Ouch! My wallet hurts

DiverGirl82 · Jul 6, 2015

Rob's Reef said:
What city are you in Divergirl82?

29 Palms, CA. Aka the middle of nowhere

jasonandsarah · Jul 7, 2015

Like already stated stock up when you see sales! http://m.petsolutions.com/Default.aspx?CategoryId=Aquarium-Salt-Mixes&ManufacturerId=Instant-Ocean
Supporting lfs is awesome and believe me there will be plenty of time for that when you can't or don't want to want the 5-8 days free shipping takes. When first starting out though it can get expensive quick and you want to spend that extra cash on good equipment and beautiful livestock...[emoji4]

Oceansize · Jul 7, 2015

Hey Divergirl82, my wife & I are in So Cal too and we also scuba dive, nice to "meet" you!
We like to offroad and camp so we're around there (29 Palms) all the time. Usually either Joshua Tree or Johnson Valley.

My policy is if I ask someone at the LFS a question, then I'm going to buy from them regardless of price difference. That is, of course, what you are paying extra for: the ability to benefit from their experience and the opportunity to develop a consistent relationship with someone who has lots of experience. If you don't value that aspect then online is the right choice for you.

Basically it comes down to this, if you don't want to pay LFS prices then do not frequent your LFS, not even for questions. Time is money, so if you're taking their time you should be giving them money. Maybe not immediately, but still.

I find more value in their experience regarding the life forms themselves. For equipment/supplies I prefer to do my own research. So I've been buying my equipment online, but I've been stocking (including LR) from my LFS.

pelphrey · Jul 7, 2015

My wife and I actually share a mutual best friend... Amazon prime!

Aside from that I have one LFS and its a small shop. They do have more salt water fish than freshwater and if I'm lucky they'll have some coral to look at. I'm in the process of starting my first reef and I've bought all of my equipment from either forums or Amazon. I got the tank and stand as a combo from pet smart (27 gallon cube). We have a 75 gallon freshwater tank setup that I'm trying to replace with a 125 or 150, my LFS is getting me quotes on the tank. I bought a reef ready 90 gallon a year and a half ago and although I filled it before I bought it, it sprung a leak when I water tested it in my garage. So from now one I don't mess with used tanks. I've only been in the hobby for a year and a half and I've wasted more money than I can count. So now I'm picky and I have become a MUCH better planner!

Good luck with your new adventure!

nbagnardi · Jul 7, 2015

DiverGirl82 said:
Working on getting stuff together to get my first tank up and running and I've been feeling bad that I've been ordering everything online. I believe in supporting local/small business. So today I decided I would go ahead and buy my salt from the lfs. I wanted the big 160g bucket but it was $117. A bit too steep for me since I just bought a bunch of other stuff from Lowe's. So I got 2 50g bags for $75 instead. I knew it was over priced but I didn't realize how much. I looked on BRS when I got home and saw I could have gotten a 200g bucket of the same brand for $55. Rookie lesson learned I guess. Now I don't feel so guilty about buying online.

wait until you start getting into high tech lighting lol

4FordFamily · Jul 7, 2015

So the other reason to buy online is that I don't know if any lfs with money back guarantees for 14-30 days... Fish dies they refund or replace! Sold!

SCMatt · Jul 7, 2015

Chantelle said:
Salt will be the least of your worries when you spy that perfect coral you just have to have Lol. Welcome to the addiction I just found a ZOA that runs $700!

More so for me it's this situation (no $700 frag though but frags in general) but then I figure, well heck I may as well tack on X number of other frags to make it worth it and get free shipping! By the time I'm done I've run up $500+ in coral for that one frag I originally wanted.

DiverGirl82 said:
29 Palms, CA. Aka the middle of nowhere

I'm sorry. LOL

shred5 · Jul 7, 2015

I feel lucky.. I have ordered most of my stuff over the years from mainly Premium aquatics and a few online vendors.
Recently I discovered Best Fish in Milwaukee. They carry lots of corals from like ora, reef gen etc. They also carry high end equipment and not old stuff at inflated prices. Matter of fact they are about the same as online and sometimes cheaper. Now I try and give them my business as much as I can.. Very lucky to have a lfs like that.. I can not get everything from them so I usually go back to Premium aquatics which has always done good for me too...

pelphrey · Jul 7, 2015

Recently discovered premium aquatics! And found out they are actually about 2 hours from me so the next time I head to Indianapolis i'll have to stop by thier store!

NeuroticAquatics · Jul 7, 2015

Our prices out here are probably above what a lot of places charge retail. A large Angel less than two hours away would be $100ish and in this area would be $50 more. A blue throat trigger word be $35 there and $75+ here. They will charge more to "special order" too when it costs them nothing more to add to their shipment (or to go pick up in LA if they are doing that on any given week). Equipment is about the same markup.

ecfort57 · Jul 8, 2015

Yes this hobby is expensive

scardall · Jul 8, 2015

NeuroticAquatics said:
Our prices out here are probably above what a lot of places charge retail. A large Angel less than two hours away would be $100ish and in this area would be $50 more. A blue throat trigger word be $35 there and $75+ here. They will charge more to "special order" too when it costs them nothing more to add to their shipment (or to go pick up in LA if they are doing that on any given week). Equipment is about the same markup.

You pay more because of fees and taxes in CA. Right? Fish that are local cost lees than the ones that come from else where. Like a Queen angel here $35 in Florida and in PA. it's $75 and in CA ? $125 (hypothetically speaking) Are coral prices reasonable in CA. ???

reefaboo · Jul 8, 2015

Chantelle said:
I think it's called a true hallucination ZOA for a reason lol

hallucinations are indeed super nice but def not $700 a polyp

they are more like $200 or so and $150 or so if you know the seller

scardall · Jul 8, 2015

reefaboo said:
hallucinations are indeed super nice but def not $700 a polyp they are more like $200 or so and $150 or so if you know the seller

You think that is bad. WWC wants $950 for 1/2 a bounce mushroom. to each their own but ??????????????????

Combred has better looking ones at $450 and they are whole. WWC does have great people though working for them. Remember to shop around!

reefingnoob · Jul 8, 2015

DiverGirl82 said:
Working on getting stuff together to get my first tank up and running and I've been feeling bad that I've been ordering everything online. I believe in supporting local/small business. So today I decided I would go ahead and buy my salt from the lfs. I wanted the big 160g bucket but it was $117. A bit too steep for me since I just bought a bunch of other stuff from Lowe's. So I got 2 50g bags for $75 instead. I knew it was over priced but I didn't realize how much. I looked on BRS when I got home and saw I could have gotten a 200g bucket of the same brand for $55. Rookie lesson learned I guess. Now I don't feel so guilty about buying online.

This is really bad and sad though! Why is it soo over priced!? What brand is it?

DiverGirl82 · Jul 8, 2015

reefingnoob said:
This is really bad and sad though! Why is it soo over priced!? What brand is it?

It's instant ocean

reefingnoob · Jul 8, 2015

A good LFS is a blessing! Thank you @areefcreation

NeuroticAquatics · Jul 8, 2015

scardall said:
You pay more because of fees and taxes in CA. Right? Fish that are local cost lees than the ones that come from else where. Like a Queen angel here $35 in Florida and in PA. it's $75 and in CA ? $125 (hypothetically speaking) Are coral prices reasonable in CA. ???

The "local fish" pricing probably holds true (for Caribbean fish) for FL versus CA, but CA prices are all over the board. I've always heard that most fish/corals come into the U.S. thru the port in Long Beach or into LAX, so we are pretty close when international fish hit the U.S. I can actually order a box of fish/corals through a guy/distributer in LA and it basically comes from somewhere like Fiji to LAX and I would pick up there. The prices are insanely cheap even after adding the shipping fees...but I don't need a box at a time, so I've never done it.

CA coral prices are probably on par with everywhere else.

Chantelle · Jul 8, 2015

reefaboo said:
hallucinations are indeed super nice but def not $700 a polyp they are more like $200 or so and $150 or so if you know the seller

It was 4 polyps, so $175/polyp. Beautiful though, and definitely one of my long term goals when I start my zoa garden

Chantelle · Jul 8, 2015

reefaboo said:
hallucinations are indeed super nice but def not $700 a polyp they are more like $200 or so and $150 or so if you know the seller

I don't know why, but I can walk into a room with hundreds of Corals and my heart instantly spots the most expensive have to have Lol. So far my most expensive was a 5 head torch @ $150, but my ignorance and placing it too close to a killer acan guaranteed it's demise in a mere couple weeks