What LFS do you use?

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michealprater

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Oct 3, 2002
Messages
2,311
Location
Highland , IL
I use Slice of Nature Pets on Gallatin St. in Vandalia IL. I would recommend this store to anyone. How bout you guys?
 
Southern Illinois LFS's

I would like to share a recent experience with all you local reefers about an LFS in our area. The name is "Aquatic Treasures." It is located in Highland, Illinois. Now i have been visiting this store for the better part of a year. the first six months of which i had never been to another LFS before so i had nothing to compare it to. Since i have been going there i have had many instances when i have received somewhat less than par advice/customer service. the first instance was before i met you all here on aquarium advice. i was looking to add an urchin to my tank and was unaware at which ones were reefsafe. so i did what any newb would do and went to the LFS. the owner told me that a pencil urchin would do great and was one of the few urchins that were reefsafe. so i bought it, took it home and put it in. a few weeks later nearly all my coralline algae was gone and some corals. i noticed that it was the urchin so i removed him and went back to the LFS. the same guy that told me it was reef safe no renigged and said that they were not reefsafe and that i had no business putting an urchin like this in my tank. he also went as far as to say he never told me it was ok to put in a reeftank. he gave me 5 feeder goldfish as compensation for the urchin and the trouble it caused. so i said ok one mistake fine i can get over that. then 2 weeks ago i had some problems with a skimmer fitting in my sump and decided i would go check them out. to make a long story short he had a skimmer that he said would work, but it didn't. It would have had to have been adjusted 24 hours a day 7 days a week in order to operate correctly. so again i took it back and he said he would not refund me for the skimmer becasue they don't do returns. now i had had the skimmer running for a total of about 30 hours. then i saw a sign on there door that says return on dry goods, in store credit only. so after going back and forth he said he would give me in store credit but he was not happy about it. :( a few days later my mother goes in there to purchase some water and he says that the skimmer did not work because he had forgotten to give me a part and so he wasn't going to give me store credit. now i'm supposed to go back up there and TALK to him about it after i have already purchased a new skimmer. i'm sorry that this thread was so lengthy but i just thought that it would be a good thing to let you all know " that i was very unhappy with the customer service that i recieved." if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. there are more details but i didn't want this thread to go on forever.
kyle

This topic was merged with another topic in the same forum.
 
When you find an ethical and honest LFS, Keep them closer than a brother. They seem to be few and far between. SLICE OF Nis great and Dean is awesome. He really cares about his customers and the hobby.
 
hey mike does Dean have a computer. you should see if he would like to register on Aquarium Advice. i'm sure he would like to hear all the nice things we are saying about him.
 
I tryed to get him to register but unfortunatly he does not have a computer. i would just recommend to people to let Dean know that you heard good things about him on www.aquariumadvice.com, then in turn I'm sure he would recommend the site to other customers.
 
I don't know how far you guys are willing to go, but up here in Champaign-Urbana, we have 1 decent store. Sailfin is the place around here. The prices somewhat reflect their corner on the market, but the animal health and corals are all outstanding. I've traded there a few times for store credit, and they are very fair on their credits. If anyone decides to venture up this way, give me a holler and I can meet you there.
 
hey where is that store in Champaign-Urbana because i go to school in Bloomington-Normal and thats like 25 minutes away. i would love to come over and check them out. i would be coming from 74 so if you could tell me kinda where it is located i might come over this weekend.
 
St. Louis LFS

Hi I am new here I have been on reefcentral for about 10 months but now kyle turned me here and it is good to see so many locals in one place. My LFS preferences usually head me to St. Louis. I never go to Highland(high prices, bad service,and an owner who thinks he knows everything) I have been to Slice of Nature nice place but a bit out of the way for me. I go to Edwardsville quite a bit Family Pet Center, and Midwest Marine. FPC is run by David and Mary they have very good prices on fish, and they will have corals in a few months. I got a blue starfish for 19.99 the other day, and they have purple tangs for $48.00! MWM is new Chris is the owner and a nice guy the prices are a little steep but they have healthy animals and a new coral tank it is good in a pinch. I really like going to Clayton Pet Emporium, and Saltwater City(also in Clayton) has a very nice selection. Also gives breaks if you pay in cash. Try'em You'll Like Em
 
kribbz - If your coming in on 74, go into town and take the Neil St. exit. It's the 2nd one coming from the west. Go right and follow it through downtown. You'll go through a one-way area for a couple of blocks. That's downtown. Once you go back to 4 lanes, stay in the left lane. Once you go through the light for Springfield Ave, start looking to the left. It's down almost another block. It's in a 2 story building, and not highly publisized. Look for a black sign on the side of the building. There is a very large smoke stack on the same side of the road very near The Sailfin. If you get mis-guided, the phone number for them is 217-352-1121.

Hope you find it. All the corals are in the tanks on the bottom. They probably have 30 smallish tanks dedicated to marine. They also have a few nice nanos set up. Please report on how it was for you.
 
i reqularly frequent aquatic treasures in Highland IL, a wonderful store with verry knowledgeable staff, a great place!!!!LOL.
(I really do go there, but its kind of like you have to block out what your being told and make a good decision on your own)
 
to tell you the truth i really dont see where his prices are elevated, as compared to what? his corals are usually awesome, the larger ones can cost a little more, but they would anywhere else as well. smaller corals might run you a little more there though. I went to the new store in edwardsville and i thought they were really expensive compared to velco. ive also went to the other store in edwardsville, family pet center, and i dont think id even bother going back to it. so for the location, about 10min from me ill just stick to aquatic treasures. dean at slice of nature is cool to though, its just a little bit of a drive for me.
 
hey bill i went to check out Salfin today and it was really nice. i will definatly go there again. they had alot of livestock (mostly full size fish), good prices on their tanks, and a good selection of drystock. overall pretty good prices and also the staff asked me if I needed help like 5 times. nice people. i would recommend this store to anyone in the area.
 
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