though to check out a store before.
 

Koh23

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We have one saltwater fish store in whole country.... Which is great as they can get your order on bus and u get it within hours, and not great as selection is sparse, prices are very high.....

And few zoo shops who have some overpriced equipment, salt, and stuff...

So, local fish store is usualy some shack with tons of dogs and cat food, few tanks with semi dead godlfish, betas, and guppies, and tetra food ;)
 

Fishy888

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I live about 3 or more miles from a store that carries more freshwater than saltwater (but I have never seen a dead fish in any of their tanks so I get my stuff there. They also have a small amount of "live" rock left and as I can afford it I will be adding it to the 150 gallon tank I am starting as soon as I get it onto the stand. But I digress...). The best two stores (all saltwater) are an hour give or take and two hours away. Fortunately the best one is the closest one too.
 

kittenbritches

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The closest LFS to me is 12 miles away, but I haven't been there in about a decade -- their hours don't line up with my schedule (Tue-Sat, 11am-5pm -- I've got a job). The LFS that I use is Coral's Coral, which is 20 miles away. They are a mom-and-pop shop, which doesn't show online, but definitely shows in person. They are really kind, helpful people, which makes the long wait for help much more bearable. He even carried the live rock to my car for me. :) There was an LFS 2.5 miles from me (that I never went to), that sold their business and the new owners got out of saltwater.

I do most of my ordering of livestock (and equipment) online. Overall, that has worked well for me.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 27 49.1%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 29 52.7%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 10 18.2%
  • None.

    Votes: 13 23.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 3 5.5%
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