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Unread 12/16/2010, 05:20 PM   #76
koensayr
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aquarium store near LAX?

When I drop off and pick up people at LAX, I have seen an aquarium store on Century Blvd right near the airport. Has anyone been there? How is it?

I cannot remember the exact name... maybe something like World Aquarium?


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Unread 12/18/2010, 08:14 PM   #77
saleen2881
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yeah ive been there it is veryy large they just moved there from a couple of blocks away its called aquatic outlet.
http://www.aquariumworld.co/

http://www.aquaticoutlet.com/


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Unread 12/22/2010, 01:00 AM   #78
saleen2881
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Originally Posted by saleen2881 View Post
yeah ive been there it is veryy large they just moved there from a couple of blocks away its called aquatic outlet.
http://www.aquariumworld.co/

http://www.aquaticoutlet.com/
hey i went back there and OMG all the employes were rude and screamed at my brother! i said hello to the owner and he maddoged me and left i dont know what there problems were! everything over priced!


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Unread 12/29/2010, 11:32 PM   #79
guitarfreak11
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Originally Posted by mofoglenn333 View Post
the only lfs ive been to worth going to in the IE is mystic reef in riverside. jeremy is super cool. of course the more you spend the better prices you get which is great and how biz should be done. if anyone knows of more LFS in the IE PLEASE post it here. im in the high desert and the closest to me is aquarium world. bret there is a super chump. dont waste your time with them!
Yeah they are terrible. Girl stuck her hand in the water and got shocked, and was like wth, then did it again, and got shocked again.

Total tropical in upland had a decent selection of corals, kinda pricey and the guy is also a chump. haven't been there in a while, not sure if its still open either.


Aquariums in Motion in Corona. I went today and Jason has a lot of very nice corals for really good prices. I picked up a nice acan mini colony for $25.


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Unread 01/03/2011, 05:19 PM   #80
zreefer
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Originally Posted by lamann View Post
Just moved here from S. FL couple weeks ago and still need to get tank setup and cycled again but would like to visit some stores in Mission Viejo if anyone knows of any. I'm going to have to visit these other stores on the weekend since I bleieve they are all a little ways away from me (don't know area well).
You should check out New Age Aquatics in Tustin, its pretty close to Mission Viejo...


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Unread 01/03/2011, 09:19 PM   #81
d69211
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Quote:
Originally Posted by koensayr View Post
When I drop off and pick up people at LAX, I have seen an aquarium store on Century Blvd right near the airport. Has anyone been there? How is it?

I cannot remember the exact name... maybe something like World Aquarium?
I bought my liverocks there and the owner was trying to sell me the salt water at that time, I remember one thing he told me "only the fresh salt water can keep SPS alive and mixed salt won't work"



Last edited by d69211; 01/03/2011 at 09:26 PM.
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Unread 01/04/2011, 12:56 AM   #82
wickedfish
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I think his name is Lurch, not a cool store, at all.


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Unread 01/04/2011, 10:27 AM   #83
baumgardner
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Originally Posted by Cruiznblue View Post
Fish Collection in Yorba Linda by far...best selection of corals/fish I've seen locally. Some stuff is pricey but I've gotten a lot of great deals.
i love this store jimmys great the more i spend in his store the better deals he gives and he said buy a coral $50 or more 2nd one half off got some great pieces he says he going to bring in more sps frags go check it out


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Unread 01/04/2011, 10:34 AM   #84
baumgardner
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Fish Collection
Yorba Linda Blvd and Rose behind taco bell
1158 East Yorba Linda Boulevard
Placentia, CA 92870-3828
(714) 524-7109
its kinda hard to find so here is where i spend my money


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Unread 01/04/2011, 11:12 AM   #85
mikedege
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Fish Collection is OK, I live 1 block from it, so it IS my LFS... but I still find myself driving to Alis "Amazing aquariums and reefs" much more often than I walk to Fish Collection. What does that tell you? (besides I like to drive) lol...

FWIW,
Mike


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Unread 01/04/2011, 06:59 PM   #86
koensayr
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Ok, from all the replies, it seems that the place near LAX is not worth visiting. Thanks for saving my time


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Unread 01/09/2011, 07:35 AM   #87
eniram78
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Hi guys, i'll be heading to Torrance California for a few days and would like to know if there are any LFS near HAWTHORNE BOULEVARD?? or any place that i can rent a car about an hours drive to visit the LFS.

It would be great if the LFS carries coral frags SPS/Zoa frags. Would love to hear your inputs and greatly appreciate it.

thanks


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Unread 01/09/2011, 12:40 PM   #88
Lurking
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Basically all the stores in this thread are within an hours drive of Torrance.


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Unread 01/09/2011, 02:07 PM   #89
factorybacking
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Temecula Stores

Deep Sea Creations- Very clean, upkeep and workers all knowledgeable. Coral selection is a bit low, salt water fish is decent, plenty or fresh water. By far one of the cleanest stores you will see.

Gills - A lot of selection on coral, and fish. Specialize in salt water. Also has a lot of equipment to chose from.


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Unread 01/09/2011, 03:35 PM   #90
fluxkenji
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VBAQUARIUM View Post
Any good LFS in the San Gabriel Valley? Please let me know.

PTF...... Anywhere else noteworthy?
Total Fish and Pets
137 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91810
Neighborhood: Alhambra

http://www.yelp.com/biz/total-fish-and-pets-alhambra

I usually go to Total Fish and Pets in Alhambra, Ca. It used to be called Garvey Fish & Pets on Garvey Ave. in Monterey Park.

The owner's name is Kim. The store is basically 50/50 saltwater/freshwater.

He has a decent marine fish selection and he has a large amount of coral. His large tank is a 300g reef setup with all kinds of mixed coral.
He also has a dedicated SPS tank. He has other long, shallow tanks that have mixed coral colonies & frags.

He usually picks up new coral/fish on Fridays/Sundays.

Hopes this helps.


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Unread 01/09/2011, 04:29 PM   #91
factorybacking
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Forgot to post the link to Deep Sea Creations website.. http://www.dscfish.com/index.asp


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Unread 01/09/2011, 09:20 PM   #92
MrSandman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eniram78 View Post
Hi guys, i'll be heading to Torrance California for a few days and would like to know if there are any LFS near HAWTHORNE BOULEVARD?? or any place that i can rent a car about an hours drive to visit the LFS.

It would be great if the LFS carries coral frags SPS/Zoa frags. Would love to hear your inputs and greatly appreciate it.

thanks
I live in the area and can tell you that there aren't too many LFS's here that carry any high end SPS. Of the stores in the immediate area I think that Jim's Exotic Fish in El Segundo and Aquatic Fantasy in Redondo Beach are the best. Depending where on Hawthorne you're gonna be Aquatic Fantasy will probably be closer but Jim's is worth a drive as well. These 2 stores are about 5 miles apart from each other. There is another LFS called Neptunes Reef in Torrance that is real close to Hawthorne but it's not as good as the other 2. HTH.


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Unread 01/14/2011, 10:39 AM   #93
Texsun
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I live in the area and can tell you that there aren't too many LFS's here that carry any high end SPS. Of the stores in the immediate area I think that Jim's Exotic Fish in El Segundo and Aquatic Fantasy in Redondo Beach are the best. Depending where on Hawthorne you're gonna be Aquatic Fantasy will probably be closer but Jim's is worth a drive as well. These 2 stores are about 5 miles apart from each other. There is another LFS called Neptunes Reef in Torrance that is real close to Hawthorne but it's not as good as the other 2. HTH.
Probably too late for the the OP but thought I'd comment on the South Bay LFS - none are worth going out of your way. Since Jeff's and Fragglereef/Miguel's shut down, the South Bay's lacked a quality LFS. Pacific Reef in Torrance started strong but quickly faded once Mike concentrated on his other locations.

Neptune's Reef is horrible. I can't believe they've been around as long as they have. I used to go there in the 90's and the owner was unpleasant and still is.

The folks at Aquatic Fantasy and especially Jim's are nice, but nothing nothing special in terms of selection of price.


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Unread 01/18/2011, 01:50 AM   #94
Six2seven
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lurking View Post
Basically all the stores in this thread are within an hours drive of Torrance.
Here is a list of stores in the south bay harbor area.

Seven seas - located in san pedro. SW/FW. The quality is better than ive seen in most stores as far as exotic corals. They do not frag and sell corals whole listing as $200-$300 for large rare corals. They are VERY, VERY pushy and will sell you as much as you can carry. You will get suckered.

Neptunes reef - located in torrance, fish are always unhealty, staff is rude ecspecially the owner. Very small reef tank, nothing special.

Pacific Reef - located in harbor city, this was the worse store i have ever been to. The coral selection is embarrassing. Was actually in there today and seem to be re-doing the whole place. The fish selection was sad but now all fish were healty and very large selection. Will go back next week as they are trying real hard to clean up

Age of Aquariums - located in long beach, very clean store, great dry goods selection, good fish selection and will Special order for you. Nice display tank, nice coral and coral frag selection. Staff is very nice.

Jims exotic fish - located in el segundo, new freezer for frozen food which includes a large selection. Small selection of corals and fish. Competitive prices.

Aloha tropical fish - SW is only 50 cents a gallon if you get the owner which is a nice lady. If she likes you, you can talk her into lowering prices to wholesale. Will also special order for you. Available stock usually is bad, there is only a nano cube tank of corals to choose from. Usually different selection so somebody is buying.

Pasadena Tropical fish - good selection of corals and fish. Fish are usually healthy. Owners are Thai and very nice. A little overpriced but probably because they are the only store around in pasadena.

There is another store in pasadena on lake ave near kfc but is rundown and people are rude. SW selection is usually empty. No corals.

Petco - yes really. There is a petco in pasadena right when you get off the 110 freeway. Surprisingly decent SW fish selection. Staff are morons except for the fish guy. Decent coral tank which was always kept up. I havent been there for months so sorry if it has changed.

Aquatic Outlet - located near LAX, they are changing the name to aquarium world. Staff is not the friendliest but they do get their fish before most stores as the wholesalers are a block away so you will usually find the healthiest fish at a decent price when they have a large stock. You can find great pieces of live rock in all sizes including super large 30lbs pieces. Corals are always dying as they keep changing and moving their tanks.

Reef hot spot - i thought this was my own discovery and i told no one about this place. They are a wholesaler frag store open to the public. Great frag selection, decent prices. Hard to find try not to get hit by a car.


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Unread 01/18/2011, 01:12 PM   #95
Texsun
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Reef hot spot - i thought this was my own discovery and i told no one about this place. They are a wholesaler frag store open to the public. Great frag selection, decent prices. Hard to find try not to get hit by a car.
Lol, Reef Hot Spot has been popular on here for years and well known. They started as a warehouse style retailer (ala the old Jeff's in Gardena) in West LA with a great fish selection but sadly morphed to another frag chop shop. Max, the owner, is a good guy and i'm sure the did the shift for business reasons, but they had a good thing going back in the day.


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Unread 01/21/2011, 11:09 PM   #96
wickedfish
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Good to know.

We are lacking a good store in this area considering the wholesalers are all in a 3 mile radius.

7 seas is cool for fish, have them quarantine your guy for a few days.

I have had hit miss with them on hard to keep fish.

Watch out for the upsell he is good! No names.

Really nice, acts like he's really interested in your setup careful, you've been warned.

But over all a clean store and decent prices on most things. LPS store. Not too much but sometimes he gets some in.


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Unread 02/01/2011, 12:14 AM   #97
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I live less than 15" from Vivid and get a lot of my stuff there. GREAT store, staff and supply. To be there when they frag the show pieces out of the 800G display tank is like Christmas in _________ (insert favorite month here).

Got a chance to go to Age of Aquariums today. They have a ton of ORA gear. Snagged a couple of the ORA naked clowns and a few other frags. Jason was cool too!

Oh...they have a brilliant red Golden Angel (Centropyge Aurantius). I've never seen one that colorful before! If it is still there after my meeting today I might just buy that puppy!

Thanks for the tip gumbii!


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Unread 02/01/2011, 03:26 AM   #98
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What about some good fish stores in the Temecula Murrieta area? I go to Gills Marine, the others I know of are Far West Tropical Fish and Deep Sea Creations.

Gill's is good, good, healthy coral selection (check out the back room), fish selection isn't bad either. The owner is a good guy, just rough around the edges.

Far West, I can't stand. They have terrible fish quality, coral selection is crappy and unhealthy as well.

Deep Sea Creations is ok, not mouch for coral, has a pretty decent fish selection, but overall I am not impressed with the store, plus they charge too much for everything.

Those are all of the stores I know of, does anyone know of some more fish stores in the Menifee/Murrieta/Temecula area???


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Unread 02/01/2011, 02:56 PM   #99
ReeVo
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Studio City: Mark's Tropical Fish

Mark the owner is a great guy. He might seem a little overpriced but he always gives me discounts. You can join his VIP discount membership and he always awesome deals.

He was also the guy who setup the tank is Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo.


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Unread 02/02/2011, 07:09 PM   #100
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Mystic Reef - I would say my 2nd fav. store to visit. Jeremy is always making good deals and have a nice selection of frags (if you get to see the back tanks LOL LOL) Fish selection is usually low, but get in alot of tank raised stuff. Drygoods are decent like AIM[/QUOTE]

I second that on the mystic reef. Jeremy is extremely knowlegeable and if there is something you really like he will cut you a good deal. He frags colonies on site, and has some common corals and some rare ones, and everything in between. If he doesn't think a mother colony should be fragged he won't do it until he thinks its ready. very responsible. Lots ORA fish and even tank raised anemones and clams. definately check it out, oh and tropic marin fans, he actully stocks our salt.


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