Best store in North Cal?

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In Memoriam
Hi guys!
I am setting up my new 180 reef, it has been cycle with all them rocks..Now its time to get some live stuff. I only have power compact lights. if I put the hard stuff way up on top of the tank...closer to the lights...will that work??
Which local store in Norcal has the most selection?
I have about $1500 to spend this weekend. Please help. Thanks.:D
 
Your reef will get you more for you money in frags, they may be smaller but give them time and they will grow out....

As to your PC question, what brand and how many wattage.

Genereally you can only keep softies and LPS with PC lights, ACRO AND MONT'S wouldn't do well and more then likely die off.
 
If you're in the market for corals - definitely check out YourReef. It's one of the few coral store that actually sells frags. I like Aqualife's fish selection. I haven't been to the Coral Reef Store - but since it's so close to YourReef, you might as well check it out. Exotic just opened, but I haven't checked them out yet either.

If you're willing to drive to the San Jose area - you really need to go to Mermaid (great selection and price on fish and corals) and Aquatic Gallery ("best" selection on fish and corals, but a little pricey).
 
[welcome]
I say upgrade your light first then buy coral later. 180G tank with PC is not that great. $1500 you can buy some nice light for that tank and some nice coral with the left over $$ ..
 
Agreed. At 180 gallons, you should use the money to upgrade to Metal Halides and you should still have a few bucks to begin populating the tank with corals. Don't forget that your buildup of livestock should be gradual. Allow things time and space to grow out. Good luck and I hope that you have fun!
 
I'd have to agree... you probably need better lights. That's a huge tank and better lights will allow you to keep a wider range of coral.
 
I've been to exotic, o st., capital, your reef, aqua life, and coral reef shop in the last 2 months. IMO coral reef shop had the nicest stuff. Exotic didn't have a lot of corals as of last week, but they're super new.
 
i like o-street for fish, they have good prices and alot to pick, be sure to go in the back as they have more shrimps and such back there.

your-reef is best for corals, low price and they are easy to pick out (at o-street they are in display tanks w/no clear prices)

a little place i think was called pardise aquarium (?) had alot of tonga branch live rock at great prices

coral reef shop from what i saw had good prices and was clean and nice, they had tank raised seahorses for $40!!!!

as for what to put in your tank i always reccomend a skunk cleaner shrimp, they are active, easy to care for, generally hardy, beautiful and will clean your fingers!!!!
(fire shrimp hide too much and cost more, i have one and i saw him for the first time the other day since JUNE!!! i thought he was dead for sure!!!!)

with PC lights you can still get away w/some SPS corals, i have kept monticaps and digitatas just fine, just keep them near the light and give them a good current.

but save SPS for later, i sudgest starting with mushrooms, you can't really go wrong with mushrooms, they even survive in shade!!!! and can handle all kinds of water conditions
same for zoanthids, when my tiny tank overheated the only surviors were the snails, hermits and zoanthids.
 
PC's over a nano and PC's over a 180 are two totaly different monsters...Just how much PC do you have over the tank?.... I really wouldn't advise getting SPS...I think you willl be very dissapointed. However you will probable have good succes with softies and most LPS.
Another thing to keep in mind....you do not want to stock your tank too fast if it's new. You'll probably overload the system and it will not be able to keep up with the waste that is produced by all the new animals....and you may lose some of it. Maybe a few more details about the tank would help to determine this...How long has the tank been set up...what sort of filtration does it have on it...ie skimmer, wet/dry, how much live rock....and is there a sump or refugium set up on it?
 
Get new lights......I upgraded 3 times before getting it right....buy the most you can afford ditch the PCs and get MHs or t5's
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8155031#post8155031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pico1
What are you in the market for? Fish? Coral? Inverts?
Click to expand...

Nice start Pico, this is a more serious question and needs an answer before you can recieve a good one yourself.

It is extremely important for your success to decide what it is exactly that you want. If it's a certain fish, coral, invert then your mission should be to find out what kind of environment that particular specimen grows naturally in the wild. This plays into biotopes. There is a reason why there are such things and it can have a direct affect on your success. Certain corals dont do well together, as do fish etc. If it's a "look" that your after, then do a lil research to find out the specific cares of the specimens that give a tank that "look".

Once you tell me what critters your after, then you'll be more inclined to recieve good care information on said critters in regards to light, flow, food, and water quality among other things that you may or may not need to ensure better chances for success.

Btw, welcome! Glad you made it here:)

-Justin
 
Yes....Yes...the Pico1 is most wise.......because of the variety we have around here in shopping destinations, they all specialize in a niche of thier own. And what you want to keep will determine your equipment shopping list.

I like to refer to the reef tanks as little puzzles with some gots to haves, better have, and if you want this.....well then you can't have that variables.

And be honest about what you want in your tank.......its really ok to have a treasure chest or the sukenship in it no matter what the other kids say.... but seriously...a full blown SPS tank is completly different than a FOWLR, even though they both have saltwater in them. Which means without the right equipment it will be more frustrating than you will ever know.
 
coral reef shop - best selection for grown corals. some nice pieces with good prices.

your reef - some good grown corals, lots of frags. some nice pieces in the new tank set up.

o street - good pieces. not comfortable with the price of corals not being on the tanks. asked about a frogspawn from one employee was told $50, later asked another about the same frogspawn and was told $65. i've never bought another coral there.

capital - some corals. worth a stop.

aqua life - is that the one in rocklin? if so, not a bad store either to hit. they were swapping around tanks last time i was there. didn't seem as glamorous then as it was before to me.



regardless, they are all within 20 miles of each other (if not less). make it a day. map them out. go to each and see what they have and buy, buy, buy on your way back :D


i agree with all the others though. get some good lights so you can buy any coral that appeals to you. also, take a little pocket guide with you so you can ensure the corals you are buying will work in your set up. spontaneous buying often leads to disappointment (i.e. dead corals).
 
Thanks everyone and the tips!!:D I got one now.
I went to a few of the store in Sac, here's what I found, base on my own experience:

Best selection: Exotic. Man O' man, they have 3 big tanks full of coral. O street have a few things that I like, not bad at all for a little store, like wht other memebers said: there is no price on coral and the price may change every 3 mins. well, I bought one anyway.
Worst : Capital. Not much to look at as far as salt water stuff go.

Best location, easy to find, wide parking spot (I hate door dings)....etc
Pro: Exotic.
Con: Capital and O street. There is no freaking parking!

Price and Service:
Pro: Exotic. Sounds like I am advertising for Exotic, I got my new 48" corallife lunar with MH and atinic for $799!! I was there Sat and they were having a extra 20% off on all coarals. I know I can't put everything in all at once...spend $300 anyway.
Con: Capital. How come everything at Capital are so high? Hate it that I have to take a number. Took a little too long to blow my money, so forget it.

I will do my "fish storing" in BayArea this weekend, any suggestion? I will do a report after that. Thanks.
 
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