NightOwl July 20, 2006 Share July 20, 2006 I am always looking for new places to pick stuff up from so I ran across Scales Tropical Fish Warehouse in MD. They are just getting the saltwater stuff underway but looks like it may be promising once all the tanks are filled. They are running a tank sale now and prices seem pretty competative. Not saying rush out and check them out as they only have a few livestock items but each week they are getting new stuff. The website is still under construction but they are coming along. http://www.scales-tfw.com/ . I will keep everyone posted on how they are coming along. The two owners seem pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschflier July 23, 2006 Share July 23, 2006 I have been to the store and if it wasn't a 45 minute drive I would probbably be going there weekly. They have a great African setup and are starting what looks like it will be a really nice salt setup. They also have a huge selection of aquarium products. I had an unfortunate incident bringing some fish to them which they where going to credit for me. I lost some expensive fish because of my stupidity but regardless of that incident the store seems to be a winner. I asked them if they would give discounts to WAMAS members and they said they like working with aquarium organizations and when they get the salt stuff up and running they would like to do some kind of social. I suppose time will tell but I had a good impression of the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch July 23, 2006 Share July 23, 2006 Interesting... I'll definitly have to stop by... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaavedra July 23, 2006 Share July 23, 2006 I went to SCALES TFW today with cbashaw, I am impressed with the store lay out and they gave us a behind the scenes tour. We got to meet the owners (Andrew and Jim) today and man do they want to make a difference. There marine section is limited at the moment but it is set up to have a large promising selection in the future. A lot of time has being dedicated to building the marine section. Tank prices are awesome, I walked out with a 90G AGA and stand for a price that i knew I wouldn't find anywhere else. We talked with the owners and they will offer a 10% discount to WAMAS Members on livestock only. As an example on their prices: 5G Salt: IO $34.99, Crystal Sea $29.99 and Coralife $29.99. We were told by them that they are trying to work with the distributors in keeping those salt prices. The place shows some promise. One of the owners is a non wamas-member aka andrewb. BTW they want to talk to club officials to organize a social and frag swap in the store. Summary: Clean store, friendly personnel and 10% WAMAS Discount = A+ on my book. Raf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch July 23, 2006 Share July 23, 2006 As the lone MD officer... I'll stop in there this week... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbashaw July 23, 2006 Share July 23, 2006 As Raf said they are a great store. The owners are both very cool guys. They will pay cash for frags not just store credit. Great store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry-T July 23, 2006 Share July 23, 2006 I went over to Scales today to pick up an emerald crab and some food. I also had my camera and took a few photos of their saltwater stock: and: and: and: and: and: and: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf July 25, 2006 Share July 25, 2006 I paid a visit to the store today. Very impressed with what I saw. They accepted the 10% discount and even gave me a sea hare for free. I met with Andrew and he assured me that the saltwater selection will be going through massive expansion in the coming months. Definitly glad to say that this store is only 25 minutes from my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaavedra July 25, 2006 Share July 25, 2006 I paid a visit to the store today. Very impressed with what I saw. They accepted the 10% discount and even gave me a sea hare for free. I met with Andrew and he assured me that the saltwater selection will be going through massive expansion in the coming months. Definitly glad to say that this store is only 25 minutes from my house. I told you guys they are very friendly and helpful. As Jamesbuf says 25mins from our area, I think Montgomery County residents have found the place to go! Also keep your eyes open for the store opening at the corner of edmonson rd and rockville pike in the shopping center next to foodlion, the owner sounds like he is going to make a difference. Raf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezza August 25, 2006 Share August 25, 2006 I visited Scale yesterday and i must admit its very clean and organize. Very nice and helpful customer service. I bought some Croceas clams...I will come back to get some salt. oh they also accept WAMAS discount which is sweetttttt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish October 25, 2006 Share October 25, 2006 I shop there on a regular. i highly recommend the store. Ask for Won, there marine specialist. Both of the owners, Andrew and Jim are cool as well. They are constantly upgrading tthe marine section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf October 25, 2006 Share October 25, 2006 I can't agree more. I really like that store. Its becoming my favorite store here in MD. Great prices, that many times beat internet prices. Pearly Jawfish for $15.....nice. Plus they found the nicest canopy I could've asked for at an incredible price. Beat the other local MD stores by over $250. I'm definitly supporting them because I want them to be around for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal October 26, 2006 Share October 26, 2006 i didn't like the store. the customer service was non existent and the selection was somewhat underwhelming. perhaps they will improve on these things. until then its not worth the trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo December 25, 2006 Share December 25, 2006 another 3 months or so and they will be the store to get fish and corals from and fair prices, large clean store and helpful staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest seantadez January 7, 2007 Share January 7, 2007 I was there today and i found very nice corals and good prices... i was called Antonio-lobo cause i bought two nice lobophylia... AAA+++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norboo January 9, 2007 Share January 9, 2007 Nice store. Needs little more time to mature. Recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toastiireefs September 28, 2007 Share September 28, 2007 so how do people reccomend them now? i hear good things about them and they look really nice- beautiful store! when i went in there a few weeks ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal September 28, 2007 Share September 28, 2007 they have a good fish selection and a great invert selection but i would like to see more coral variety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almon September 29, 2007 Share September 29, 2007 Scales is my LFS. The store is bright and clean and I find the staff to be very helpful when I ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak September 29, 2007 Share September 29, 2007 I went there for the first time the other day, an absolutely great store! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtC September 29, 2007 Share September 29, 2007 they have a good fish selection and a great invert selection but i would like to see more coral variety. I talked to AndrewB about their livestock and dry goods stocking a while back. He said it was a tricky thing to manage. He needs to stock what he can sell enough of to cover his costs. That means that the high end stuff (Deltec and exotic corals) are difficult to carry. Deltec because he'd have to buy a bunch up front, and we might just buy it online instead. Corals because us 'high-end' reefers are likely to get our exotics via inter-club frag events. But he is willing to take some corals from us for credit - so you might be able to extend his selection while reducing your costs. But ask first! I was talking to the CMAS event coordinator about having Scales or one of the other locals give a talk on the business aspects of running an LFS. It might help us understand why everything isn't free , and provide an opportunity to discuss what we would by from the LFS if we could. I heard a story at MACNA about a local club elsewhere that went around taking bids on member discounts from their LFS's and then taking all the members' business to the low bidder. The result tends to be putting their local stores out of busniess one by one - not in anybody's interest :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal September 29, 2007 Share September 29, 2007 i can understand that. the business/profitablity aspect of a business is essential. the corals dont need to be all purple monsters and 20,000 leagues lokanis. when i go there he usually has 2 or 3 sps and alot of softies and generic lps corals. expensive isnt always necessary and it is usually inadvisible unless you have the clientele. im just saying that this is the closet lfs but i rarely go there because of this lack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 September 30, 2007 Share September 30, 2007 I had a conversation with Andrew a while back. I mentioned to him that he was the closest LFS to me and that I'm all about supporting the locals and was wondering that once we set up our larger tank, is it possible to get them to order fish that they either didn't have currently or don't normally carry. He told me that it was no problem to special order and that they would hold the fish to make sure it was eating at least frozen food, if not something more "processed". I don't know if this applies to corals as well but it wouldn't hurt to ask him if it were possible (if you know exactly what you want, as opposed to "something pretty"). This, however, eliminates the thrill of just browsing a store and coming across a piece that you must have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward October 1, 2007 Share October 1, 2007 I absolutely love Scales. It's the LFS I virtually always go to. Store is clean, bright, and has good levels of dry and live goods. They have a standard selection of fish, but are more than willing to order anything you want. I talked to Won about some fish I'm interested in - he has one of them in quarrantine for me now, and told me that he doesn't have great luck with the other 2 I was interested in. Frequently those species won't eat when they come in, but he was certainly willing to order them for me. Their quarrantine and husbandry practices are great - doing hypo treatment on all fish when they come in and ensuring everything that makes it to display eats. Even the Scooter Blenny I got from them ate frozen immediately. He had some mandarins a few weeks ago - absolutely huge and beautiful. I talked to him about some corals I was interested in a while back and he informed me that the particular type I was looking for was under import restrictions and very difficult to get (wall hammer or anchor vs branching). I had a problem with customer service only once (out of 10+ trips in the last 8 mos) - at the time, there were very few staff in the store and it was close to closing. The guy I was working with was more than willing to pull any livestock from the tanks for me, but when I started asking questions, he admitted he was a freshwater guy and didn't know the answers and went to find someone that did. On many occasions I've discussed the contents and size of my tank in order to find suitable tankmates from the fish they have in stock. They know the correct husbandry practices for each species on display, and will certainly discuss it with you if you ask. I've always appreciated the honesty and openness everyone at the store has regarding their stocking, what fish they bring in, and their willingness to help. I hope this store is around for a VERY long time, and even more I hope they expand to a second location inside the beltway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toastiireefs October 1, 2007 Share October 1, 2007 inside the beltway would be very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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