Reef Raft NorCal

gb530

gb530

New member
WOW! I went into Reef Raft this last weekend while visiting the Bay Area (I live in Chico, CA right now but am originally from Pleasanton). THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! So many cool corals! I have never been to a a place with so many amazing corals! They are a little pricey but if you want top of the line, you should definitely check this place out.

Anyways, just wanted share with all of you Bay Area reefers that this place is definitely worth a stop! Just to even drool at their stuff, lol. I took some pics too but they don't do justice.

Anyone else been there yet? They just opened like 2 weeks ago.

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wayy too overpriced, could be the next aquatic gallery, but overall nice selection. i was there when they started dosing vodka so the tanks were cloudy
 
JN93 said:
Wayy too overpriced, could be the next aquatic gallery, but overall nice selection. i was there when they started dosing vodka so the tanks were cloudy
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Their corals are not cheap, I don't know about overpriced though. You get what you pay for and all their corals are really really cool!
 
Reef Raft NorCal

It's his camera. I was just there yesterday, snapped a pic and it came out weird like that too.

I think their prices are pretty fair on their reef ready setups. As far as corals and other livestock, it's pricey but I've seen pricier. This store is super organized too...all the frags have name/price tags on them too, which I thought was pretty cool.

Cleanest store I've ever been to, including Aquatic Gallery.

RR could use a cool Black Tip Reef Shark in a 4000g display tho..IJS.

;)

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gb530 said:
You get what you pay for
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I'm sorry this made me laugh. (tongue in cheek) are their corals handmade in a state of the art workshop? This whole time I thought this stuff was coming from the ocean!

:hammer: just having fun!
 
79chopperdr said:
I'm sorry this made me laugh. (tongue in cheek) are their corals handmade in a state of the art workshop? This whole time I thought this stuff was coming from the ocean!

:hammer: just having fun!
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i guess what he means is something has to pay the bills for that large of a lot :)
 
79chopperdr said:
I'm sorry this made me laugh. (tongue in cheek) are their corals handmade in a state of the art workshop? This whole time I thought this stuff was coming from the ocean!

:hammer: just having fun!
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haha, yeah, the market really dictates the price. Supply and demand.
 
Do you guys remember Green Marine in Berkeley? It was a cool place to pick up frags for CHEAP. The problem was that the business model sucked -- you can't make money on nickel and dime frags -- especially when the volume of sales is relatively low.

Reef Raft is on the complete other side of the spectrum. I have yet to visit the Fremont store, but the L.A. shop clearly caters to a high-end audience. Based on the photos of the Fremont shop, it looks like they went all-out to create an environment built for high-end buyers, going so far as to have a lounge area and a show tank with a Clarion and Gem Tang.

The L.A. shop had common corals, but many were higher end and the price reflected that. Of course, Reef Raft is known for their signature corals which are typically $300+ for a small frag. In this way they cater to a Porsche crowd (some may even go so far as to say Ferrari or Lamborghini). Many people in L.A. don't blink an eye. Up here is a different story -- we drive Audis and VWs (metaphorically speaking, of course).

I'm all for paying extra for a nicer experience -- a clean shop, well labeled stock, knowledgeable staff, etc. I like the fact that you can see coral from both the top and side. I also like the fact that if I drag my kids with me to the shop they can hang out in the lounge area which will allow me to look around without distractions. So, the total cost of the experience of buying, plus the coral itself, is what we need to take into consideration. Granted, it's not for everyone, but I think we can all agree that another place to buy corals, especially a place this nice, is a win for all of us.
 
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^ what he said

That place is super clean and a pleasure to walk around in. The owner of the socal store Tony, helped me try to figure out some problems Im having with my tank. Him and the owner (didn't catch his name) spent a good 20-30 mins talking to me.

You obviously pay a premium for the corals here but have you guys seen the pricing on the dry goods? They were at online prices if not cheaper in some instances.
 
If your looking for something nice/ badass I'm pretty sure reef raft will always have something in stock for you. Can you go to other stores and find stuff as nice... Yes.. Sometimes.. Or maybe someone else already bought it... Higher price = more likely in stock for you to buy.

Is it right or wrong? It seems to have worked for the other reef raft store. I'm glad there is another killer store to visit now on a bay area run. Will I buy a lot for them? Probably not, but every once in while I will spend something stupid to get a nice coral. Its cool having options.
 
I would pay more for a nice strand of something. All too often the market gets saturated with not so good looking strands of something. We've all seen it. Something as simple as frogspawn. Some peoples strands of frogspawn look way better than others. I respect that fact that you need to pay more for that.

Kudos to reef raft for doing something different. No idea whether or not it will last but I like it. :thumbsup:
 
I think they will last in a business stand point. They r selling dry goods same as online or cheaper to keep clients for dry goods. For live corals and fishes slightly higher then online Cuz lots of ppl prefer to buy live stock in person so they can see it
 
I also noticed their CAD Lights setups were selling for online prices too. That, in itself, I think is a wonderful thing.

I think they (the owner) makes stands too..simple steel square tubing and coated. Strong, and more affordable than the other stands if that's what you're after.

Lot's to choose from at Reef Raft, wet or dry. :)
 
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