So I stopped by Nature Aquarium in Santa Monica. It is a very clean store with many fishes to choose from. He has hard to find species as well as your common ones. Price was higher than your other LFS but his knowledge, honesty, and enthusiasm makes you want to go back and spend more $$$. Customers are constantly asking for his input and he is happy to share it. He doesn't care if they don't buy anything and has the customers interest first. In fact there were a few times he recommended a cheaper alternative. Explaining they all do the same thing, so spending more money doesn't make sense. Besides fishes he has wide selection of plants to choose from. A great place to pick up hard to find plants and common plants. It is one of a kind place.
Example of price. I overheard a customer asking about his Blue Tiger Shrimp. He said they are $30 each.
I don't know how rare they are, but I've never seen one in any other LFS. While his RCS are $3.99 each.
I ended up purchasing my CO2 kit from him and he installed everything for me. All I had to do was put the diffuser in my tank and turn it on. He ran out of CO2 indicator so he gave me a starting point. He advised me to test my PH level first. After 7-8 hours do another PH test and if it drops .5 it should be good. If it drops anymore then too much CO2 is being released. The bubble counter 4-5 bubbles per second should suffice. My regulator can take either 20 ounce paintball tank or 5 pound cylinder. All I have to do is unscrew the adapter. I ended up using the 20 ounce paintball tank.
He said a 20 ounce should last 2-3 months in a 40 gallon breeder. Since I was skeptical, he asked me to borrow a friends 20 ounce and use it first as a test to see how long it would last. He said if I like the 20 ounce or decide to go to a 5 pound cylinder I can get it cheaper either online or somewhere else. He never tried to use persuasion or pressured me to buy it.
I'll definitely go back to him for plants, fish, or equipment if I end up getting a second tank.
Here are a few pics I secretly took while he was busy with customers.
