LFS or Online shopping

I don't want to go to real reef shops in Phoenix...it'll just **** me off that much more at the state of the shops down here.
 
A saltwater store is a balence of a craft and an art. There needs to be pride in the shop and the craft of creating an environment conducive to a marine animal thriving. I think what is lacking is the motivation to do it. A show tank is the be all end all to what the skill set is of the shop. It's a demonstration of the ability to build a sustainable system and the knowledge to maintain it. It shows knowledge of husbandry and selection of species to live together in this space and not be detrimental to other inhabitants. I think the observation about no show tank is an astute observation. Not having a show tank is a sign of a failure of having all the pieces together in a shop. It's the sign that at least one person in the shop had it together enough to produce the tank. The shops here almost seem to have a big box knowledge base of well we have some of the stuff here but not all of it to do this right. Some knowledge of basic husbandry on a good day, and never everything together at the store at the same time to do it right. No matter where the show tank is in the shop, it is the most valuable piece of showroom square footage as it is a sign of compitance and a benchmark for all other competitors to top. Its an inspiration for new hobbiests in their endeavors. The reason the shops haven't gotten their acts together or then gone out of buisness is not that they are providing an adequate service, it's that we have no other good option to turn to. In a larger market the shops here would have folded and been a memory.
 
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Maybe a fully stocked store isnt as necessary if the local reef club has enough strength. Group orders are a huge deal and you guys cant get enough of them. Monthly or bi monthly meetings with a frag swap. Somebody to go buy 3, 40 gallon breeders from petco and make arrangements with a centralized local establishment to let us have meetings/swaps there. It works great for FRAG. The excitement is already here, the group is formed and ready Tucson just needs somebody to organize and lead it.

I go To Albuquerque a lot more than anyone should and i always check their group thread before i visit to see if anything is going on or for sale before i get there. For a year and a half there was no threads or activity. Gary moves in and that place is buzzing like crazy now. I think club involvement can be the biggest differentiator in a small market like this and that is proof.

As far as lfs though im spoiled by my frequent trips to phx. Their shops are awesome, the display tanks at reefculture are ridiculous,if i had kids i would take them there instead of going to the zoo! The personalized help and prices you get from Carlos at the aquarius are unmatched in tucson. I go into reefmonsters and the shop is clean and it smells good. The fish look healthy and they are not a bunch of common damsels and nemos. I went in there the other night as they were closing and they unlocked the door and told me to come in and take my time. The frag tanks are organized and labeled/priced. prices are excellent and more importantly owner said if you need something you dont see let me know and i will find it for you. That means a lot to me.
 
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I'm down for a club, share each others expertise. I know macro algae mangroves and phytoplankton. I'd love to pick someone's brain who knows fish breeding and someome to help me from killing sps. A meeting with a speaker each meeting on a topic would go a long way to advancing the local hobby. A club laser for aptasia would be cool too. I'd like to see an organization fill the "lfs"since the local lfs has failed to do so.
 
I'm in too, maybe we should get the Thunder Canyon meetings going again like ACRO used to do. I think bi-monthly swaps would be cool
 
Sounds like fun !!! Count me in too !!! Hey I mean with all the GB we are doing - we might just have are own frag swag ( of course once everything grows out ) ... But if not maybe we all should schedule a weekend sat / sun and go check out the LFS in Phoenix ??? I am pretty sure it would be a blast and if we called ahead and let them know we are coming they might give us some Group buy pricing !!! Just thowing that one out there. Plus we can visit DangerWill !!! :beer:
 
I wish I had more time. I would love to be involved but with work kids etc etc I am pulled thin

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I would love to be your phoenix tour guide!

i think group buys and frag swaps can explode the amount of coral available in the old pueblo look how many new species you guys have imported just in the past month. Those will be showing up all over the place in the next six months (faster for Brett with his sweet *** new light)

Individual topical speakers is a great idea John there is so much to learn. In fact while we are in this thread i think an lfs could benefit by doing a sunday class like home depot and teach people how to use test kits or frag corals etc. fowlrs are daunting and reefs are downright science class. So many more people would be willing to drop more coin on high end frags if they knew they weren't going to kill them right away

Im getting excited
 
Funny actually i will be in tucson 2 days a week after i move to phoenix and im in tucson 3 days a week now while i live here.
 
The fish store would have to keep people that know their creatures. Many but not all here don't .

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Lets have a local club owbed store it can be in bretts warehouse!

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