Moving to Boston, MA area...help please.
- Thread starter jkobel
- Start date
csb
New member
I'm in southern NH and there are 2 very good LFS's in Salem NH, just across the border. You can get there fairly easy on I93 and salem is just barely over the nh border.
Here's the profile on each:
Sea World Pet Center - large variety of fish, inverts, and corals (softies, lps), but not much for SPS. Lot of equipment and supplies. Knowledgeable staff. Saltwater is their main business.
Aqua Addicts (www.aquaaddicts.com) - smaller store, but MORE SPECIALIZED! These guys really know their reefs, and if you're looking for high quality corals, rare fish, etc, these guys have it! I think AA's live rock is better quality than Sea World, but they're almost always sold out of rock because it leaves the store as quickly as they get it. They have some supplies that the other store doesn't have ... finnex titanium heaters, plumbing parts & bulkheads, reef supplies (kalkwasser - go figure, the other store doesn't carry kalk of all things).
So there it is. There may be an LFS somewhere else in the vicinity of Boston, but I highly recommend these 2 stores, especially aqua addicts if you're a serious reefer. Between the 2 of 'em, you can get just about anything you'd want.
--csb
Here's the profile on each:
Sea World Pet Center - large variety of fish, inverts, and corals (softies, lps), but not much for SPS. Lot of equipment and supplies. Knowledgeable staff. Saltwater is their main business.
Aqua Addicts (www.aquaaddicts.com) - smaller store, but MORE SPECIALIZED! These guys really know their reefs, and if you're looking for high quality corals, rare fish, etc, these guys have it! I think AA's live rock is better quality than Sea World, but they're almost always sold out of rock because it leaves the store as quickly as they get it. They have some supplies that the other store doesn't have ... finnex titanium heaters, plumbing parts & bulkheads, reef supplies (kalkwasser - go figure, the other store doesn't carry kalk of all things).
So there it is. There may be an LFS somewhere else in the vicinity of Boston, but I highly recommend these 2 stores, especially aqua addicts if you're a serious reefer. Between the 2 of 'em, you can get just about anything you'd want.
--csb
RichConley
New member
I think thats the first good Sea world reference I've ever seen. I'm not a big fan.
Aqua Addicts is great though. They've got the best prices you'll find anywhere on stuff like refractometers, RO filters, test kits, etc. Theyre currently expanding to a much bigger size.
Aquarium Gallery, over in Hudson, is good too, although B tends to just carry "trendy" stuff. Lots of acans and the like right now, and $300 wrasses.
Skiptons Pet Center on the Boston/Roxbury line is probably the closest. They're pretty good, although dry goods prices can be a little high, and lately fish selection has been poor. Huge section of aquacultured SPS though.
Head on over to Bostonreefers.org/forums if you need any more help. We've got one of the biggest reef clubs in the country.
Aqua Addicts is great though. They've got the best prices you'll find anywhere on stuff like refractometers, RO filters, test kits, etc. Theyre currently expanding to a much bigger size.
Aquarium Gallery, over in Hudson, is good too, although B tends to just carry "trendy" stuff. Lots of acans and the like right now, and $300 wrasses.
Skiptons Pet Center on the Boston/Roxbury line is probably the closest. They're pretty good, although dry goods prices can be a little high, and lately fish selection has been poor. Huge section of aquacultured SPS though.
Head on over to Bostonreefers.org/forums if you need any more help. We've got one of the biggest reef clubs in the country.
Now I'm curious about sharing Sea World experiences with other reefers in the area. I'd love to hook up with some locals for frag swaps anyway.
ppht
Premium Member
I just bought my whole setup from seaworld.
I know of PJ Petcentre in Saugus,
Tropicle Isle in Framingham that I wanted to go check out but didnt.
My friend has a 1000 gal reef tank and recommended my to seaworld. I ended up knowing the guy there and they were very informative with a large onsite selection. I wouldnt buy rock there though. 9.99 a lb and it looked dead to me.
jkobel - What city are you moving too?
Also a placein everett but I would stay away from that one.
I know of PJ Petcentre in Saugus,
Tropicle Isle in Framingham that I wanted to go check out but didnt.
My friend has a 1000 gal reef tank and recommended my to seaworld. I ended up knowing the guy there and they were very informative with a large onsite selection. I wouldnt buy rock there though. 9.99 a lb and it looked dead to me.
jkobel - What city are you moving too?
Also a placein everett but I would stay away from that one.
Last edited:
csb
New member
All this time I never knew about Aquarium Gallery in Hudson. It's a little bit closer to me anyway than Salem is... I'll prob go down there tonight and check it out.
There's also a thread on bostonreefers.org where people voted it the best LFS north of Boston. Not a bad endorsement. Aqua Addicts came in at #2, and Sea World didn't even register. Interesting results!
--csb
There's also a thread on bostonreefers.org where people voted it the best LFS north of Boston. Not a bad endorsement. Aqua Addicts came in at #2, and Sea World didn't even register. Interesting results!
--csb
csb
New member
Yeah, we've got a Petco in ManchVegas ... they do have a small selection of saltwater fish, but not much else. When I started saltwater, I bought 2 clowns from there and they both died, so I decided to just not buy fish there any more. The tanks didn't look very good then anyway ... although, to their credit, their saltwater tanks have been looking much better lately. I buy misc. stuff there... air line when needed, limewood air difussers, etc. (they carry a certain size wood air difuser made by Red Sea that I haven't found anywhere else!)
Not much around the Boston area. I don't know why, but it seems like you need to head to NH. I was disappointed when I moved here myself. Tropic Isle in Framingham is pretty good but a little pricey. They have a good selection of fish though. I've been to PJ's in Saugus, and it's what you'd expect from a general pet store. They have a small selection of fish and corals of varying quality. I've been to "the place in Everett" that another poster mentioned. I can't remember the name. but I wasn't impressed. It's too bad that you have to drive an hour just to find a decent LFS that has good reef stuff.
RichConley
New member
I think skiptons is the only real LFS in boston. Lovely Pets is in quincy, and is a decent sized place, but prices are high, and quality really isnt, IMO.
The place in everett is probably the other Sea Creatures.
But yeah, basically all the best shops are outside the city. Tropic Isle (framingham)has a great selection of fish and dry good, but their prices on fish are about 20% higher than everyone else, and their dry goods prices are just plain silly. ($149.99 for a mag7).
South of the city, Coral Reef Aquarium is Seekonk is great, with a good amount of aquacultured frags, great people, and their own line of equipment: "Skim-mate" skimmers, basically ER knockoffs, really nice, run like $200, their own line of Ca reactors, etc. Jeremy is a little quiet, but is great if you actually take the time to talk to him.
If your into Cichlids, Uncle Ned's Fish Factory is one of the best in the country (millis,ma?)
West of the city theres Beacon Aquarium in worcester, theyre pretty good, but I've only been there a couple times. Talk to Lourdes.
North theres Aquarium Gallery, and Aqua Addicts. Mike at AA imports a lot of his own stuff, IE decent refractometers for $40, large line of RO prefilters for like $4 each, etc, and generally has great prices on things. Salifert Mag kits are like $20, theyre 25+ everywhere else.
THeres plenty of good shops around, just look at 45 minute rides for most of them, becaues Skiptons closes at 6:30....and its tough to get into the center of Boston around that time.
bdelaney, did you go to BCHigh?
The place in everett is probably the other Sea Creatures.
But yeah, basically all the best shops are outside the city. Tropic Isle (framingham)has a great selection of fish and dry good, but their prices on fish are about 20% higher than everyone else, and their dry goods prices are just plain silly. ($149.99 for a mag7).
South of the city, Coral Reef Aquarium is Seekonk is great, with a good amount of aquacultured frags, great people, and their own line of equipment: "Skim-mate" skimmers, basically ER knockoffs, really nice, run like $200, their own line of Ca reactors, etc. Jeremy is a little quiet, but is great if you actually take the time to talk to him.
If your into Cichlids, Uncle Ned's Fish Factory is one of the best in the country (millis,ma?)
West of the city theres Beacon Aquarium in worcester, theyre pretty good, but I've only been there a couple times. Talk to Lourdes.
North theres Aquarium Gallery, and Aqua Addicts. Mike at AA imports a lot of his own stuff, IE decent refractometers for $40, large line of RO prefilters for like $4 each, etc, and generally has great prices on things. Salifert Mag kits are like $20, theyre 25+ everywhere else.
THeres plenty of good shops around, just look at 45 minute rides for most of them, becaues Skiptons closes at 6:30....and its tough to get into the center of Boston around that time.
bdelaney, did you go to BCHigh?
Thanks everyone for the info. Feel free to keep it coming. The area that we're moving to is the North Shore (Essex County area-not sure exactly where yet) so it sounds like all those places will work out.
Richcloney-is skiptons easily accessalbe by the T or is it better by car (is there parking)?
Richcloney-is skiptons easily accessalbe by the T or is it better by car (is there parking)?
csb
New member
I dropped into Aquarium Gallery in Hudson yesterday evening for the first time. Got to see some of the tanks, but they had a new fish order arriving and had a lot of tanks dark for acclimation. I'm heading back there this weekend to hopefully buy a few new corals. Huge selection from what I could tell. Good quality stuff too ... bought some supplies there... for once, I found *everything* I needed in 1 place!
--csb
--csb
I second Sea Creatures on the Lynn - Revere line. They have a nice selection of fish, SPS, softies, clams. The last time I talked to the owner, he said they are adding a SPS dedicated tank. They're always adding more tanks.
Welcome to the Boston area. Definitely check out the Boston Reef Society at http://www.bostonreefers.org
Welcome to the Boston area. Definitely check out the Boston Reef Society at http://www.bostonreefers.org
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