Favorite Online stores?

Feclar · 01/16/2008, 06:08 PM

Hi,
New to the hobby and wondering where everyone shops

What do you get online? What do you get from LFS? What do you get 2nd hand/ebay?

Favorite online Fish stores?

Favorite online invert stores?

Favorite online equipment stores? (Tanks/Filtration etc..)

Favorite consumable stores? (Food / Test Kits / salt etc...)

woodycb · 01/16/2008, 06:21 PM

I buy all of my dry goods at drsfostersmith.com, huge selection and they dont gouge on shipping for the heavier items like salt and substrate.
I havent bought any live specimans on line yet, I have a great selection of LFS's in my area dedicated to are hobby with great prices.
Reefgeek.com is good for your lighting needs.
I am trying out a new website recommended from right here on RC, bulkreefsupply.com. I am going to purchase some base rock, seems like a reasonable price.
I try to buy used from ebay and RC, depending on what my needs are at the time.

phenom5 · 01/16/2008, 06:27 PM

Quote:

What do you get online?

Dry goods. (salt, additives, food, test kits)

Quote:

What do you get from LFS?

Corals, fish, & emergency drygoods

Quote:

What do you get 2nd hand/ebay?

Equipment. Mostly from local club guys, or RC classifieds.

Quote:

Favorite online Fish stores?

I personally prefere to get fish locally.

Quote:

Favorite online invert stores?

There's lots of good places to get corals/ inverts online. I've had good experiences with...

Dr. Macs
MarineDepotLive
YourReef
FraggleReef

Quote:

Favorite online equipment stores? (Tanks/Filtration etc..)
Favorite consumable stores? (Food / Test Kits / salt etc...)

MarineDepot
PremiumAquatics
Dr F&S

orbit · 01/16/2008, 06:51 PM

i tired dr foster and smith, big als, marine depot before and they are pretty good,

i only thing i dont like about dr foster and smith is their shipping policy, they use fedex and fedex will leave the package at the door even if noone is home, but i still order from em

as for live stock i go to my LFS, shipping kills everything when it comes to buying online IMO

demonsp · 01/16/2008, 06:59 PM

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden...3319&subref=AB

http://www.club-zoa.com/modules.php?name=Jig

www.reefscience.com

Duff Man · 01/16/2008, 07:05 PM

I also am a big fan of Doctors Foster & Smith. I had an issue with a pump in my first order and the customer service was second to none. They earned a customer for life because of this.

orbit · 01/16/2008, 07:12 PM

ya big als is like that as well, i bought a skimmer from them and it had a small leak on the intake, i shipped them the old one, they shipped me the new one, no questions asked,

Vinnie71975 · 01/16/2008, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Feclar
Hi,
New to the hobby and wondering where everyone shops

What do you get online? What do you get from LFS? What do you get 2nd hand/ebay?

Favorite online Fish stores?

Favorite online invert stores?

Favorite online equipment stores? (Tanks/Filtration etc..)

Favorite consumable stores? (Food / Test Kits / salt etc...)

Got my lights from www.sheets.com they were cheaper on the Nova extremes than the "Fish Sites" I have a friend that Owns a LFS that is SW only so that covers most goods and i got some hardware Used from members of the Fish club i belong to. here is the link straight to the lighting section. http://www.sheets.com/category/379/1/lighting.html

reefaluva · 01/16/2008, 07:37 PM

I Have ordered dry goods from docter foster and smith and some stuff from reefgeek. Both are very good, doctor fosters have the best customer service imo. Have also ordered from live aquaria and e tropic for cleanup crew.. Always good service for me and I know if I have any probs I do not have to fight to get my money back)

wachuko · 01/16/2008, 08:17 PM

The stuff I have ordered online came from:

http://www.marinedepot.com/
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/
http://www.thefilterguys.biz/

All of them provided excellent service. But the LFS will match and discount an additional 10% from online price... so I have not had to order much online...

jvan · 01/16/2008, 08:24 PM

i use http://www.liveaquaria.com/ for everything. prices are half compared to my local lfs.

phenom5 · 01/16/2008, 09:25 PM

Quote:

as for live stock i go to my LFS, shipping kills everything when it comes to buying online IMO

I have to disagree. I've ordered dozens & dozens of corals and snails/ crabs/ shrimp online, and only lost a very few. I haven't had much luck with fish, but I haven't ordered many, and I know lots of people that have ordered lots of fish online with success.

MrSquid · 01/16/2008, 10:29 PM

Some things to watch for when buying online...check sponsor forums here - lots of sponsors offer RC members discounts.

Also watch for places that are near you. I live in Wisconsin and can order from either Doctors Foster & Smith or AquaCave and have next-day shipping and just pay ground shipping costs. Some vendors (like AquaCave) offer free shipping if you hit a certain $$$ amount. So for me, I pretty much got free next-day shipping from them.

My list is below. I'm BLOWN AWAY by the service from AquaCave and The Filter Guys. DFS and CustomAquatics are pretty good, but my only issues there are some returns that are taking forever to processs.

What do you get online? What do you get from LFS? What do you get 2nd hand/ebay?
Only my tank/stand/canopy/tops are local. Everything else was bought online

Favorite online Fish stores?
New tank so no fish purchases at all yet - but everyone talks highly of LiveAquaria. Shipping livestock can get expensive, but look on this site for local reefer clubs and see if members need to hop in on an order with you and split shipping that way.

Consider having shipments held at Fed Ex/UPS offices for pickups so they're bouncing around less - and heated better if weather's an issue. Plus depending on your dropoff time, sometimes you can get your critters into your tank MUCH sooner if your schedule allows for you to do pickups.

Favorite online invert stores?
My live rock is from Premium Aquatics - considered Dr.Mac (PacificEastAquaCulture.com)

Favorite online equipment stores? (Tanks/Filtration etc..)
My bigger gear is from CustomAquatics.com, lighting is from AquaCave.com, RO/DI is from TheFilterGuys.biz. If I were to do it again I'd have gotten all my CustomAquatics stuff from AquaCave because I'd have saved $$$ on shipping and AquaCave has awesome service.

Favorite consumable stores? (Food / Test Kits / salt etc...)
My incidentals are from DoctorsFosterAndSmith.com

01/16/2008, 06:08 PM	#1
Feclar Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 170	Favorite Online stores? Hi, New to the hobby and wondering where everyone shops What do you get online? What do you get from LFS? What do you get 2nd hand/ebay? Favorite online Fish stores? Favorite online invert stores? Favorite online equipment stores? (Tanks/Filtration etc..) Favorite consumable stores? (Food / Test Kits / salt etc...)

01/16/2008, 06:21 PM	#2
woodycb Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: N.W. Ohio Posts: 785	I buy all of my dry goods at drsfostersmith.com, huge selection and they dont gouge on shipping for the heavier items like salt and substrate. I havent bought any live specimans on line yet, I have a great selection of LFS's in my area dedicated to are hobby with great prices. Reefgeek.com is good for your lighting needs. I am trying out a new website recommended from right here on RC, bulkreefsupply.com. I am going to purchase some base rock, seems like a reasonable price. I try to buy used from ebay and RC, depending on what my needs are at the time. __________________ We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART Current Tank Info: 75 gallon

01/16/2008, 08:17 PM	#10
wachuko Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 236	The stuff I have ordered online came from: http://www.marinedepot.com/ http://www.drsfostersmith.com/ http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ All of them provided excellent service. But the LFS will match and discount an additional 10% from online price... so I have not had to order much online... __________________ Kind regards, Wachuko My 210gal tank : http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1300946 Current Tank Info: 210Gal 72x24x29

01/16/2008, 06:51 PM	#4
orbit Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 500	i tired dr foster and smith, big als, marine depot before and they are pretty good, i only thing i dont like about dr foster and smith is their shipping policy, they use fedex and fedex will leave the package at the door even if noone is home, but i still order from em as for live stock i go to my LFS, shipping kills everything when it comes to buying online IMO

01/16/2008, 06:59 PM	#5
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden...3319&subref=AB http://www.club-zoa.com/modules.php?name=Jig www.reefscience.com

01/16/2008, 07:05 PM	#6
Duff Man Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Chicago's far NW burbs Posts: 629	I also am a big fan of Doctors Foster & Smith. I had an issue with a pump in my first order and the customer service was second to none. They earned a customer for life because of this.

01/16/2008, 07:12 PM	#7
orbit Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 500	ya big als is like that as well, i bought a skimmer from them and it had a small leak on the intake, i shipped them the old one, they shipped me the new one, no questions asked,

01/16/2008, 07:37 PM	#9
reefaluva Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: nm Posts: 290	I Have ordered dry goods from docter foster and smith and some stuff from reefgeek. Both are very good, doctor fosters have the best customer service imo. Have also ordered from live aquaria and e tropic for cleanup crew.. Always good service for me and I know if I have any probs I do not have to fight to get my money back)

01/16/2008, 08:24 PM	#11
jvan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 21	i use http://www.liveaquaria.com/ for everything. prices are half compared to my local lfs.

01/16/2008, 10:29 PM	#13
MrSquid Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 1,437	Some things to watch for when buying online...check sponsor forums here - lots of sponsors offer RC members discounts. Also watch for places that are near you. I live in Wisconsin and can order from either Doctors Foster & Smith or AquaCave and have next-day shipping and just pay ground shipping costs. Some vendors (like AquaCave) offer free shipping if you hit a certain $$$ amount. So for me, I pretty much got free next-day shipping from them. My list is below. I'm BLOWN AWAY by the service from AquaCave and The Filter Guys. DFS and CustomAquatics are pretty good, but my only issues there are some returns that are taking forever to processs. What do you get online? What do you get from LFS? What do you get 2nd hand/ebay? Only my tank/stand/canopy/tops are local. Everything else was bought online Favorite online Fish stores? New tank so no fish purchases at all yet - but everyone talks highly of LiveAquaria. Shipping livestock can get expensive, but look on this site for local reefer clubs and see if members need to hop in on an order with you and split shipping that way. Consider having shipments held at Fed Ex/UPS offices for pickups so they're bouncing around less - and heated better if weather's an issue. Plus depending on your dropoff time, sometimes you can get your critters into your tank MUCH sooner if your schedule allows for you to do pickups. Favorite online invert stores? My live rock is from Premium Aquatics - considered Dr.Mac (PacificEastAquaCulture.com) Favorite online equipment stores? (Tanks/Filtration etc..) My bigger gear is from CustomAquatics.com, lighting is from AquaCave.com, RO/DI is from TheFilterGuys.biz. If I were to do it again I'd have gotten all my CustomAquatics stuff from AquaCave because I'd have saved $$$ on shipping and AquaCave has awesome service. Favorite consumable stores? (Food / Test Kits / salt etc...) My incidentals are from DoctorsFosterAndSmith.com