Support your local reef store

[Jon Lazar]

I want to remind everyone how important it is to support your local fish (reef) store.

 

Now, I admit that I usually turn to online orders for livestock and dry goods.  I work long hours, and it's very hard to make time to travel to our community brick and mortar stores looking for this part or that, or waiting for them to order an out-of-stock fish.  It's easier and saves me a lot of time to go to BRS or DD and click my way through an order that's delivered to my doorstep.

 

But I recently re-discovered how valuable a brick and mortar store is.  One of the Vectra circulation pumps on my display tank froze up the other day.  I immediately went online and none of my bookmarked vendors had one in stock.  Couldn't find one anywhere.  I even went to R2R and clicked my way through their many sponsors, looking anywhere for an Ecotech Vectra L2.  

 

While I was searching for an online vendor, a Google ad told me that Reef eScape had one in stock, and for the same price as online.  I called to confirm it was in stock, paid by credit card, and drove to pick it up.  An hour later the pump was humming away on my tank.  My LFS saved the day.

 

Many of our community's local reef stores are small businesses, owned and staffed by people who share our passion for aquatic critters.  With all the economic challenges ahead, it's more important than ever for us to support them now, so they'll be there to help us when we need it most.  Whether it's a replacement pump, medication for a sick fish, live food for a finicky eater, or whatever, we'll all have a crisis someday.  So do what you can to help keep our local reef stores in our hobby community.

 

[mogurnda]

If you don't need something right now, you can always buy yourself a gift certificate for later.  One way of helping them make it through the hard times.