New to the Trussville area.

[BigPapaland]

Hello group,

I have just moved to the Trussville area, and will be setting my tank up again. It has been down for a couple years and it is time to get back into the money suck that it Reefing.

I have been looking around at the a couple LFS in the area. Reef Revolution and Reef Life, and am a little concerned with who is best to work with. On the one hand you have Reef Life, they have lots of fish on hand but not a lot of coral. But they carry some equipment and maintenance items, which is awesome. But the guy I was talking to, I think he is the owner, was just a .... um... Jerk. And when I asked him about certain coral, he didn't show that he wanted to give any help at all.

But then there was Reef Life, I walked in and the kid was just sitting on the couch watching TV. he was helpful and nice, so I really liked that. But to be honest, I have NEVER seen a dirtier and more neglected shop in my 20+ years of reefing. They have some nice coral, But when you get more aiptasia and bubble algae than coral, that is an issue. It is a little interesting that they have a whole display tank dedicated to the largest aiptasia I have ever seen. Plus the prices were a little too high for what they had.

Surprisingly, coming from Phoenix, there are some awesome LFS in the desert. And maybe I am asking too much. Am I wrong and just got a bad first impression of both? I need some help from locals. I hate ordering coral and fish online.

Thanks
James

 

[Fieryfrog]

The local community is the best part. I have traded and bought some great frags from people around here.

 

[RUGDOG]

Pretty good initial assessment of central Alabamas LFS situation.

 

[BigPapaland]

I wasn't trying to be mean, just honest. And maybe a little frustrated at what is available here.

Even though I am in Trussville and Reef Revolution is close, I don't think I could trust anything I bought there. I am not sure I could do enough dipping to kill what may be on their frags. So I may need to go all the way out to Reef Life.

Maybe I am spoiled by "The Ocean Floor", a store in phoenix. ultra clean and dependable. I don't know...

 

[Semisonyx]

Local community may be your best bet. Other than Aquarium Imports (where the personalities go through cycles like their quality of stock), no place in Birmingham lasts longer than 2-3 years due to a lack of sustainable business. I'm in the slow process of stocking my 180, and think I'll pretty much rely on batches from LiveAquaria to do so (for fish). For coral frags, it's hard to beat local for price, quality, and size.

 

[kraftyforu]

Theres a lot of ppl in B'ham and a few down in the montgomery area that like to sell/trade. You can talk to a couple of them on this forum and then theres a bunch on the facebook page.

 

[Chameleon]

Hobbyist are your best bet in birmingham...
I do not like reef life.
Reef revolutions is good, but with some of the caveats you mentioned.
Aquarium imports in hoover is great with fish but not so good for coral.

 

[chelltom]

agreed also may want to drive to Montgomery they have a nice one by the mall but cant remember the name

 

[sprinklerdudes]

Welcome to reef 2 reef, you will like it here a lot better than the local fish stores. in my opion the best deals and the best quality stock is still tucked away in the basment , garages, and proudly on display in the liveing rooms and dens of the wounderful people here.