Best and worst of local shops....

[vr697getta]

i love the ORA frag tank at aqua world

 

[Paul_PSU]

I am pretty sure they have all switched to Burton's or if not will shortly. Unless they make a 180 switch on the direction of the sw section, the only reason I will go in is for dog food.

 

[fodupos]

not all have switch... one guy owns like 6 to 8 stores and decided to leave pet supplies plus's franchise to give a better product... their selection is small but they atleast are moving away from a petsmart and petco mindset of giant pet stores

 

[namsupak]

Who has good equipment such as tunze pumps or high end lighting? Also does anyone know who might have a drilled nano-size tank or a small tank for frags? Thanks.

 

[raynist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13306121#post13306121 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by namsupak
Who has good equipment such as tunze pumps or high end lighting? Also does anyone know who might have a drilled nano-size tank or a small tank for frags? Thanks.

Aquaworld has Vortech pumps and good lighting equipment. They would be your best choice.

 

[cloakerpoked]

I get all my lifestock at the Seahorse or WetPets. As far as price and quality for that, I think they're about even. Seahorse has less selection as far as corals go, but I've never been dissatisfied with their fish. That I've known the family that owns it for 10 years and would always recommend it because they've been a very loyal supplier ever since I started with my 5 gallon freshwater tank 15 years ago also has something to do with it...but still I think its a great store.

 

[fodupos]

just to let people know the burtons in bridgeville tore down their salt water takes to completely clean them and are ordering in new stock soon...

 

[superstein61]

The guys at Burtons in Bridgeville told me 2 weeks ago they were getting out of the SW business completely. Are you sure they are getting in new stock and not just converting everything over to FW (which they told me is more profitable / more in demand from their customer base)

 

[Paul_PSU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13492157#post13492157 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by superstein61
The guys at Burtons in Bridgeville told me 2 weeks ago they were getting out of the SW business completely. Are you sure they are getting in new stock and not just converting everything over to FW (which they told me is more profitable / more in demand from their customer base)

That is exactly what happened at the Monroeville store and the South Park store. They said they were "remodeling" the SW section and then only the FW came back.

 

[Python73]

Same happened in the Cranberry store. Beginning of the year.

S !

 

[cloakerpoked]

To be honest, and I don't want to sound negative here, but the chain stores (Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, etc.) were all about the bottom line, and that means (sadly) poor care for their animals. I can't help but notice the saltwater fish in a store like petco that all look as though they have been salted they have ich so bad. Part of me wants to get them just to try to save the poor guy in a QT tank...but then I realize my purchase just encourages them to buy more fish, and torture them longer. It is a pet peeve of mine when people don't take our responsibilities as reefers seriously. These are animals, and we need to treat them the same as we would treat our dog, or any other pet, and I just don't feel like any of the chain stores see things that way, its always about the bottom line. The SW section in PSP in Bridgeville seemed better than most PSP or Petco's I had ever been to, but I've never been to a Petco that didn't appear to be having major ich problems (which also means they were more than likely not treating it either...or had a really lousy supplier...I'm not sure which is worse.)

 

[fodupos]

it isn't a psp it is a burton's... the guys that owned most of the psp in the area decided to drop the franchise and start their own to go in a different direction... i think that the bridgeville one is sometimes a decent place to look if bored just because of a few of the guys who work there that know what they are talking about... i wouldn't recommend them for everything (they still have alot of aptasia esp on their corals) but sometimes you can find nice stuff there... what this boils down to is the same argument that many reefers have presented in the past... it doesn't always matter if it is a chain or not... it is the people that work there that matter...

 

[o0xerog0o]

Three months later, I'm bringing this thread back...

My wife and I made a trip to Pittsburgh today since we both had the day off. While we were up there, fighting the traffic in freezing rain, we stopped at Seahorse, AquaWorld, and Wet Pets.

This was my first time at Seahorse, and I was pretty impressed to be honest. I didn't think their prices were too bad, and now I know where I can go once I finally get an Octo tank set up. Their inventory was really shopped out though, and the girl I spoke with told me they were expecting another shipment in tonight, I'd love to see the store when their livestock tanks are filled.

AquaWorld has made major improvements since my last time there. The coral selection has been vastly increased, and I walked away with four new zoanthid frags, as well as a frilly mushroom rock for $75. I feel like I made out pretty well there today. Also, this was the first time I was there in the evening, so I finally got to meet Jeff instead of just through email and PM's.

Wet Pets is still the same great place. Nothing new to update there... I bought a gold headed sleeper goby which seems to be in good health.

 

[Aqua-World PITT]

It was nice to meet you too finally!

 

[cloakerpoked]

Just for those of you who know, and the guy's name was mentioned here recently, John at the Seahorse just had major back surgery (think his back was fractured) so I'm not sure what the future holds for him...but if you ever read this John...Good thoughts going out to you and your family and I hope you recover quickly.