Anybody shop at Northbay Aquatics?

[redwilly]

In Cotati,CA?? I bought my first sw tank there and i'm still getting all my parts etc. before i put water in and it seems like i get nothing but bad customer service from them! I went in today with some questions and i was the only customer there and all i got was the shrug off, inderect answers, and attitude! I'm wonderring if there are any better places around?? I feel like I am not a valued cvustomer there. And they give contradictory advise to everything i ask about that i read here.

 

[nm reef]

Not being from your area I can't comment on your current LFS...but most LFS's tend to be interested in your money and seldom offer sound advice. It does take a while to build a good relationship with a LFS and if you can develope a good relationship it can be extremely helpful. Even then though I would tend to take their advice with a bit of caution. Sounds to me like you may need to locate a better place to do business with...maybe one of our members can help you find a better LFS...good luck.

 

[dreeves]

search around online...most likely you can find the pieces and parts you need for a fraction of the cost...as an example...here in central CT I priced a Tidepool I sump kit at a local LFS for about 229.00...I ordered this same kit online for 129.00...shipping is nothing compared to that overly inflated price...and this is very common with most of my purchases...i usually price there prior to shopping online as he is a one shop business and i do prefer business that way (the little guys)...but, reality, I am not made of money so I have to be economically orientated...

 

[javatech]

Try this: Caesar's Tropical Fish, 1648 Piner Rd, Santa Rosa, California
when i lived in petaluma 10 years ago it was a nice place but so was Northbay Aquatics
http://fins.actwin.com/dir/stores.php?c=1&r=66

 

[.357]

Caesar's Tropical Fish is nice and I think that they are close to you. I live over the hill and my faverite LFS is The Aquarium in Concord. It is just off of 680 on Willow Pass Rd. behind GoodGuys. Concord also has All About Fish. It is right off 680 on the west side, I am not sure what exit you take but you will see it when you are driving by. I have also bought a lot of stuff online and I have found that the online stores are usually half the price of the LFS.

 

[horus]

I live in Santa Rosa... Just got my tank setup two weeks ago. The owner of Northbay has been extremely helpful to me. I've been in there 10 times over the last three weeks during my setup for some rock. A little pricy since I only have been buying pieces but the stuff I got has corals growing on it and I've had a few hitchiking hermits that I haven't had to buy. Nothing but good things I can say. I haven't bought any equipment there and they have pretty good prices for a retail store. They sell the same things for 10-20 dollars cheaper than Caesars. I prefer online stores or ---- for equipment purchases. I'd recommend Northbay as the best LFS we have.