Any from Delco, PA Area?

[Pyrosteve]

Hello All,

I'm new to the hobby and looking for local places/people to buy frags from or any clubs that might be in the area to connect with. Anyone in the area?

 

[Nicholas Scelzi]

Hey there! Located in the West Chester PA area so right up the street! lol ... Welcome! Not sure about local frag swaps.. I know Delco has a "Aquarium Society" /club that meets once a month. I believe if you google search "DCAS" (Delaware County Aquarium Society) you should find results. Other than that... the number of quality LFS in our area has really depleted over the years... I know a few that I still trust are Fish Factory and The Hidden Reef (not the hidden reef for fish anymore sadly but for corals they are good). The Fish Factory and Hidden Reef are located in Levittown (just a short trip up the turnpike like 40 mins). There is a place in Malvern / Frazer that is amazing for corals, Aquarium Specialties is the name. Mike the owner is very knowledgeable and takes pride in his selection and livestock. Also, if he doesnt have something you are looking for he is more than willing to order it for you! (Feel Free to PM me if you have any questions or want to chat! I'm always looking for fish buddies local in the area lol! )

 

[Pyrosteve]

Hey Nick! Yea I was a member of DCAS for a year but could never seem to make it to the meetings. I still follow them on FB. I'm looking for some corals to get started. I'll have to check out Aquarium Specialties sounds like a solid lfs. Thanks for the tips! It looks like Delaware Reef Club is having a frag swap in July. I might have to check that out also. Good to know there's a good local reef community!

 

[Nicholas Scelzi]

Let me know if you want to grab a beer sometime. We could check out the frag swap together. If you are ever looking for someone to trade livestock / corals with I’m down (especially if you have any angelfish !) shoot me a pm I’d be happy to give you my contact info

 

[VB313]

Hey I’m Vince from Philadelphia
Nicks totally right about LFS in the general area they all have their positives and negatives

Captain Nemo’s-Conshohocken never has much for coral but Matt the owner is really helpful and will try to get what your looking for
Hidden reef- Levittown love that place! Probably one the largest coral selection in the area and the prices aren’t bad
Fish factory - right around the corner from hidden reed always stop in after usually has good 10$-20$frag deals I haven’t had much luck with fish from there
Reef to rift- Hatfield but usually worth the drive cleanest fish store I’ve ever seen but corals are on the pricey side
Mini reef- prospect park past the airport super small store but usually has a interesting selection
Something fishy- Northampton it’s a hike I usually will stop on the way home after a weekend in the poconos my girlfriend likes to call it the Walmart fish store definitely worth checking out
Aquarium center- Clementon NJ if you have a free day off to take the trip huge frag selection

there is a pretty cool event event called philly splash last year was really good

always down for a beer aswell lol

 

[Nicholas Scelzi]

Hey Vince nice to meet you as well! Totally agree with everything you said and really detailed response. I would just add one thing to what Vince said.... for captain memos, hidden reef, and fish factory, notice Vince said great for corals! I would NOT buy any fish from any of those stores anymore unfortunately. Even hidden reef hidden reef used to be my go to for fish but the quality of their livestock has really gone down over the past few years.

I’ll have to cheek out the other places you named !

And will they be doing Philly splash again this year ? If so we should all go

 

[VB313]

Yes sir that’s the flyer for this year ile definitely be there

 

[aarbutina]

Springfield (Delco) here. I’ll second Aquarium Specialties in Malvern if you want choice Frags. Mike is the man.

 

[VB313]

Got a new LFS to check out this weekend thanks !!!!@aarbutina

 

[VB313]

Just checked out aquarium Specialties research in Malvern WOW is all I have to say the owner mike builds a relationship with you right at the door will definitely be returning

 

[aarbutina]

Glad you had a good experience. I told Mike I was sending someone his way when I was in the shop earlier this week. Did you end up with anything good?

 

[VB313]

Nah just went to check it out I spent my coral money at RAPNY lastweek

I was really surprised it felt like we walked into another reefers livingroom we walked in he had metal blasting on the radio my girlfriend was like “well you will fit in just fine here” mikes a nice guy he came up to us right away asked for my name introduced himself shook my hand showed us a lil bit about the shop and what he’s got going on in his tanks asked about my tank and what I got we honestly just stood there and talked for 30 mins never felt pressured to buy anything totally different LFS experience

 

[aarbutina]

Nah just went to check it out I spent my coral money at RAPNY lastweek

I was really surprised it felt like we walked into another reefers livingroom we walked in he had metal blasting on the radio my girlfriend was like “well you will fit in just fine here” mikes a nice guy he came up to us right away asked for my name introduced himself shook my hand showed us a lil bit about the shop and what he’s got going on in his tanks asked about my tank and what I got we honestly just stood there and talked for 30 mins never felt pressured to buy anything totally different LFS experience

Awesome. Glad you had a good experience. I normally stop in to just chat with mike of an hour or two once a week (normally will end up buying something). If you want choice corals at great prices Mike is your man

 

[Nicholas Scelzi]

Glad you enjoyed your experience with mike! He is the man. And if he doesn’t have something you are looking for either fish or coral, he will order it for you

 

[VB313]

Yea he said that, I thought I had every LFS in the general area can’t believe I missed this one and my girlfriend works right down the road in king of Prussia too save the best for last I guess

 

[Pau Hana Reefer]

What's up Pyrosteve and everyone else here. Also new to reefing, my tank is now a little over 6 months old and I'm still slowly adding fish and corals. Joined R2R earlier this year and though I've done a lot of reading on here, only my second post. Like aarbutina, I'm also from Springfield.

My experiences with LFS have been limited after initially really liking Mini Reef. The owner of Mini Reef, Sal, is really nice and is super helpful. But his employee, Steve, is condescending and very assuming, IMO. I bought a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse from them back in February. It came down with ich two days later and Steve put the blame on me despite the fact that I had it in a brand new QT. The lil guy never made it and died a week later. Now having more knowledge, I wonder if it had marine velvet and not ich. I never returned to Mini Reef since.

I've gone to Aquarium World in Boothwyn a handful of times, and have bought a pair of peppermint shrimp and some Zoas from them. Prices are good, the owner is also extremely friendly and helpful, and they have an okay selection for starters and seem to be willing to help find something they don't have.

I haven't been to Aquarium Center in Clementon NJ in 6 years, but plan on making the trip soon. They were my go-to store years ago when I was running a freshwater planted tank. Every experience was awesome there back then and looking forward to checking out the place to see how they are now. I'll also have to check out Aquarium Specialties in Malvern.

Would love to connect with any other local Delco reefers to gaining more knowledge and start acquiring coral frags. As much as my wife loves our tank, she isn't a big fan of how much I've been spending on our LiveAquaria Diver's Den purchases.

 

[VB313]

Gotta check out aquarium world now ;Hilarious Welcome @Pau Hana Reefer here to help always looking to connect make new friends in this hobby.... addiction ...what ever you wana call it

 

[Pau Hana Reefer]

Let me know what you think of Aquarium World @VB313. I'm hoping to convince my wife to visit Aquarium Specialties this weekend. I would call this my hobby... my wife would argue that it's an addiction.

 

[Pyrosteve]

Wow don't know how I missed all these posts, only got one alert? Anyway, I'm in Springfield also. Looks like we have enough to start a club here, lol . I've been to Mini Reef a couple times, it's right down the road (420) from me. I talked to Sal and he gave me some good advice. I've heard a few stories but mostly good. I guess it's like that with any LFS as Vince said. I've heard good things about Aquarium Center in NJ too. They're on the list of places to visit along with Aquarium Specialties.

Another is TSM Corals. Anyone go there? I hear they're top notch and a little $$ but they QT everything before selling. They just opened a new place in Sewell, NJ in June. They've been closed since April and FB page looks like they are loaded with nice stuff.

I still miss World Wide Aquarium in UD. That was my go to place back in the day before it changed hands. I can't remember the orig. owners name (Jack??) but we had a mutual friend. He really knew his stuff (especially cichlids) and could talk fish all day. I heard he opened another store?? (thought it was maybe R to R??? Don't quote me on that tho.)

I don't think I'll be making the frag swap at DSU. My tank is new and still isn't as stable as I'd like so I don't want to add anything just yet. It's the reason I haven't been to many LFS. It's too tempting to bring something home .

 

[aarbutina]

Wow don't know how I missed all these posts, only got one alert? Anyway, I'm in Springfield also. Looks like we have enough to start a club here, lol . I've been to Mini Reef a couple times, it's right down the road (420) from me. I talked to Sal and he gave me some good advice. I've heard a few stories but mostly good. I guess it's like that with any LFS as Vince said. I've heard good things about Aquarium Center in NJ too. They're on the list of places to visit along with Aquarium Specialties.

Another is TSM Corals. Anyone go there? I hear they're top notch and a little $$ but they QT everything before selling. They just opened a new place in Sewell, NJ in June. They've been closed since April and FB page looks like they are loaded with nice stuff.

I still miss World Wide Aquarium in UD. That was my go to place back in the day before it changed hands. I can't remember the orig. owners name (Jack??) but we had a mutual friend. He really knew his stuff (especially cichlids) and could talk fish all day. I heard he opened another store?? (thought it was maybe R to R??? Don't quote me on that tho.)

I don't think I'll be making the frag swap at DSU. My tank is new and still isn't as stable as I'd like so I don't want to add anything just yet. It's the reason I haven't been to many LFS. It's too tempting to bring something home .

Yeah there are a number of us in the area. There used to be a club a while back, DelVal Reef Club, but from what I understand there was a lot of politics involve that lead to its down fall. I stopped participating well before that though.

When I first was starting out with salt tanks I used to go to Aquarium world all the time, but that was over 15 years ago.