Ocean Aquarium

120 Cedar St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA

Address:	120 Cedar St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA
Phone:	+1 415-771-3206
Site:	oceanaquarium.blogspot.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

A Private User

This is by far one of the best aquarium fish stores I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. I live in Chico and there are no more local fish stores it in my town, just commercial chain stores like Petco. It was very refreshing to be able to chat with the store owner who was more than willing to offer advice and help troubleshoot any problems that you may be encountering with your aquariums. I have been in the aquarium hobby for over 20 year and most of the stores I come across pretty much give you textbook type of advice. Through my experiences I have found that advice to be adequate for beginners but subpar for the advanced Hobbyist. These people validated theories and practices that I have come to know by experience that you would be hard-pressed to find in any books. The process, which he wrote down for me, and water products that he recommended cleared up my problems that I was having with my aquariums just as he said it would. The variety and quality of their fish stock, some of the healthiest I have seen in a store in many years, made me feel like I was a kid in a candy store. All their tanks were lush green and set up like you would have in your home. Half of them I wish I could just take it home with me. Unlike most stores that have their tanks set up like holding pens to move inventory. You get the feeling that all their fish were raised there and not delivered by a truck. You can tell just by walking around the store that there is a lot of hard work that has gone into their fish tanks to create healthy living conditions for their fish. I highly recommend this store to all freshwater aquarium hobbyist. I will visit the store every time I am in San Francisco I just wish that the store was in my hometown. Its probably good that it isnt because I would be spending too much time there.

Andy Dilbert

I just visited Ocean Aquarium while on vacation in San Francisco. I have to say it is by far the most amazing aquarium store for planted tanks I have ever seen. The tanks are all full of healthy vibrant plants. Ive kept planted tanks for about 15 years and the owner, Justin, was able to answer all my questions and explain all the mysteries that I havent been able to figure out all these years. Definitely was worth the visit. He even brought out a couple buckets of water and did all these magical demonstrations of how pH buffers, water hardness and SF city water interact. I would say that this store is especially suited for advanced aquarists, especially those who keep planted tanks. I noticed a negative comment here from someone who mentioned "leeches" in the tank. Certainly those "leeches" were the live blackworms that the owner feeds certain fish... as Justin said "Anabantids need live food, flakes are not enough for them!" An experienced fishkeeper would notice that the fish in the store are actually quite unusual. I have never seen chocolate gouramis before in person, only in books. Selection of plants and fish was wide, especially Asian fish such as rasboras and barbs. Harder to grow plants like Java fern taking over tanks! Riccia floating on the surface growing in a large mat. Justin was even able to show me the differences between Wisteria, and submersed and emersed Ceratopteris thalictroides. I was impressed how the 100+ tanks in his store are balanced, with minimal algae growth, healthy plant growth, with simple macro- and micro-nutrient supplementation. Overall, extremely impressed!

A Private User

I always go to my favorite aquarium on leland st, but made a mistake going here, I walked in, barly any room...I asked the guy about how much rocks are he said $2/pound which was ok then I asked him my tank is cloudy and I just set it up, I wanted to see what he would say even tho I know the answer that there are tank cycles. Instead of giving me advice he wanted me to buy 150 pounds of sand for $80......he said thats what he uses......I said I have normal gravel which 80% of people do and then he started to get mad at me?? Telling me dont waste his time.. Started to get a attitude that I wasnt doing what he is telling me? I went there for a rock and he wants me to buy $80 of sand?? Bullshit. Then as his wife was ringing me up for the rock and then she wants to charge me $3 bucks per pound??? Like WTF??? They might know what they are talking about but watch when you go there for one thing and they want you too spend more money on things you dont need......be careful and goodluck!

A Private User

Very condescending and abrasive. I absolutely love fish tanks and have had a 20 gal tank since I was 10 years old, but when I went into this store and asked a couple basic questions the main owner (Justin) immediately started explaining to me how all my fish will die within 2 weeks unless I follow his methods. When I told him the pH and chlorine levels and the temp and type of fish I had, he told said (in a badgering voice) "No you lie to me, none of that is true. You cannot have that with San Francisco water, you can only have good water if you do this way." Then he tried to sell me a pile of sand, an expensive filter, and multiple water conditioners. I decided to set my tank up as I have in the past and my fish are healthy and still alive. So although his methods would probably get a 10/10, my 9/10 method works too. If you chose to go there dont act like you know anything because that was my mistake. He doesnt want to blend methods, but rather only use his own.

Chad Freeman

Ive been coming to Ocean Aquarium for years now. I was introduced through a friend and have recommended them to everyone I know who has any fish or aquarium plant needs. The owners, Justin and his wife Adi, truly care about their fish and will usually only sell their fish until after they test your water quality to ensure your tank has been properly cycled and is balanced. Justin knows his fish and Adi knows her plants. Even if I havent been there in months, they always remember what kind of fish I have, what plants I like and even what kind of fish my mom and my friends have. They have saved me from an infection spreading throughout my tank, helped me breed my own Rams, Corys & others and have always been able to answer any questions Ive had. Id recommend them to beginners, experienced tank owners and anyone in between. Quality, trusted local fish stores are hard to come by but Justin and Adi love what they do and they are great at it.

A Private User

Ive had aquariums for about ten years now and wish that I had found this store sooner. This tiny little shop is packed with beautiful displays of happy (yes, "happy") fish and healthy plants, run by equally happy and extremely knowledgeable owners, Justin and Ady. This is not the kind of aquarium store where you go in, buy fish, and leave. Instead, its the type of place that has won an award for being the best cheap date in San Francisco (seriously). Ive never spent less than 30 minutes in the store. The advice is top-notch. I had some algae growing in my new aquarium, so I brought in a picture of the growth. Not only did Justin recognize the algae immediately, he gave me a step-by-step prescription for clearing up the growth. Prices are reasonable, typically about $0.25 cheaper that what youd find at PetCo or another big chain. With that in mind, I dont know why youd go anywhere else.