Aquacon Live Rock ?

[jman77]

Hello Guys,

Have any of you purchased rock from Aquacon? I know alot of people that have bought stuff from them online have have had bad experiences, but what about people that have walked into the store and purchased stuff in person ?

[LawnTodd]

I bought all my Marshal Island rock from them. The manager Jeff is a great guy. He knows more about SW fish and corals then all the local fish stores combined.
Todd

[jman77]

Hello Todd,

Sounds good. I wonder why they get such a bad rap from the mail order people? I was going to buy some rock online from PA, but after finding Aqua's website, I will swing by their store this Friday and pick up some Deep Water Tonga :)

[LanT]

I only hear bad things about them. I dunno, maybe they changed.

[Speckled Grouper]

Went to the new Big Al's store tonight, they have live rock aswell. They are just about a mile north of them, and the store is well worth seeing!

[jman77]

Hello Speckled,

What types of rock did they have ...also what were the prices like ?

[Carl_in_Florida]

When i visited Aquacon I like the store. The owner was nice and they had a lot of "average" corals. I probably will not go back because i was shocked at their prices. If their rock is a good price i would go for it.

btw. Coral Fantaseas in WPB has cured live rock on sale for $3.50/lb. Not sure how much you are looking for but you may want to check them out. The are off of Forest Hill east of 95.

Carl

[rock455]

I got a 100lbs from them walking in to the store -- No problems at all -- picked every single piece that I wanted and am very happy with what I got. Great price too.

[reefarchitect]

Carl, I think it's Tropical Fantaseas.

AJL

[Carl_in_Florida]

yeah, you are right. east off of forest hill

[jman77]

You mean north of Forest Hill ;) ..

Well I stopped by there on Saturday and bought 18 lbs of some nice rock they had in stock. It is really porous with sponges and coralline algae on it. Unfortunately, the coralline seems to be bleaching so it's lost some if its color :(. The rock was 6.99 a lb which might be a little on the expensive side but it was nice and the store was about 8 minutes away. I called Aquacon 2 times and both times the guy wouldn't give me a price on what the rock was going to cost. He kept saying “We’ll work out a deal for you". I'm not driving down there to see what kind of deal he would work out.

Thanks for the replies guys !!!

[Carl_in_Florida]

The coraline turning white is from the curing without light. It will come back.

Carl

[Ludwigia73]

The main problem with aquacon has never really been their store, it's the online bad habits they have. They will NOT honor prices from their website, which I do understand, but their prices are drastically different. I remember about 6 months ago I saw a sale on their website for blue maximas, not even ultra, for 24.99 for a small specimen. I thought I'd go in and see it! I saw lots of small maximas, and they told me 69.99! I asked why, and they said the internet pricing is less due to shipping prices. That sounds like a reasonable answer, but the instore price is still way too high. They actually told me it's because they ship the worst specimens, because they'll probably die anyway! Further, most of the complaints I've read have to do with DOA's. It's a huge fight to get them to credit you, and they keep the shipping cost (standard procedure, with the shipping.) I looked around the store a while longer, and notice NOTHING is marked, leaving the pricing up to interpretation. About ten minutes later, a good lookin woman with large, er, um, you know.... comes in and asks about the clams. 49.99! The same ones I asked about! Now they were nice, and they were worth 49.99, but he told me 69.99 just 10 minutes before! I left and haven't been back. They did have a nice selection, and their pricing on their hardware was pretty good, but they lost a customer that day. Pity, too, cuz they did have some nice stuff.

[outprowllin]

i really hate going to a store that does not price out thier corals and fish. i feel like they make the prices up as they go along. if you are a spender, they can tack on a few extra dollors knowing you will probably buy it anyways. ive been to one area store (wpb) where the prices go up as thier coral stock gets smaller. i go in on tues and the price is for example 25.00. by friday the price is 35.00. i dont know if it is to cover losses of stock or just greed . they know people get payed on the weekend and thier ready to spend money. me , i buy what i want if the price is fair. if i can get it down the road for 10-15 dollors less so be it. thats 10 or 15 more i have to spend on the next piece....i even had a local (wpb store) mock me saying, "iknow. i know. you can get it cheaper somewhere else" so....i did!!! quite a few times. as for aquagon ive yet to go but i will eventually get there. if they are as you say i will just go somewhere else. one thing is for sure.. there are only so many wholesale suppliers in the area so chances are, most of the stores that we shop at get thier corals from the same places..therfore you are getting the same quality livestock at most of the places you go. ive bought corals from some of the less desirable stores in the area and the corals thrive just as well as if i had bought them at the best rated stores in the area. plain and simple, you dont buy livestock that looks sick no matter where you go. in the end it is your tank, skills and water quality that is what make you livestock thrive. thier prices are set by overhead at the store...thats where differant pricing comes into place. high rent , payroll, electric and water bills all add up. ....anyways im rambling again...it happens :) ...happy memorial day to one and all....happy reefing....jaime

[LawnTodd]

Actually all of Aquacon (Marine Life USA) coral tanks are labled with prices except for the clam tank. Maybe they where new arivles and weren't marked yet. I always talk to Jeff when I go. He's the manager and he knows more about this hobby then ANY OTHER fish store employee in the area. He always goes out of his way to help me. He is the kind of guy that will not sell you something if he knows its sick or had problems with something from the same shipment. Its like any fish store, some employees are better then others. As far as the pricing of the rock, they were probably going to give you a discount if you bought alot. Did you tell him how many lbs you wanted? They have 4 or 5 different kinds of rock all priced differently. So when someone calls and asks "how much is your rock" its a hard question to answer. No one has better rock then them. You have to get there soon after a shipment for the nice pieces.

I'm not saying its the bst store in the state. I'm saying its probably one of the better ones in our area.
Todd

[jman77]

I know different rock will be priced differently. I specifically asked him what the price per lb for 20 lbs of Tonga Deep Water Rock. Personally, I don’t see why he wouldn’t give me a price per lb of the rock over the phone. Maybe it’s just there business practice to not give out prices over the phone…who knows.

But I wasn't going to drive 2 hours to find out their deal was not a deal ...

[rock455]

Lets put it this way if you buy 100lbs or more you will get a great deal -- under you will get a decent deal.

[jman77]

Got ya :) ......

[Bullredchaser]

If a store is so ashamed to give a price over the phone thats enough information for me.Ive seen his rock before and it's nothing to drive 2 hours for.Check out Reef Life as they seem to have the best selection of liverock of all the stores Ive been to.

[LawnTodd]

Reef Lifes rock is ok, its not as good as Marine life. Reef Life does not let you hand pick your own pieces. They say its an insurance issue. They pull the rock out of the tankand show it to you. If you ask to see too many pieces the guy gives you an attitude. I like to go through all the rocks to find that perfect size piece. If I can't do that I'm not going to buy rock from them.
Reef Life does have the best SPS in the area.
Todd

[jman77]

Bullredchaser,

It was enough for me also :)

Where is Marine life and Reef Life located ?

[leebca]

Aquacon has a Better Business Bureau report FYI:
http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/nis/newsearch2.asp?ID=1&strBCode=06330000&ComID=0633000027001077

[Carl_in_Florida]

nice

[jman77]

LoL. Good thing i didn't buy the rock from them. I ran into someone that lives close to their store and he said their Live Rock "sucks" . I'm going to be going with this company for the live rock in my 90 gallon

Http://www.oceanproaquatics.com

They seem to have some really cheap prices on some really great live rock

[GregM779]

I've been to their store once. Had some nice pieces I would normaly buy until I saw the prices. I don't buy cheap pieces but I also don't buy overpriced pieces and wow is all I could say. As an example standard florida ricordias were over $30 a piece.

[Carl_in_Florida]

I just got their e-mailer and sure enough, $30 rics and other "hot" deals.

Carl