Good ohio shops?

[topjimmy]

Greetings all, I was wondering if any of my fellow Buckeye's knew of any good saltwater shops near Kent, Stow, Ravenna..I would like find a nice place closer than Gregs place in Columbia station, not that it's not nice..just not close.

Later
JimC

[rbaker]

It's pretty dry around the East side...

Ryan

[BigBird]

Wet pets plus in North Canton is at least worth a visit. They generally don't have a heck of alot of corals in stock but have access to stuff upon request. You'll want to talk to Stan.

There's a good indian food place, Bombay Sitar, just around the corner to help justify the trip

Aquarium Adventure in Parma Sucks -- if you havn't been, don't go.

There's also some guy in Solon who runs a store out of his house -- North Coast Marine, I think it is. Check out his website by running a search & call before you go.

Other than that, you're driving to Greg's.

BigBird

[PDDIII]

Well if you are like me, you will check any place out at least once, twice, three times, etc...

I would look at Bargain Basement in Akron. Easy trip for you from Youngsown. West on 76, exit north on 91 (East Akron), Bargain Basement will be on your left - can be tricky to see since it is in the "basement" and on the back side of the building. BB is worth a trip. It can be spotty in quality from time to time but they have been working really hard on improving and expanding things. Their fish are nice and priced fair, imo.

You could also try a place in Willoughby called Coral Connection. They are off Lost Nation Road which is off of 2. Also worth a trip, not many fish but corals are nice.

Ohio is not the mecca for saltwater folks that is for sure!

HTH

Paul

[marinelife]

Gerber's in Dayton is good, he is still getting converted to retail since he was just wholesale. He has alot of great fish and starting to get some good coral.

[fmuakkassa]

Another place I go to is Aquatic Sea Cave in Akron. Limited selection of fish and corals but good quality. See web sire

www.seacave.com

[jayare]

i shop almost exclusively at gerber's in Dayton.

[AcroSteve]

Originally posted by topjimmy
Gregs place in Columbia station

What's that address?

[jeffhaag]

Greg's place is Aquatic Technologies. The web site is http://www.aquatictech.com The web site leaves a LOT to be desired, but there is a link for driving directions at the bottom of the page.

[saltycritter]

I am a bit biased but you may want to give a store called The Salty Critter a try. It is not in the location you are looking for but I think you will find it is worth a little road trip once and awhile. It is located in Vermilion which is West of Cleveland. More info is available at www.saltycritter.com. The website is being revised but you should be able to get through.

[johnrags1234]

Ive been to alot of LFS, in all sorts of places. Whenever Im out of town, I check them all out.

In order of worthiness :

Aquatic Technolodgy- Amazing for a LFS. Nasty staff, but they carry things like 1000w ballasts, acro colonies, bulkheads, and hundrds of fish. Every drygood you could ever use, really. They stock tamnks from 2.5g-240g

The Salty Critter- Dan, the owner [and above poster], is a really nice guy. His store has top notch livestock too. It is only below aquatic tech because the selection is so much smaller. Nice higher end drygoods, not many tanks last time I was up that way

The Coral Connection- very few fish, but had some nice corals for a small LFS. A few drygoods, not much though.

Bargain Basement- The owners try hard, but leave ALOT to be desired in terms of knowledge. Have pretty nice fish, but the coral is very limited/shady/seedy/unhealthy! The critters are pretty nice and they carry a few hard to find odds and ends. Thy even carry a chiller in stock and some other things like metal halide hoods.

Aquatic Interiers Seacave- I started out at this place 3 years ago. Ive learned alot since then Last time I was in there (the nice) owner thought his T. Croceas were T. Derasa's becasue they dont have 'scales' (scutes to us). He refused to remove the aiptasia's on them too and were $100. He is a real nice guy though, he tries. His name is Steve Mills. Not much drygoods.

Two Turtles- I have not had good experiences here, but then again I havent had good experienes at many pet shops either. Thy have alot of fish, basically no liverock, and a undependable selection of critters. They have one tank of corals, not much there. The workers are as helpful as possible though. Not much in terms ofrygoods.

[saltycritter]

Thanks John. I appreciate your kind words. While I am not able to stock tanks and tons of drygoods I am always expanding and working towards a goal of a bigger place. For example, I am now an authorized dealer for Euro Reef skimmers and Gen X pumps. Also, I stock just about every kind of coral and fish that does well in captivity. My Acropora / SPS selection has increased including frags and colonies. I have many rare, hard to find specimens as well. I have new lower pricing on many items which will be hard to beat. Thanks again!

[Bowman]

I have been to the Saltycritter several times and I am always amazed at the variety of livestock available. Dan (the owner) can have anything in the way of drygoods you want if you just give him a couple days notice It is hard to stock everything in a small space. He also has a large frag/prop tank going eases the strain on the natural reefs. While the Saltycritter is not on the beaten path it is well worth the trip, Dan's knowledgeable in marine tanks and is more than willing to help with whatever problems or questions you may have.

[AcroSteve]

Gerber's has a very large selction of fish. Tons of freshwater and pond fish too.

Prices are definitely not wholesale.

[zaireguy]

I have also shopped at salty`s.A stand up place .If you haven`t been you should go worth the trip from anywhere in ohio.Grade a fish and corals!! give salty critters a stop and you`ll be happy you did

Ron

[halibutk]

I grew up in a small town near Kent (Mantua) and used to cruise to all the local pet stores, but that was years ago. Now I live in Alaska with no pet stores....QQ.

Anyway the place in Columbia station was awesome. I remember the reef bug almost bit my uncle when he went into that place the first time. Every time i go to Ohio I stop by and pick up something. And the mall nearby has a Johnny Rockets (awesome burger joint) which has milkshakes worth the hour drive from my Mom's house. My wife makes me drive out there and let me buy something as long as she can crusie the mall while im in the aquatic tech.

Anyway great thread, copied the other places down, didnt know about them and next time im in Ohio im going to swing by and take a look.

For the person from Ravenna....Fins feathers and Furry things used to be my favorite nearby pet store (in the Stow plaza or somewhere around there), Are they still around, from what i remember they didnt have much of a salwater selection but a pretty decent freshwater setup. Its been years since I went that way.

[Digman]

I heard there is a new store in Stow, anyone heard anything about it? My neighbor read something about it in the Falls News Press a couple weeks ago, but couldn't remember the details.

[BigBird]

I happen to live right down the street from the new store in Stow. It's called aqua valet, or something like that, on the corner of Graham road and Bailey road.

They cater to freshwater, and I can't remember seeing any saltwater fish or supplies. Certainly no reef related drygoods or critters.

No Foolin'
BigBird

[Jimmy]

IMO, hands-down, the SaltyCritter is the best! Though Aquatic Tech is a 5 minute drive for me, I would rather drive the 40 minutes to see Dan. His prices are fair, even compared to online, but more important, his livestock is always healthy.

Though he does not have the quantity of say, Aquatic Tech, he always has a nice selection of fish, corals, and inverts.

I'm at the point now that I'm very specific in my choices for corals and fish. So when I decide on specific coral, I'll call Dan and he'll special order it and it's usually arrives within 1-2 weeks. I have never been disappointed with Dan's livestock.

And most important, his tanks are pest free. I have never seen a flatworm or those little red mites. I never order anything online anymore for that reason alone.

Jimmy

[kris101]

The saltycritter in Vermillion is my first choice. Best quality livestock. and really good prices.

[highrpm]

Aquariums Etc in Dayton is nice. It is a small store, but they have good livestock, at great prices. I am a personnal friend of the owner, but I think it is one of the better stores I have been too. Like I said it is small, but they can get just about anything in a week, two at the latest. Most prices are as good as or better than ordering from the net. 937-433-1352. Only open on Saturday and Sunday

I went to Gerber's for the first time this weekend. I like the place, most fish, corals look pretty good, but prices were more than I expected. Guess that is how they pay for the gigantic skimmers!

[mrudman]

halibut:

I live in Stow, and Fins, Feathers, and Furry things is still here (although it's under a different name now, which has slipped my mind, lol), but I got there probably 3 times a week just to check out if they've gotten any new and interesting fish.

They do have some saltwater stuff, but it's pretty limited... but at least it beats a 30-40 minute drive to the next nearest saltwater store.

Michelle

[tasandkrs]

I just wanted to say that I have been to saltycritter lots of times as well as aquatictech, and saltycritter hands down is the best place. Great service, great selection, and beautiful livestock. Dan is a great guy to deal with, and is very knowledgeable.

[Burgman]

Hi,

I live in Stow also. It's too bad there is not a good reef store on the general East side of Akron/Kent area. Bargain Basement pets varies soo much that you never know what type or quality of livestock he is going to have. Two Turtles usually has a good selection of fish but very little corals or inverts. There are other pet stores but none that are really worth the trip from Youngstown. I wish the Salty Critter was a lot closer, I think it's about 90 minutes from Stow. I had head lot's of good things about Dan's store.

[tasandkrs]

Burgmann,

You really should take a trip to saltycritter. It is definetly worth the drive. Dan has customers that drive from all over. Give him a call 440-967-1634

Tom