Aquatic Visions (Naperville)
- Thread starter BigBarnacles
- Start date
It amazes me the snootiness of hobbiest. A lot of people like to show off there knowledge and belittle others. Maybe I'm being dramatic but a lfs was most likely started by some sort of enthusiast. In this day and age of the internet you would think they would be more helpful to the people who actually go to their stores. Me personally, I don't mind spending an extra 5-10 dollars on livestock and dry goods from a lfs that has a great staff. I consider the extra cash a fee for the thousands of questions i ask. I have not been to all the stores but my recent good expieriences have been at Beyond The Reef in schaumburg and Ocean Design Aquarium on Addison in Chicago.
tribalturtle2
New member
Never had a issue with ReefPlus, Steve's been more than helpful with my questions in person, over the phone or email. Fish, coral and inverts always healthy. Bought a frag of green/purple ricordea and it opened fully after acclimating and putting it in the tank!
When I've been in the store the phone rings and he's on the run to answer. As far as coral frags, keep in mind the store isn't as big as ReefWise.
When I've been in the store the phone rings and he's on the run to answer. As far as coral frags, keep in mind the store isn't as big as ReefWise.
steri
New member
Reef Plus is okay. Not bad, not great, but okay. I do like his fish. His fish prices are decent. I will give him that. His coral prices are more than a little high if you ask me, but that is just my opinion.
He also usually has large amount of base rock and live rick. His base rock is decently priced. Steve has been nice to me when I have been in there, although I have heard from others the opposite.
Regardless, my experiences with him have been good. I am a repeat customer there, so there must be some things I like about the place other than how local it is to me, but there are stores that are better, especially for coral.
Aquatic Visions: I also have been in there a number of times. The owner there has always been friendly and helpful to me, but I would never buy a fish from him as I think his fish prices are extremely high. I have bought a some base rock from him and a few coral frags. The store is clean, I will give him that. His variety is also quite good. I will give him that too. But I have always thought his fish prices were very high.
jlnielsen13
New member
Thanks to all the posts on this forum I decided to go to Aquapros for the first time last weekend. I was also impressed by all his facebook photos and was willing to make the 1 hr trip...
Sadly, huge waste of a trip! His store is extremely messy and the tanks are not well cared for. (His water quality might be superb but the look was not).
His selection was iffy at best and I really couldn't find anything to buy. Prices were okay but the cheaper corals were not that nice and really small. If you are just starting out a tank this might be a good place to pick up some cheap frags.
Luckily, ReefWise was right down 355 and I was able to find numerous corals there. If I am going to travel to that area the only store to go to is ReefWise in my opinion.
Thanks,
JIM
Sadly, huge waste of a trip! His store is extremely messy and the tanks are not well cared for. (His water quality might be superb but the look was not).
His selection was iffy at best and I really couldn't find anything to buy. Prices were okay but the cheaper corals were not that nice and really small. If you are just starting out a tank this might be a good place to pick up some cheap frags.
Luckily, ReefWise was right down 355 and I was able to find numerous corals there. If I am going to travel to that area the only store to go to is ReefWise in my opinion.
Thanks,
JIM
dja1980
Active member
From what others have said, it sounds like Aquapros gets cleaned out fast. You need to watch their Facebook page to find out when to go. I was there for the first time on Friday, and I was definitely impressed by the prices... kind of reminded me of Rod's from back in the day. We spent about $150... when we looked at the receipt, he gave us better prices than listed on everything... we didn't even ask for any discounts! And, I'm always happy when I can find a decent selection $10 SPS frags.
robs , aquatica, reefwise..... and the internet and "used off of here"
but im a southwest sider... have not been to aqua pros but sounds like a great place to check out..... whatever the big one is by the ikea in bolinbrook is be careful saw nothing but disease, red slime, and you could not pay me to put one of their fish in my system for fear of bringing that along with it...i have tried them 3 times in a year thinking no way could they sell fish from this system....but they must,,, then they want you to buy a card to be a member.. i hear great things about some stores up north but with fuel being high and my jeep being tall i tend to stay fairly local or the 50 dollar corals turn in to 100 real quick lol
but im a southwest sider... have not been to aqua pros but sounds like a great place to check out..... whatever the big one is by the ikea in bolinbrook is be careful saw nothing but disease, red slime, and you could not pay me to put one of their fish in my system for fear of bringing that along with it...i have tried them 3 times in a year thinking no way could they sell fish from this system....but they must,,, then they want you to buy a card to be a member.. i hear great things about some stores up north but with fuel being high and my jeep being tall i tend to stay fairly local or the 50 dollar corals turn in to 100 real quick lol
GumbyIl
New member
I think reef plus is going through some growing pains. It's important to remember that it's only been in business a short time. I wish he had better labeling, and I liked it better when it wasn't as busy. Still, its close and keeps me out of AA for food and salt. The last two times I've been in for food I've left with livestock. I have no problems with selection or price.
I don't get out to reef plus very much anymore. There's never anything I'm interested in, but Steve is worth buying supplies from on occasion. That place on 59 is nasty and obnoxious. I wouldn't go back for anything.
I don't get out to reef plus very much anymore. There's never anything I'm interested in, but Steve is worth buying supplies from on occasion. That place on 59 is nasty and obnoxious. I wouldn't go back for anything.
Poppy828
Active member
I don't think a store being opened since 2004 is a short time? I could very well be wrong, but a business going on 9 years has surpassed the initial 3-5 year growing pains that most small businesses experience.
