south jersey reefers

[chilwil84]

Ocean aquarium near ac has finally decided to carry ora frags and clams along with some other nice aquacultered pieces.

[Alysiak00]

is it a "jersey thing" lol

[chilwil84]

everybody in south jersey knows there is a big line drawn across the state dividing us into our 2 different worlds.

[bobbychullo]

is it a "jersey thing" lol

lmao!!!

[Alex T.]

Yup. I just bought the Hawkins Blue Echinata there last Friday.

Where are you? PM me. I don't know many other reefers around the area.

[JG1]

Gotta check it out. I'm in Sicklerville

[Alex T.]

Don't rush over just yet. All they have left is an ORA green birdsnest and the Verde Acro. They get all new livestock shipments every Tuesday usually by noon.

I'm pretty close with John, the owner. He said he was just trying some SPS out to see how they sell. I've been begging him for 2 years, but he feels that all he can move are the softies and some LPS. By the way, for a previous poster...none of Ocean Aquarium's clams are ORA...never have been. John has another supplier for clams and other inverts.

JG1, if you'd like I could PM you to let you know what's there tomorrow. Going to be working a half day and have to stop in for some frozen Mysis.

[JG1]

JG1, if you'd like I could PM you to let you know what's there tomorrow. Going to be working a half day and have to stop in for some frozen Mysis.

That sounds great but I don't even have a tank yet LOL. Been waiting two months and finally I'll have it next Friday. It will be a few months before I'm ready to start stocking but I'm glad there's a quality store near by!

[NewJerseyreef]

i deffinatly have to check this out! and yes check my location its a line

[chilwil84]

according to Jason (and the on the paper on the tank)the clams in the 1st tank on the rack were ora. i have been goin there for almost 5 years and used to supply them with a bunch of softies and chaeto for a couple of the years. the stuff (aquacultered duncans and sps, and assorted brains) in the 3rd tank were from there wholesaler in cali.



ps
i grabbed the verde while i was there but there was still a pearlberry the other day along with the birdsnests


i live at exit 58


the ora stuff gets fedexed to the store so it wont always come the day they go to philly airport to get the saltwater stuff

[JG1]

Does this place sell decent LR?

[john90009]

I think im up at the divide line right in the center : / theres no reefers in my area up by toms river. its either way up north or way down south. Thats good another store is carrying ora. i guarantee the ora frags that no one buys lives longer then any wild coral he has in there.

[chilwil84]

I think im up at the divide line right in the center : / theres no reefers in my area up by toms river. its either way up north or way down south. Thats good another store is carrying ora. i guarantee the ora frags that no one buys lives longer then any wild coral he has in there.


there used to be a few guys from new jersey reefers in toms river, i am not sure who is still there now though. do the stores on rt 88 still stock anything good. the 2nd one closer to pt pleasant used to carry show size fish like 12" + sohol tangs, not that i would buy a wild fish of that size but it was interesting to see.

[chilwil84]

Does this place sell decent LR?

they usually have decent looking rock but a little expensive. i usually get mine from the hidden reef near philly (better half grew up down the road from it) for 3.50 a pound and i think it will be 2.50 for there sale nov 20

[john90009]

nah both route 88 stores are closed. i would never shop there for coral there lights were were the same since they first started the place, corals and clams lost all the colors they have. Only person from toms river i knew was tom (mott) but hes out and jersey wendy left to.

[JG1]

they usually have decent looking rock but a little expensive. i usually get mine from the hidden reef near philly (better half grew up down the road from it) for 3.50 a pound and i think it will be 2.50 for there sale nov 20

Oh yeah? THR has decent live rock? I'll have to check it out

[Richard Reefer]

This is good news, last time I was there they didn't have much, I'll have to check it out again.

[Richard Reefer]

Oh yeah? THR has decent live rock? I'll have to check it out


I like their live rock and it's fairly priced, it's one of my favorite stores to visit.

[keith sprague]

i bought the ice tort from john.gonna grab some more pieces next week or so.hes got the tanks up to par for frags so keep letting him know your interested and we can have ORA coral in SJ close to home and no shipping cost. +you can see what you are gettin.they were all nice frags this week hawkins real nice and the belina too.not as nice as my ice tort though LOL.

[JG1]

I like their live rock and it's fairly priced, it's one of my favorite stores to visit.

Nice. My tank will be here next Friday and I went to get some LR relatively soon. I was going to order the bali alor LR from premium aquatics but i'll check out THR first.

[chilwil84]

i bought the ice tort from john.gonna grab some more pieces next week or so.hes got the tanks up to par for frags so keep letting him know your interested and we can have ORA coral in SJ close to home and no shipping cost. +you can see what you are gettin.they were all nice frags this week hawkins real nice and the belina too.not as nice as my ice tort though LOL.

hopefully he will use his dedicated tank under greeny soon.

[twistedreefer]

hey all. it was real nice walking into ocean aq a few weeks ago. i really hope they keep them nice so there are a few choices before having to make a roadtrip. anyways, my name is Len and im a reefaholic. nice to know there are a few ppl down here with salt tanks. Im down near Cape May

[keith sprague]

well i told him to start getting the word out he is gonne carry ORA he will draw some people in.that plus with the up keep on his sps tank ill be there for more.

[keith sprague]

hey all. it was real nice walking into ocean aq a few weeks ago. i really hope they keep them nice so there are a few choices before having to make a roadtrip. anyways, my name is Len and im a reefaholic. nice to know there are a few ppl down here with salt tanks. Im down near Cape May

+1 on a reefaholic.wish i had just half the $$ i spent over the years on this addiction. but at the end of the night a little jack on the rocks a recliner and a beautiful reef tank, really mellows me out:beer:

[JG1]

Well my tank will finally be here next Friday.......Miracles is sending it to a depot in South Hampton.

Probably gonna have to rent a U-Haul truck cause I don't have a pickup truck. Anyone know if they change by the mile or by the hour?

[mityoak]

Hi all,Turnesville here, just outside Philly. Can anyone tell me the address ,I'd like to check it out

[Alex T.]

chilwil84,

Check your Verde frag...I'll bet you it's the Pearlberry!!!

I was correcting Jason the other night about John mislabeling all the frags that came in from ORA. I picked up the Verde two days ago. After showing Jason the pictures on Diver's Den of the true Pearlberry and Verde acros, John chimed in and said that he didn't pay much attention to them when pulling out of the bags. He just knew what he had to make on them all as profit, so labeled them as to what he thought they were. Pretty funny.

But hey...in six months or so I'd love to get a frag of the Pearlberry if you want a piece of the Verde.

[twistedreefer]

+1 on a reefaholic.wish i had just half the $$ i spent over the years on this addiction. but at the end of the night a little jack on the rocks a recliner and a beautiful reef tank, really mellows me out:beer: ill give a big Amen to that. getting lost in the tank is a great way to end the day. now i just need to get moving on one i can snorkel in:lmao:

[chilwil84]

chilwil84,

Check your Verde frag...I'll bet you it's the Pearlberry!!!

I was correcting Jason the other night about John mislabeling all the frags that came in from ORA. I picked up the Verde two days ago. After showing Jason the pictures on Diver's Den of the true Pearlberry and Verde acros, John chimed in and said that he didn't pay much attention to them when pulling out of the bags. He just knew what he had to make on them all as profit, so labeled them as to what he thought they were. Pretty funny.

But hey...in six months or so I'd love to get a frag of the Pearlberry if you want a piece of the Verde.

you might be right. i had what i thought was everything(they got but the verde)the piece i got from the hidden reef a year ago i never really questioned there label until i searched verde pics the other day. so what i thought was a pearlberry in my tank that has since colored up since my purchase prob is the verde. so either way i got a new piece.

i am happy they are finally catching up with the times. i was trying for years to get them to move past old tech. when they 1st started carrying the korillias they couldnt belive how fast they were selling them, and when a few weeks ago i go in and they showed me the t5 setups they were building for they tanks i laughed because they just put the computer fans on the wall to help with the temp while running 2+ year old halide bulbs. hopefully they will carry some skimmers from the 21 century soon, but after the conversation about the giant beckett they brought up from downstairs i am not going to hold my breath.

after reading what i just wrote its time to put down the bacardi

[keith sprague]

Well my tank will finally be here next Friday.......Miracles is sending it to a depot in South Hampton.

Probably gonna have to rent a U-Haul truck cause I don't have a pickup truck. Anyone know if they change by the mile or by the hour?

by the day and the mile.shouldnt any more than a high end frag LOL

[keith sprague]

Hi all,Turnesville here, just outside Philly. Can anyone tell me the address ,I'd like to check it out

hop on rt 40 when you go under the parkway overpass its bout a mile or so on the left after that

[chilwil84]

was by today there were a couple sps frags, zenia and a couple ora clams left.

[keith sprague]

stopped in today was told another order of ORA was coming in thursday afternoon. johns looking to get the higher end frags. good response will keep them coming !

[nuclearheli]

I think im up at the divide line right in the center : / theres no reefers in my area up by toms river. its either way up north or way down south. Thats good another store is carrying ora. i guarantee the ora frags that no one buys lives longer then any wild coral he has in there.

I'm in Cream Ridge, just a bit west of you. I have been spending most of my time at the Hidden Reef in Levittown, or The Fish Factory in Bristol (around the corner from each other. It's a quick shot from the Trenton area across the bridge. Excellent selection. The Hidden Reef is like a supermarket, has everything. I like to browse there Wednesday's. Excellent selection of hard and soft corals, lots of live rock tanks, and rows of fish. Good results. A smaller place and more personal is the Fish Factory in Bristol PA. Also has excellent selections.

But unless I find something really nice at the Fish Factory or the Hidden Reef or need some chemical or part really fast I am only ordering on-line from now on. The MarineDepot.com and fosterandsmithaquatics.com are very good places to order from. Usually can find anything I need and the price is generally right. For Fish and Corals I have been using liveaquaria.com. I was reluctant to order things on-line but realized that the stores are getting the stuff shipped in so why not me. Now their selection is usually really good. You can get on the back order list for some really exotic stuff. Shipping has been perfect. What I really like is their guarantee. I purchased two pin cushion's and they both died within a week (first time anything died from them). I requested a refund and within 30 minutes, on a Saturday, I had a full credit no questions asked.

[wickedfood]

You SJ guys should check out East Coast Aquatics, in Essington, PA. About 10 minutes south of the stadiums, right off I-95. A bit smaller but way better than the Hidden Reef, IMO.

[nuclearheli]

Thanks for the tip, I am going to try it this weekend. Always looking for a new place.

[layer3switchguy]

Great to hear. I'm in the Mt Laurel area. Is it worth the trip? Always looking for a decent LFS for drygoods and livestock. Getting tired of The Hidden Reef...

[Alex T.]

wicketfood, do you have directions?

[chilwil84]

a bit smaller the hidden reef is 20,000 compared to 3,000 suare feet. the pics do look nice though. the problem with the hidden ref is you never know what your gonna get until you walk in. the one thing i do like about the reef is they get a lot of maricultured stuff and the stuff that holds up there usually comes out better in our tanks (ie cherry pick). i have to visit family down the road from them every few weeks so it works for me for some stuff. its hard to beat $23 bucks for salt for a fowlr tank, and my sps reef gets the salt from time to time to. there is a full line pet shop about 5 minutes from hidden reef that has some nice stuff from time to time and has a black tip in a pond setup.

[keith sprague]

ive been itching to get out to PA,just the drive takes up to much time between work and kids. im just happy to get good WYSWYG ORA frags close to home.high endes this week he went all out.gotta soli,blue iris phils granulosa,and the list goes on

[keith sprague]

id check out OA i just got back picked up a nice borialias and a phils granulosa. sweet pieces.almost got the blue iris but my pocket got hit enough.nice hawkins there purple & green stylos,miami orchards,tri color valadias,purple plasmas,nice digitas,soli,ppl nanas,pearl berry,more than i can remember. just a heads up check them out SJ

[chilwil84]

yeah there was a nice selection i picked a couple frags up today around 5. i almost grabbed the blue iris to.


Alex what u get

[keith sprague]

yeah there was a nice selection i picked a couple frags up today around 5. i almost grabbed the blue iris to.


Alex what u get

sos did i but the phils and borialis killed me. had to have them. what did you get chili? i didnt see the soli

[chilwil84]

purple plasma and wooly green. jason was eyeing some stuff along with anoother guy from this thread when i was there

[keith sprague]

purple plasma and wooly green. jason was eyeing some stuff along with anoother guy from this thread when i was there

if you are interested i got some nice freebies.gotta palettas red prostrata. ice tort frag that broke off of piece just purchesed but doing nice.german bl polyp acro browned out but coloring up again.im generous with my stuff.dont really worry bout profiting just want my stuff to go some where good . not in the garbage

[Alex T.]

Hey chilwil...didn't take anything. The more I looked, the more I realized so many of those are represented in some way in both coloration and growth forms somewhere in my reef. I think I may start looking for some really nice Crocea clams. Here's a list of the ORA pieces currently in my sps reef:

1. ORA Borealis
2. ORA Plum Crazy
3. ORA Hawkins Blue Echinata
4. ORA Bellina (the picture you saw on my phone today)
5. ORA Roscoe's Blue
6. ORA Wooly Green
7. ORA Electric Blue Mille
8. ORA Tri-color Valida
9. ORA Verde Acro (not the Pearlberry...wink, wink)

Non-ORA SPS:

Pink Birdsnest, Maricultured Red Millepora, Superman Montipora, Vivid's Turquoise Stag, Tyree Aquarium City LE Red Millepora, Wet Thumb's Purple Poker, Wet Thumb's Royal Acro, Bali Green Slimer, Red Monti Cap, Strawberry Shortcake, Unidentified Tabling Blue Acro, Purple Monti Digitata, Vivid's Purple Nana, Wet Thumb's Blue Spike Stag, Wet Thumb's My Jedi, Blue Prostrata, Red Tabling Acro, Oregon Blue Tortuosa, Maricultured Yellow Bottlebrush and a very annoying Pocillopora Damicornis.

So, needless to say I think I'm packed up in my 150 right now...lol. I just need some of these gems to grow out nicely and then I can share with those of you that are interested and local. Always looking for insurance policies and a returned frag should one take a turn for the worst. The hobby's too expensive not to share with friends. I guess it's a Jersey thing after all!

[chilwil84]

i think i am lucky with my maricultered pieces that it has allowed me to be a little diversfied over the regular ora pieces so i havent had to rely on them to much. i dont know who beside live aquaria (hidden reef used to ) carries FHI (fish heads) frags but they have some different growth forms than ora. you have a couple that do interest me i will hit you up with a pm.

[chilwil84]

if you are interested i got some nice freebies.gotta palettas red prostrata. ice tort frag that broke off of piece just purchesed but doing nice.german bl polyp acro browned out but coloring up again.im generous with my stuff.dont really worry bout profiting just want my stuff to go some where good . not in the garbage


the prostrata looks nice (based on others pics) but for some reason i have trouble with millis (along with some tricolors but everything else including maricultered i have no problems with)so i dont know if i would fair better with a prostrata. i do have the other 2 frags.

[waynotcars]

HI,
I've been going to Ocean Aq for 30 years since they were in the Pville shopping center. What is the Pleasantville Post Office now, was once Ocean Aquarium before they moved. Only problem I see as once john sees something sells he raises the prices ridiculous because he feels he has South Jersey Market tied up. Rather drive to Blackwood to Aquarium Center or The Hidden Reef.

[Alex T.]

+1 waynotcars

He heard on Monday that I was interested in the Granulosa. Today it was the most expensive priced frag in the tank at $65. I've noticed this with other stuff too...not just coral.

I know he's got bills to pay too, but he could ruin a good, healthy following of reefers if that happens. The store was definitely more busy near the reef tanks today. I'm sure he took notice.

[keith sprague]

+1 waynotcars

He heard on Monday that I was interested in the Granulosa. Today it was the most expensive priced frag in the tank at $65. I've noticed this with other stuff too...not just coral.

I know he's got bills to pay too, but he could ruin a good, healthy following of reefers if that happens. The store was definitely more busy near the reef tanks today. I'm sure he took notice.

how is hidden reef prices? i price things with online prices and if they match im game.for example ive seen the borialis for$79.00, without shipping.and got it at OA for $65 so im ok with that. my bro in law is an old reefer and talks bout Hidden reef, i gotta get there. how are their frag prices? and assortment. ive been to lancaster to TFP and talk bout high frag prices.

[keith sprague]

+1 waynotcars

He heard on Monday that I was interested in the Granulosa. Today it was the most expensive priced frag in the tank at $65. I've noticed this with other stuff too...not just coral.

I know he's got bills to pay too, but he could ruin a good, healthy following of reefers if that happens. The store was definitely more busy near the reef tanks today. I'm sure he took notice.

+1 on this. plus im pretty much done with my ORA pieces gotta go i search of other stuff

[keith sprague]

anyone been down to OA lately? i havent .just wondering if there is anything good?

[chilwil84]

someone on nj reefers site said that they talked to john and he was gonna have a ora order come in this week. i was there on sunday and there were a some frags left from the last order (30+ in a order i thought was a little large for just starting realy carrying sps) i didnt talk to john 9wasnt in) so i dont know what he was ordering.

[JG1]

I have to say, i went to OA yesterday and it was a major disappointment. Yeah he had a couple ORA pieces, but they all lost there color and were under crap lighting. The FO tanks, I felt like I needed a flashlight to see back there the tanks are SO dimly lit you can barely see the fish. I was walking back there thinking you have to be kidding me.

Big waste of a 90 minute round trip drive and $7 in tolls....LOL