Reefer clubs for Orange County SoCal

[AnxietiesCopilot]

I’m trying to start and would like to get a solid basis before I start making any purchases as this is absolutely one of the most expensive and time consuming hobbies I’ve wanted.

 

[sunken3]

you are trying to start a club or a reef tank? -

 

[AnxietiesCopilot]

you are trying to start a club or a reef tank? -

I’m trying to find a club that’s established and get a good basis of some design ideas and the prices of stuff so I’m not scammed right off the bat lol and I have an idea what to do, I’ve done freshwater before but I know this is much much more complicated and will require more management and planning which I intend to do before I purchase anything

 

[o2manyfish]

If you are in Orange County in California there is the SCMAS club. They used to meet monthly I'm not sure what the schedule is post pandemic.

You have some great resources in the OC. In Costa Mesa there is Garrett's Acropolis. Steve Garrett is a great guy and just a wealth on information on coral care and coral husbandry. He's been running an outdoor coral propagation farm for over 20 years and is really concerned with propagation.

The other place to check out is Ali's Amazing Reefs in the city of Orange. This is different than any other fish store you have been to. It's more like a lounge with Fish Tanks. There are less than 20 tanks in the store. And only one wall really has stuff for sell. The other tanks are a collection of things he likes. You may see spawning Orange Spot File Fish, you may seen an anemone you didn't even know existed, or a coral that people whispered about 20 years ago. Ali has some of the best kept aquariums I have ever seen. His water clarity and the health of the life within his care is on the same level of a Public Aquarium - with better results.

Ali doesn't sell much. He's a wealth of information. He can definitely guide you and assist you in getting started the right way. He sells equipment that works and that he uses in the shop. But he isn't a salesman. If you come and talk to him for 2 hours he could care less if you buy something or not. He just cares about the hobby. Having a store is just a way for him to hang with his fish friends without inviting them into his home - so it appears

Dave B

 

[AnxietiesCopilot]

If you are in Orange County in California there is the SCMAS club. They used to meet monthly I'm not sure what the schedule is post pandemic.

You have some great resources in the OC. In Costa Mesa there is Garrett's Acropolis. Steve Garrett is a great guy and just a wealth on information on coral care and coral husbandry. He's been running an outdoor coral propagation farm for over 20 years and is really concerned with propagation.

The other place to check out is Ali's Amazing Reefs in the city of Orange. This is different than any other fish store you have been to. It's more like a lounge with Fish Tanks. There are less than 20 tanks in the store. And only one wall really has stuff for sell. The other tanks are a collection of things he likes. You may see spawning Orange Spot File Fish, you may seen an anemone you didn't even know existed, or a coral that people whispered about 20 years ago. Ali has some of the best kept aquariums I have ever seen. His water clarity and the health of the life within his care is on the same level of a Public Aquarium - with better results.

Ali doesn't sell much. He's a wealth of information. He can definitely guide you and assist you in getting started the right way. He sells equipment that works and that he uses in the shop. But he isn't a salesman. If you come and talk to him for 2 hours he could care less if you buy something or not. He just cares about the hobby. Having a store is just a way for him to hang with his fish friends without inviting them into his home - so it appears

Dave B

In all honesty the threads I could find to SCMAS were dead the domain was gone and their last meeting time I could find was 2020 pre pandemic so that group unfortunately may have collapsed or gone somewhere else that I don’t know I’ll check out the other sources however thank you.

 

[sunken3]

I’m trying to find a club that’s established and get a good basis of some design ideas and the prices of stuff so I’m not scammed right off the bat lol and I have an idea what to do, I’ve done freshwater before but I know this is much much more complicated and will require more management and planning which I intend to do before I purchase anything

Oh. funny, I have been doing this for 20+ years and other than a few friends in the hobby and first ReefCentral and now Reef2Reef I really haven't ventured out. Saltwater is really only complicated if you make it that way - buy crazy expert level critters or don't spend enough time maintaining your tank. I am not sure what you are worried about be scammed on? equipment, animals, or information?

 

[AnxietiesCopilot]

Oh. funny, I have been doing this for 20+ years and other than a few friends in the hobby and first ReefCentral and now Reef2Reef I really haven't ventured out. Saltwater is really only complicated if you make it that way - buy crazy expert level critters or don't spend enough time maintaining your tank. I am not sure what you are worried about be scammed on? equipment, animals, or information?

Tbh animals/frags/macroalgae and equipment I have no basis for cost so I’m just comparing a ton to try and figure out what’s reasonable

 

[sunken3]

I think equipment is pretty safe as most suppliers seem to follow MSRP 99% of the time. Sales are your only chance at a deal. different brands can range widely though - brand A skimmer may be half the price of brand B. Good luck on the critters... over the last few years everything has gone up significantly and pricing is all over the place. shopping around is your best bet. Also, just because website A charges 5x more for one fish doesn't mean it's not 5x less for another. It can be a bit hit or miss. There are plenty of folks here that can help offer advice when needed.

 

[AnxietiesCopilot]

I think equipment is pretty safe as most suppliers seem to follow MSRP 99% of the time. Sales are your only chance at a deal. different brands can range widely though - brand A skimmer may be half the price of brand B. Good luck on the critters... over the last few years everything has gone up significantly and pricing is all over the place. shopping around is your best bet. Also, just because website A charges 5x more for one fish doesn't mean it's not 5x less for another. It can be a bit hit or miss. There are plenty of folks here that can help offer advice when needed.

Yep or you can get fish that are 5x lower quality and plague rats