Anyone from the Chicago area

[jmick]

Originally Posted by RoyalGamma
Exotic Aquatics---?
Advanced Aquatics---?
Beyond The Reef---?
Coral Paradise---arlington heights
If I may ask where are these places... thanks

Advanced is in Schaumburg as well as Beyond the Reef. Both are nice shops but IMO, they are pricy. Between the two, I prefer Advanced because Glen knows his stuff and his livestock is healthy...can't say the same for Beyond.
I am a big fan of Coral Paradise, they have a great selection of SPS and fish and Jim (the owner) is a good guy.
I also like the place in North Aurora (forget the name).
Deep Reef in Downers Grove has the best selection of fish I've seen but they are pricey...although, I did pick up a very nice Sohal for $80.

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by Jmick
Advanced is in Schaumburg as well as Beyond the Reef. Both are nice shops but IMO, they are pricy. Between the two, I prefer Advanced because Glen knows his stuff and his livestock is healthy...can't say the same for Beyond.
I am a big fan of Coral Paradise, they have a great selection of SPS and fish and Jim (the owner) is a good guy.
I also like the place in North Aurora (forget the name).
Deep Reef in Downers Grove has the best selection of fish I've seen but they are pricey...although, I did pick up a very nice Sohal for $80.
the place in north aurora is reef plus , great place

 

[dmc888]

Well the tanks and stands are, nothing else

.
I called around and they were the cheapest for my new 90g.

 

[captmorgan]

i agree deep reef has the most selection, in the back, prices are fair i have to go with beyond the reef friendly people and fair prices, as far as advanced limited selection on fish but a ton of corals, i will take alot of heat but the ***** in bloomingdale has a selection of fish i got a golden head sleeper goby for 12$ plus ***** is the only place i can find neon gobies for 9$

 

[jmick]

Check out Coral Paradise in Arlington Heights, I picked up my 125 reef ready for $299.
I think Aquarium Adventure is the worst shop I've been to in a long time. I asked one of the employees why their fish were so expensive ($199.00) for a purple tang and she said it's because they are healthier then anyone else. I asked her if she really believed that and she walked away, it was good stuff!
Also called in and asked if they sold Phosban Reactors and was put on hold for 10 minutes only to be told they don't. I was in the area so I stopped in and sure enough, they sold the reactors...didn't buy from them. Their livestock is very unhealthy and their prices are out of line, not competitive with the smaller shops, which is very surprising.

 

[jmick]

Originally Posted by captmorgan
i agree deep reef has the most selection, in the back, prices are fair i have to go with beyond the reef friendly people and fair prices, as far as advanced limited selection on fish but a ton of corals, i will take alot of heat but the ***** in bloomingdale has a selection of fish i got a golden head sleeper goby for 12$ plus ***** is the only place i can find neon gobies for 9$

That ***** is right down the road from me, their prices are low but their fish are very unhealthy, last time I went in (few weeks ago) they had issues with ick and Hlle. I kind of like Tropiquatics in Lombard for a cheap source of fish but try not to ask for info because their staff is surely lacking.

 

[captmorgan]

Originally Posted by Jmick
Check out Coral Paradise in Arlington Heights, I picked up my 125 reef ready for $299.
I think Aquarium Adventure is the worst shop I've been to in a long time. I asked one of the employees why their fish were so expensive ($199.00) for a purple tang and she said it's because they are healthier then anyone else. I asked her if she really believed that and she walked away, it was good stuff!
Also called in and asked if they sold Phosban Reactors and was put on hold for 10 minutes only to be told they don't. I was in the area so I stopped in and sure enough, they sold the reactors...didn't buy from them. Their livestock is very unhealthy and their prices are out of line, not competitive with the smaller shops, which is very surprising.
you are so right about aquarium adventure, i asked if they treat there tanks with copper the guy said no they just dump them in, there fish are in bad shap and the prices are outrageous. is coral paradise off rt14????

 

[rolling_g]

where is Coral Paradise ? anyone ....

 

[dmc888]

When i bought my stand at Aquarium adventure the kid thought i was crazy to put another tank in the stand. Didn't have any idea what a refugium is.
I went to about 5 petcos in the burbs and i only seen one that wasn't too bad. Seen a lot of ich, heavy breathing,starved looking, dead and scratching fish everywhere else.
The one in S. elgin off randall was the best. The lady with the glasses is pretty nice. She actually didn't sell me a goby because i thought it was a type of firefish. So she broke out the fish book and she couldn't find it, so she wouldn't sell it till she found out what it was. Which was cool i really didn't want it anyway.
One store was blowing bubbles all in the tanks, guess they were low on water. I actually seen one store have lr. But i think it was under regular flourescent lighting because the lr looked nasty. Didn't look like the lr was for sale though.

 

[npage]

Originally Posted by rolling_g
where is Coral Paradise ? anyone ....
24 E. Northwest Hwy, Arlington Hts. Right near the train station.
I live near exotic A. but would not buy anything live there.
Always see sick and dead fish there and never had the fish last very long i bought from there. My friend said he seen their employee just toss a fish in the tank right out of the shipping box.
I'm surprised about Exotic. I haven't bought any fish yet. (still cycling) But when I was shopping around, I spoke to MANY LFS employees and they seemed the most down to earth and honest.
Oh well.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[dmc888]

Almost every blue tang i see at E.A. has ich and are in very bad shape about to die or dead. I know they are sensitive fish but i have not seen any blue tangs that are not horrible looking.
They had one blue tang in the macro section half dead last time i went. Who would want to buy macro with an ich infested fish in there.
Only thing i had live long were damsels but i don't care for damsels anymore.
I seen they broke down their main tank and had a large sfe and dragon eel i think in there with small rocks. They didn't look happy with no rocks to hide in. Not sure why they are changing it around.
I never really had much luck with their fish.
I think they are kinda lazy there. If there is a dead fish in the tank remove it . I seen their nano tank crashed one time because one of the clams died in there. And that was on their front counter. They started to do a change after i seen it. There are more bad things i can post about them but that would take too long.

If you don't live far from e.a. there is a pet shop called birds and beasts in crystal lake off of pyott and virginia. They have some corals and a small amount of sw fish. Corals look good but never bought any. Very nice people, i went last time to check out the fish and came out with a chinchilla.

 

[75bownut]

Wow some of these places sound pretty bad! Maybe we should do like a kinda pole and see who comes in first in quality and price and selection.WHattaaa ya tink

 

[wodave]

Old Orchard Aquarium - nice store, high prices, a lot of nice corals
9235 Skokie Bl
Skokie, IL
(847) 676-8539
Critters Pet Shop Inc - cheap prices on inverts and fish
1437 W Main
(630) 584-0200
Saint Charles, IL
Ocean Design Aquarium Inc - they quarantine all fish for 2 weeks
6500 W Irving Park Rd (a little pricey, but worth in a long run)
(773) 736-9838
Chicago, IL
Coral Reef Pet Ctr - cheap prices on fish and inverts
7723 W Lawrence Ave
Norridge, IL Map
(708) 456-0768
SCOTT'S PET SHOP - big store, pretty cheap prices on fish and inverts
3054 WOLF ROAD
WESTCHESTER, IL 60153
Phone: 708-562-5000
Sho Tank Aquariums - a lot of coralS, fish, and some inverts. They sell
433 N Lake St used equipment, and have good prices(nice LR).
Mundelein, IL
8479498265
Living Sea Aquarium Inc - The best store in Chicago Area, but VERY, VERY,
811 Devon Av VERY EXPENSIVE!!! Some fish are even twice more
Park Ridge, IL $$$ Example: Small Annularis Angel $200

(847) 698-7258

 

[hookedonsalt]

I know I am new, but I have had good luck at Sea Escapes in South Elgin. Don was very helpful.

 

[dma57]

I'm in the northwest suburbs and the best place to go around here is Oceans Floor located in Lake in the hills. They have a website. They've got the most amazing selection of corals I've ever seen and there's thousands to pick from. He's very picky about his corals and he's also very reasonable.

 

[npage]

Thanks for the heads up on Ocean Floor. Their stuff looks awesome and seem very reasonably priced compared to other LFS around here.

I just wish their website wasn't so slooooow.

 

[dmc888]

Does oceans floor carry any fish?
I went to living sea before and have to say it was amazing. When i went there everything looked in great condition, Wodave is right the prices are ridiculous.
Everytime i go to sea escapes it seems all the medium and large size fish are on hold and everthing else for sale are baby fish

. I know they get alot of sales from offices by reading the holding sheets. The big guy there was very helpful with my tank and didn't mind pullin up prices on different stands in the big catalog book for me.

 

[royalgamma]

I didn't know sho tanks sold anything besides tanks. I looked at their web site and driven past the place....guess I'll have to stop next time.

 

[royalgamma]

also looked at ocean floor's site mabye worth stopping there for some zoos...nice prices, not that far. Anyone know of or in a reef club or anything around here? Perferably northern burb area?

 

[npage]

Originally Posted by RoyalGamma
Anyone know of or in a reef club or anything around here? Perferably northern burb area?
Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society (CMAS)
Theres a meeting and frag swap on the 20th of this month.

Google "Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society" I found it was the third one down.