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New to hobby

C

cingrassia

Hi,
where is a good lfs to go and learn about keeping saltwaterfish and coral? Im new to the hobby and currently own a 29g biocube and am contemplating upgrading to the redsea max 65. I live in Westfield so what is local too me?
 
C

calaxa

I wouldn't use a LFS as a place to learn about FW and corals. Their interest is in selling and profits, not their sustainability. They may give some good advice but their interests are not aligned with yours. You would do better getting advice and info from other hobbyists.
 
M

mgonz

I happen to agree. Most reatailers operate in that way. This is a good place to Ask questions and get answers from people who have gone through what you will eventually go through. Tons of great advice from people who have learned through trial and error. I will say this though. Of everyone I have dealt with in lfs I must give credit to chris from ocean gallery on rt 22 in Plainfield. When I started in the hobby he was one of the few people who treated me more like a person and not just a possible sale. Throughout my journey I have been able to call or swing by and he has always given me time to help me through certain things. They are also sponsors of NJRC and take care of the members.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

I agree with mark on Ocean Gallery II. Minor quip - I wish they'd stop selling rabbits/guinea pigs though. There are so many of those in shelters waiting for adoption.

I think Wil over at Aquatic Obsessions should also be mentioned for kudos. Yes AqOb needs to make a profit (doesn't everyone?) but I think Wil truly cares. It's not everyday you hear someone refuse to sell something to a customer. I also like the fact that he is a supporter of the club.
 
M

mgonz

I agree with the guinea pigs and aquatic. Will is pretty friendly. So I have to say that I agree on both ends.
 
D

Danw

I would have to go with Aquatic myself, you can go other places and they might tell you you need to do this and that and before you know it they have you buying a bunch of stuff that you really might not need. the best thing to do is ask other hobbyists the questions and youll get a straight forward answer, and can learn a lot from the input that everyone has. good luck and welcome to the wonderful and expensive hobby of saltwater tanks.
 
qwik

qwik

I guess I may be biased but I also say Will at AO . I can choose where to spend my money and will keep going to a store that wont sell or oversell to customers just to make a buck . It would of been easy for Will to go the easy way and sell me what I didnt need when I didnt know better and he didn't . I know we have many great sponsers like that so just ask here before spending . And AO does have a Redsea Max 65 in stock .
 
E

evoIX

if you'd like to learn there's a load of information on here as well as reef central. just read posts.

nano-forums.net? i forget the exact site name. it gives a good detailed list of what can be kept in a nano (for now until upgrade

learn about water parameters and keeping them stable, light, amount of flow, figure out what type of fish you want to keep, types of corals and how to keep them happy. also ACCLIMATE

if you plan on upgrading i would suggest to wait til you upgrade to get most of your items. unless you were referring to a year down the road.

i went from 15-33-current 55 and still not satisfied. the only thing i would change is pick the biggest size possible for the fish you want to house and do it right the first time then spending to upgrade each time.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I think Will is very good with equipment and is conciencious about what he sells. Certainly willing to help out and keep tabs on your developments here if you start a tank thread. OG II is also very knowledgeable on corals.

Think those stores are the nearest to you. Both are sponsors so if your a member you will get a nice discount.

Read read read get a couple books, check out some of the tank threads here, ask questions or look in the forums because if there is a question it has been asked once at least probably. But don't worry if you ask again you will get some new answers and everyone is very willing to help out. There are other forums were you can get some good info someone pointed out the nano-forums.net there is also nano-reef.com, manhattanreefs.com (local), and then reef central.
The super nice thing about our forum IMHO is that the people here are ready to help and being local actually do. The officers first and foremost. We do group buys which are super. Monthly meetings are a great way to meet people and learn.
Try to pay the 12 bucks for a year membership it is really worth it...

Sorry if I went off tangent but when I started all I did was go to the LFS and get some good and not so great advice. There is a lot more out there and it wouldn't be responsible not to give you some directions to get good advice.
 
T

tony070792

Absolutely Fish is pretty good for answering questions and not trying to sell you too much.
Try to catch the owner or one of the older fellows. They are very knowledgable.
 
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