Age of Aquariums

[1-900-REEF]

I stopped in at Age of Aquariums in Goshen on Saturday.
At one time that was a decent shop.
Most of their salt tanks were empty. One whole section of tanks are for sale.
Forget about any corals.
Looks like they are getting out of the saltwater business.
They told me that people just don't buy saltwater like they used to.
I think it's just the opposite, they just didn't sell the right stuff.
I saw tanks marked for Flame Scallops, & Anemones, etc.
If I could only buy things that have very little chance of survival, I would get out of the hobby.
We need a local shop that sells the kind of things we always have to mail order, or drive over two hours to get. Things like Nass. snails T-5 Bulbs, Hydor Koralia, Tunze, etc.

[tpayne6]

If you are ever in the west side of Indiana, there is such a place. It's called inland aquatics, and they have a huge supply of corals/livestock/tanks. It's just off of I-70, right before you go over the bridge to Illinois. I understand that you are in northern Indiana and it would be closer to vitsit Chicago, but is would be worth the trip sometime!

[Bender 2]

Grallster, Parasite, and myself stopped by Age of Aquariums on Sunday afternoon and saw the same pitiful saltwater section. I actually felt worse after being in there to see their setup. It use to be a little better in their old store. Oh well, one more place not to waste a trip to.

[1-900-REEF]

Age of Aquariums was better when Rocky took care of the fish.
I heard he is now a monk on a monastery in Utah somewhere!

I would like to get to Inland Aquatics someday.

[ckusnierek]

Maybe one of out upcomming meeting should be in that area????

[ckusnierek]

Here in Elkhart there is a small retail building for lease. (cornner of Oslo and CR6) Everytime I drive buy it I think about opening a LFS there. I'm no bussiness man by anymeans, but if you have a "nice" place with the item people need/want it should do well and people would drive an hourą to get there.

"MY LFS" would have a few simple "rules"
Compatibility charts on EVERY tank.
Speration of reef safe and non reef safe fish.
Clear pricing on ALL live stock.
If there are "display" tank they would be clearly marked "NOT FOR SALE"
Buyer education, If some one want to buy a clam for a PC lit nano. I WOULD NOT SELL IT! I would also make sure that they are aware of a corals requirements and compatibility.

Other than MWC there everyone else seems to only be out to make a buck. While the other is out to push their husbandry/setup techniques.

[tpayne6]

Inland aquatics is a bit more pricey than most, but their quality and advice is what keeps me coming back. There is another larger fish store here called Atlantis. It has tons of equipment, but very little saltwater fish/corals. Their freshwater selection is huge though.Wherever the meet is I'd like to get out and meet some of you from around the Indiana area. I am new to the hobby and need all the advice I can get!

[1-900-REEF]

Go Chris!
I drive by that building every day!

[1-900-REEF]

Inland Aquatics would be a nice road trip.

[grallster]

Ditto on Age of Aquariums. Their reasoning on nobody buying saltwater anymore is BULL! I'm pretty sure the hobby is bigger now than it's ever been. The fact is, nobody is buying any saltwater from THEM! And for good reason. After seeing their stuff and obeying their advice, people are probably POed when their stuff dies and they end up thinking saltwater is way harder than it really is. A of A's so called "show tank" was a pathetic algae filled mess (nice clowns though).
Case in point: my buddy's boss wants to start a reef and called me for advice AFTER he already bought a tank and some supplies from Age of Aquariums (who of course recommended crushed coral, a canister filter, and a Skilter--with his 2 40W NO flourescent being plenty for his 80 gal). Yeah, as you can all guess, after hearing from me that I thought be bought all the wrong stuff he wasn't happy--but it gave him something to think about. He calls me back last nite and says since he's already got the stuff, he's just going to set it up they way they told him to (glad I spent an hour on the phone giving him advice). Now I am by no means a reef guru and still looking for tricks to put in my arsenal, BUT after seeing A of A's setup I can't believe someone would say "cool, I want a tank like that!" I implored him to come over tonite and check out my tank and talk a little more about it. If I can't talk him out of changing his set up maybe I can talk him into going fish only instead. So if anyone wants to come over tonite around 5 or 6 and try talking some sense into the guy, please do.
On another note, wouldn't it be cool if NIMAS had enough members to buy a store and set it up as not-for-profit and make just enough to cover the costs and pay ourselves a little just to man the store? We could find enough people to keep it open 7 days a week and maybe even have a hotline/house calls. Of course we would only sell aquacultured and ALWAYS put the animal first (I'm sure this would be alot easier when not worrying about the bottom line).

[1-900-REEF]

I think if all he has seen is A of A's show tank, once he sees yours, his jaw will hit the floor! It will be OBVIOUS that any advise you give him will be better than any he got from A of A. It's just hard to hear you spent all your hard earned cash on trash.
I think A of A has not discovered that new fangled thing they call the internet.

[1-900-REEF]

He said Skilter!!!

[ckusnierek]

I have talked to Jim (i think) at AOA a few times and he is a very "weird" person....

He also knows nothing about Reef Tanks. He did tell me that a marine biology "professor" from UND offered him $10,000 for his 75g with a few corals in it. It was hard not to laugh... I once showed him a pic of my 75 and he said I must have $25,000 worth of corals in there. I told him "no only about $250.00" He basically accused me of dealing in some "illegal coral trade" or somthing like that.. Anyway I don't go there much especially after seeing small waving hand frags priced at $50. I told him I throw that stuff away!

[grallster]

Someone should tell them that skimmers are supposed to have air in them....

[grallster]

and to at least take the Rid-Ich off the rim of the saltwater setup....poor taste IMO. LOL