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LFS you shop at

njtiger24 aquariums

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
Guys,
I have been thinking of this topic for awhile now and just seeing the other post made me want to bring it to the group. I know we done the "where are you from" thread but I would like to do a "where do you shop" thread. I am not looking for this to turn into a dump on one store or another. Please just list shops you been to, pros/cons, and anything else you would like to.

I will start off:

I live in the southern tip of Ocean Country (right by LBI) and I have been to the following places:

Ocean Aquarium - 6820 Black Horse Pike Egg Harbor Township, NJ
- This is my go-to shop cause its where I started going when I got into this hobby. The owner is a nice guy and has helped me out (with picking out the right stuff) when I started out. *knock on wood* I only had one fish issue from there but I blame that on me and not the place (I put a copper butterfly in a 36g tank and it got ich). His prices are not too bad.

Reef About - 5303 Atlantic Ave Ventnor City, NJ
- I been to this place once and really liked it. I picked up my Rainbow nem from him cause he had it at a price I couldn't pass up. His prices seem good. He has a small shop but I felt it was well stocked for it's size. The owner was very friendly.

Aquarium Care Center - 1105 State Route 35 Ocean, NJ
- This is where I got my Blue Voodo, and two card fish from. This place is very clean and has a great display tank. They are kids friendly (they had a bucket of toys that my girls played with while I looked around).

Aquarium Center - 1295 Blackwood Clementon Road Clementon NJ
- This place was huge and I believe they are moving or have moved. They had some great stuff to choose from. I need to take a trip back out there soon.

Petco - State wide
- I been to multiple Petcos and the only thing I gotten was my sand star. Their prices are fair but I just have not seen anything I liked yet.
 
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Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Aquatic Obsessions is my fav.
- shop at peace. They do not rush you to ask what you want. This is no used car store - it's a store for experienced hobbyists who know what they want
- healthy and varied saltwater livestock - i have yet to bring home anything sickly. Have I killed my fair share of healthy fish? sadly yes.
- it's not a big place so do not go to expect to shop around for an hour or such.
- funny story- customer buying fw fish also asked owner for clownfish. an unscrupulous seller might have just bagged it and sold it, but the owner asked if they had saltwater tank. Person didn't know. owner didn't sell the clownfish. the look on his face made me think he was second guessing even selling the FW fish. HA ha ha!
 
Trio91

Trio91

Administrator
Staff member
Moderator
-Ocean's Gallery 980 Route 22 East. North Plainfield, NJ 07060
nice place, big and a decent selection. i tend to go here to pick media. with my tank stocked ive been trying to avoid this place so i don't make an impulse buy

-Underwater world 1561 Morris Ave, Union, NJ 07083
this was my place place that i was going to for years as it's really close to me. management changed and it kinda went down hill from there. i hear from a fellow local reefer that the guy maybe trying to sell this place

-Sea Level Aquarium 28 US-46, Pine Brook, NJ 07058
when i have free time to go out to this place i make the trip. nice but small, quality stock. when i make the trek, i absolutely have to come home with something to make up for the long journey

-Manhattan Aquariums 522 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018
Nice tank, quality stock but very expensive, too expensive for my taste. i work in Ny so when i have time to kill waiting for my next bus to arrive at port authority, ill go in for a peek

-Petco
several locations when i am looking for dog food, i have found some nice items at one in particular ( i believe it is in Watchung)
 
Russell Bennett

Russell Bennett

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Absolutely Fish- Very busy but very knowledgeable helpful. I really love the store probably one of the best Aquarium stores I have been to. I get my RO water there as an excuse to go in.

Fish Hut- Great FW- Cichlid section. I bought my tank there nice guys.

Sea Level Aquariums- small but helpful great selection of coral imo or they had all the stuff I like anyway lol
 
Aeb1419

Aeb1419

I go to fengs reef still. Its not the best but he does give me prices that nobody can beat. Even gives me stuff for free sometimes. He hasnt taken care of it ever since he moved because he has just to much on his plate after buying the whole building.

I also go to aquatic obsessions. Its a nice place.

My favorite petco is the one in bridgewater circle. They really take care of the tanks there and its the first petco ive seen where they have a dedicated frag tank. Prices for fish are great and everything looks healthy. Whoever is taking care of the fish dept is really doing a great job.
 
dastrader

dastrader

Elos AquaStudio (closest to me)
Aquatic Obsessions (Not so much in the last few years as it is much further away, but in the past I used to make it down there some)
Petco (East Hanover is the closest and very hit or miss, but the Bridgewater is better as the previous poster said)
Ely's (in Florahm Park, mostly freshwater and way too expensive, but interesting to visit)
 
NyteGTI

NyteGTI

DaveK said:
If you want to kill most of the day, a visit to Pacific East Aquaculture (Dr Mac) is a fantastic experience. Here is their web page with the store information (Offsite) - Pacific East Aquaculture Coral Farm and Tropical Fish for Aquariums

If you make the trip, there are no shipping charges. If you make the trip in summer be aware that you may hit some Delaware and Maryland shore traffic.
Click to expand...

We actually had a small club group go down there and check out his facility, had lunch, & bought a ton of corals. Dr. Mac was awesome and was just throwing out random prices since we were a group. this was a few years ago, we should do it again soon. I'm pretty sure @jose7878 's wallet has recovered since then ;)
 
njtiger24 aquariums

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
NyteGTI said:
We actually had a small club group go down there and check out his facility, had lunch, & bought a ton of corals. Dr. Mac was awesome and was just throwing out random prices since we were a group. this was a few years ago, we should do it again soon. I'm pretty sure @jose7878 's wallet has recovered since then ;)
Click to expand...
That sounds like fun.
 
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