A NC reefing group on R2R!

Arcticfirefighter · Mar 9, 2019

Mastiffsrule said:
I’m in Charlotte. Went to uncg. You think worth the trip? (If the shopping is no good at least there is Yum Yums)

Definitely if you have the spare time. Not sure when the last time you were in; however, they moved about 2 years ago. They are now on Cessna Dr right off I-40. Great selection in my opinion. Awesome staff as well.

Nep2n · Mar 9, 2019

Mastiffsrule said:
I’m in Charlotte. Went to uncg. You think worth the trip? (If the shopping is no good at least there is Yum Yums)

I'd give that a definite yes. Really nice selection of fish and corals. Had some nice Green and Red Dragon frags yesterday....among MANY others. Lots of nice LPS too. Ask for Saltwater Dave.....or Freshwater Dave.....or Dry goods Dave.....Heck, just holler DAVE, somebody'll come running lol.

Nep2n · Mar 9, 2019

Blackice615 said:
I come down to NC a few times a year. Where are some other great stores in the Raleigh/Cary area? I go to Fintastic every time I visit and hate I'm missing their 3 year annual sale this weekend

I like Fintastic for fish and acros/sps great staff.
Also Grace at The Reef Farm in Wake Forest. Out in the country, short drive from Raleigh. Very unique store open Wed, Sat and Sun. She has a green house she grows out in. Most of what she sells as far as corals she's grown out or swapped out. Never know what you'll find, like a treasure hunt!!

Blackice615 · Mar 9, 2019

Cool thank you. I'll look into it

Captain Quint · Mar 10, 2019

Nep2nRev1 said:
Ahoy Captain!!
Yep, David's a good guy and has a very knowledgeable group of guys/gals working for him. Small store but quality livestock and, have to agree, pricing is very reasonable.
I make the trip to see Grace at The Reef Farm too. Find a few gems there from time to time.

Ah yes. Grace and I go back a couple of decades.

Captain Quint · Mar 10, 2019

Blackice615 said:
I come down to NC a few times a year. Where are some other great stores in the Raleigh/Cary area? I go to Fintastic every time I visit and hate I'm missing their 3 year annual sale this weekend

Besides Fintastic (now has some franchises) there is The Fish Room in Cary and way North Raleigh as well as in Wilmington.

Nep2n · Mar 10, 2019

Captain Quint said:
Besides Fintastic (now has some franchises) there is The Fish Room in Cary and way North Raleigh as well as in Wilmington.

What's the deal with The Fish Room in Raleigh Captain Quint. I used to visit them when they first opened years back and it was pretty nice. As I remember, several of the guys from the former Fish World had split off and opened it. Really good group of guys then. Been in twice in the past year and the tanks were in bad shape. Dead fish in sales tanks, coral tanks eat up with cyano/hair algae....maybe I just hit them on bad days. Never been to the ones in Cary or Wilmington. Might have to stop in at Wilmington and check them out.

Blackice615 · Mar 10, 2019

Thanks for the info, I have something to do when I visit in a few weeks

Nep2n · Mar 10, 2019

As a side note, might be interesting to visit Aquatic Creations Group, also in Raleigh. They're really more of a maintenance business but do have a brick and mortar store. Gil Van Dykhuizen (owner) captive breeds Moon Jellies and the live foods required to maintain them. I don't know if he currently has a display set up at his store, but they are just mesmerizing to watch. I've toyed with the idea of setting up a jelly tank but have too many irons in the fire now!! lol Google search them, it'll give you a good preview.

Hammer100 · Mar 11, 2019

Nep2nRev1 said:
As a side note, might be interesting to visit Aquatic Creations Group, also in Raleigh. They're really more of a maintenance business but do have a brick and mortar store. Gil Van Dykhuizen (owner) captive breeds Moon Jellies and the live foods required to maintain them. I don't know if he currently has a display set up at his store, but they are just mesmerizing to watch. I've toyed with the idea of setting up a jelly tank but have too many irons in the fire now!! lol Google search them, it'll give you a good preview.

Gil is a great guy and is always helpful

Nep2n · Mar 22, 2019

Made that rip to Wilmington this past weekend, stopped in at Coastal Reef.
Definitely in the building stages. My understanding is that it's a store that's been around a while but recently under new management. The folks there know their stuff, but the selection of items for sale it very limited and a bit pricey for what you're getting. But like I said, in the early stages, I have no doubt that in time they'll be top notch. Me personally, I'll give 'em 6 months or so before I check back.

Captain Quint · Mar 23, 2019

Nep2nRev1 said:
What's the deal with The Fish Room in Raleigh Captain Quint. I used to visit them when they first opened years back and it was pretty nice. As I remember, several of the guys from the former Fish World had split off and opened it. Really good group of guys then. Been in twice in the past year and the tanks were in bad shape. Dead fish in sales tanks, coral tanks eat up with cyano/hair algae....maybe I just hit them on bad days. Never been to the ones in Cary or Wilmington. Might have to stop in at Wilmington and check them out.

I've not been to the North Raleigh location in many years. It was awesome then. There were 3 owners one who left the original Down Under in Garner who was the guru of aquatics but not from Fish World, Eric who is still an owner but his main focus is the service and builds expert and a silent partner whom I won't name.

I do know none of the original staff is there and cannot speak of the conditions. I can tell you the Cary location is operated by Mike (original location in Raleigh store) keeps the Cary location pristine.

I've not visited the franchise in Wilmington.

Nep2n · Mar 23, 2019

Captain Quint said:
I do know none of the original staff is there and cannot speak of the conditions. I can tell you the Cary location is operated by Mike (original location in Raleigh store) keeps the Cary location pristine.

As much as I hunt around for good stores, I've never been to the one in Cary. To be perfectly honest, didn't know they had a Cary location until your previous post. My wife and I were planning make the trip to Fintastic today, might have to add a stop by the Cary Fish Room. Thanks for the heads up!

Captain Quint · Mar 23, 2019

Nep2nRev1 said:
As much as I hunt around for good stores, I've never been to the one in Cary. To be perfectly honest, didn't know they had a Cary location until your previous post. My wife and I were planning make the trip to Fintastic today, might have to add a stop by the Cary Fish Room. Thanks for the heads up!

Yes, the Cary location is nice. Fintastic with David and his crew are awesome!

Captain Quint · Mar 23, 2019

Nep2nRev1 said:
As much as I hunt around for good stores, I've never been to the one in Cary. To be perfectly honest, didn't know they had a Cary location until your previous post. My wife and I were planning make the trip to Fintastic today, might have to add a stop by the Cary Fish Room. Thanks for the heads up!

They are only ~3 or 4 miles apart which is nice too.

Blackice615 · Mar 23, 2019

I've arrived to NC and will be heading to fintastic and fish room this afternoon. Wish I had known about the fish room for the past 3 years also granted they're so close!

Nep2n · Mar 23, 2019

Trip to Fintastic today was a home run. Picked up a 5"-6" Tridacna maxima, and grabbed up a frag of WD. I had missed the WD when they had their anniversary sale a couple of weeks ago. I had been on a waiting list and apparently these guys went really fast. May not have had enough pieces to get to me on the list. I asked if they had any available, they checked their mother colony and decided they could get me a piece. Rather nice piece I might add.
Now for Fish Room Cary, wow......made my experience at the Raleigh store look good. Straight in the door the main show tank was overgrown with GHA, cyano all over the sand bed. Animals looked like the were just hanging on. Walked down the row of coral tanks down the center of the store....if they were giving the stuff away I wouldn't take it. Very little stock and what was there was in an early state or advanced state of dying. The one person who looked like the worked was towards the back, glanced up but never acknowledged we were even there. Not that that was a problem, didn't take about 2-3 minutes to see what I needed to see. Sad experience.

Blackice615 · Mar 23, 2019

Did you get the pinkish and bluish clam? My wife and I wanted it but it wouldn't have made the trip back to MD in the AM possibly.

We also hit The Fish Room. It was nice and clean overall, however you're right about the rest of the experience.