• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

Aqua Ocean's - Rt 9 in North Toms River

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Maybe I missed it but I'm surprised there aren't any reviews for Aqua Ocean's in this forum. I was just there and picked up a couple of really nice fish.

Here's a quick review of the store:

Physically, it's kind of small. There aren't a lot of pristine, beautifully maintained tanks. Instead, there's only one small wall of tanks with fish, another with some coral and another with some inverts. Nothing fancy, it's definitely a no frills place. BUT, Steve is one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. He's been running the store, pretty much by himself, for about 150 years (seriously, at least 20). He's extremely knowledgeable and very willing to explain things to you. He's just an all around good guy to deal with.

The real thing he has going for him though are his fish prices. I'm always shocked at how low his prices are. It's is very common for him to be selling fish for LESS than on line stores. I've had a lot of luck with everything I've bought from him, too. The fish are generally very healthy and he always feeds them for you before he bags them up so that you can see them eat.

The downside to the store is that his selection is hit or miss. You never know what you're going to find when you walk in there but Steve will order just about anything you want. Another thing is that they're only open Tuesday through Saturday.

Steve isn't an internet guy and admits that he never reads anything written about him on line. He seemed a little surprised but was happy to know that he has a very loyal fan base.
 
I've been going there since I first got into the hobby in 1990. I've always been very happy with the fish, coral, and inverts from him. But you're right about the "hit or miss" part. And man, does he need a maid.
 
I've been dealing with Steve for years, always been happy and I always try to refer people to him. His prices cant be beat.... He's still the cheapest on snails, hermits and fish.... Home of the $1 snail

and he's a great guy always willing to help :)
 
Went there today for some snails and I had probably the best experience I've ever had at a LFS

1st off, he mostly had Astreas and Bumblebees which wasn't what I wanted. No big deal but anyways. STRIKE ONE!!!

2nd, I wanted to buy a very nice Kole Tang from him but he wouldn't sell it because he said he's having trouble getting it to feed
STRIKE TWO!!!

3rd and the kicker!!!
I asked him if he had any Hydor Koralia's in stock, he says yes I've got the 1's & 2's!
I'm looking for a #4
STRIKE THREE!!!

But wait! It's a foul tip! He tells me the ONLY #4 he's got left he's using in one of his tanks but I can have it at a discount if I want it!!!
WOW! HOMERUN!!!

He gave me $15 off his regular price of $55 (already a good price) So I got a just about brand new #4 for $40 beans!!!

He also gave me a big bunch of Grape Caulerpa for absolutely free!

Couldn't believe it, guy won't sell me a fish because he actually cares about #1 the fish, and #2 the customer, then he gives me a great deal on a pump, then he gives me free macro! Awesome job Steve, I know you'll never read this but thanks a ton.

Great store and great guy!
 
Here's my weekend experience at Aqua Oceans. My girlfriend was looking for a 15 gallon high. She gave Steve a call to see if he had one. He said he did, which made her scream for joy since no other store had one in stock. We get there and Steve goes downstairs to retrieve the tank. He says we have to talk. Uh-oh. He THOUGHT it was a 15 gallon high but it was a 20 gallon EXTRA high. Mind you I'm not thrilled with the dimensions but my girlfriend is willing to settle. He gives it a once over, sees a couple of chips along the the back of the tank and says we could have it for free!

We get it home, fill it with water and no leaks!! I almost don't mind staring at this thing since the price was right.

Oh, and I'm the guy who bought his 7 gallon mini-bow. He offered that at a bargain price as well- complete set up minus livestock.
 
I finally had an opportunity to revisit Aqua Oceans after several years and was happy to see that except for his greying hair,to say nothing of my own :'(, Steve (the owner) not only remembered me but he also remains as friendly and helpful as ever. His prices for healthy livestock are still low relative to most LFS's and I picked up a nice ORA Orchid Pseudo for my nano. Please see my review in the REVIEWS section.

Dom
 
yeah, Steve is a great guy and i dont think there will be ANY negative posts about him. i live like 10 minutes away from him so im there a few times a week, usually just to BS with him. the only downfall about AquaOceans is a "certain" customer who regularly goes there and asks for free frags or corals from other customers("free samples", as he calls it).
 

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
ReefBuilderNJ said:
yeah, Steve is a great guy and i dont think there will be ANY negative posts about him. i live like 10 minutes away from him so im there a few times a week, usually just to BS with him. the only downfall about AquaOceans is a "certain" customer who regularly goes there and asks for free frags or corals from other customers("free samples", as he calls it).

I'm glad I've never run into that customer while I was there. Sounds like a bit of a freeloader!

It really can't be said enough what a great guy Steve is. Don't go there expecting to be blown away by a big, clean store (quite the contrary) but if you want to talk to a guy who's been in the hobby since fish were put in the ocean, Steve's your man!
 
ReefBuilder, I know who your talking about, give an example of Steve's character, the guy always gives Steve a hard time asking for free stuff, fish & corals takes up his time and hardly buys anything, Steve has always been pollite to this guy (throws in the occasional sarcasm) but never was nasty too him. It's funny to watch sometimes. I would have told the guy to go you know where if it was me.
 
lol.. yes mott..him. and johns you probably know who this guy is and if not, dont worry, you will meet. anyway, i agree with johns and mott, enough cant be said about steve and this does say alot about steve's character.
 
Is this store the home of the "sealed unit saltwater filter"? I have read about a store in Toms River where the owner of the store has created some type of saltwater filter that is a sealed unit. It never needs to be cleaned out or media changed. If I emember correctly, the system also boasted this would be the end of frequent water changes.

Just curious

Jim
 
Top