# New LFS--Ocean Blue in Orange, CA



## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

I was driving to lunch on Friday, and was happy to see Ocean Blue, a new Local Fish Store located at:

622 E. Katella Ave.
Orange, CA 92867 
(714) 532-4528

Brian, the owner, is a big fan of Amano. I can't remember the last LFS I visited where the owner knew who Amano was, but I digress. Anyhow, Brian is very excited to learn from and support the local planted aquarium community, and would be pleased to host SCAPE's first meeting. I will work with him to establish some possible dates and times, and would love to hear what would work best for all of you (weekdays, weekends, times).

I discussed having SCAPE members create Ocean Blue's first planted tank, and will work with him to that end so that we're ready to plant on the first meeting date. I'm thinking something as amazing as the tanks Oliver Knott builds in German fish shops would be nice.

As far as the store is concerned, Brian is stocking a great selection of cool gear, my personal favorite aquarium can be seen if you scroll down the page. He is open to ordering us "rare" fish and inverts, and looks forward to hearing our wish lists. He had some rare characins in there that I haven't seen before in local shops. He will also extend discounts to SCAPE members, too, which I hope you all might find useful.

If you call or store by, please tell Brian that I sent you.

Below please find some low-rez-but-hopefully-useful pictures from my visit ...









































































My personal favorite:









Chime in!


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## guppy (Mar 7, 2004)

You beat me...haha I was trying to work something out with the owner at Window's to the Sea off of newport ave. off the 5-south. to set something up for a scape meeting, hmm


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## fishfry (Apr 15, 2004)

Cool! Did he have any sundanios by chance? They are quite close to new wave too. New wave used to have a nice planted tank, they were one of the first stores I ever saw a live plant tank at before.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

guppy said:


> You beat me...haha I was trying to work something out with the owner at Window's to the Sea off of newport ave. off the 5-south. to set something up for a scape meeting, hmm


Me too. He seems too over his head and way too into reefs. Brian seemed more responsive.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

fishfry said:


> Cool! Did he have any sundanios by chance? They are quite close to new wave too. New wave used to have a nice planted tank, they were one of the first stores I ever saw a live plant tank at before.


I don't think so, but he'd order them for you.

Yep, pretty close to New Wave. Ocean Blue is much bigger, and Brian seems to be more enthusiastic about planted tanks!


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Great find, John! Should be central enough, too. Let us know what turns up.


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

This seems to be a nice place for a SCAPE meeting. Isn't Orange County in the middle of the Los Angeles and San Diego?

Is there any SCAPE members in the LA region? It seems like most of you guys are from San Diego and Orange.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Yep, this would be a decent meetng place for San Diego and L.A.-based people. 

Are weekdays or weekends preferred for you all? I would choose a weekday, around 6:00 pm, but I'm interested in what works for the majority of people.


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

I'm not sure with what day everyone can agree on, but weekends would be better for me in terms of school and transportation.

-Jeff


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

Great news! My fish store in El Toro closed down last year. I haven't even purchased any fish or plants for one since until I got some platies today (that I'm not very thrilled about) I was just about to come to the conclusion that I'd have to start buying everything online or at petsmart (yuck) But I might have to start driving from Coto to go to this place.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

Sweet.... this place is only a 5 minute drive from here - I might have to go drop in tomorrow. If this ends up being a good place for us to have a meeting then I'm all on top of it.

As for the idea of a meeting, I think this scores bonus points for being close to the freeway and quite a few restaurants (read: bars), not to mention only being a few blocks from the house for me.

Anybody wanna rescape my tank? [smilie=u:


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

Hey... I just started thinking... did Brian use to work at Tongs in Whittier? When I bought my tank last fall he was talking about starting up a large store in this area.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

cwlodarczyk said:


> Sweet.... this place is only a 5 minute drive from here - I might have to go drop in tomorrow. If this ends up being a good place for us to have a meeting then I'm all on top of it.
> 
> As for the idea of a meeting, I think this scores bonus points for being close to the freeway and quite a few restaurants (read: bars), not to mention only being a few blocks from the house for me.
> 
> ...


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

I agree with weekends. The primary reason is there are a number of younger folks that won't be able to drive. I think it will be easier to convince parents to give a ride as needed.

One must also consider commute time on a weekday. While I can be sure to make it up in time on my motorcycle, there's no telling how long it would take in the truck during rush hour. Add to that figuring out a meeting place to carpool and things really get tight. But anything later than 6pm starts to get too late for much off anything...


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

In rush hour it takes about 20 minutes to get from Irvine to Orange, as a marker. It isn't fun, and I'm sure folks taking freeways like the 55 will have it even worse.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Lauren said:


> In rush hour it takes about 20 minutes to get from Irvine to Orange, as a marker. It isn't fun, and I'm sure folks taking freeways like the 55 will have it even worse.


Try driving from Laguna Beach to Orange every weekday. Ugh.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

John P. said:


> Try driving from Laguna Beach to Orange every weekday. Ugh.


Doesn't sound nice. Do you take the 73? I'm sure the 73 to the 55 would save you a lot of headaches.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Lauren said:


> Doesn't sound nice. Do you take the 73? I'm sure the 73 to the 55 would save you a lot of headaches.


No, 133 to 5N. I work close to the 5. so it's not as bad as it could be.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

ah, i do the 241-133-5 to irvine for work. Was a lot worst before the toll roads, cut a 40 minute commute in half.


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## psidriven (Feb 21, 2004)

Since I moved from Irvine to LA, I have to vote for a weekend meet.

I agree with you John P., that rimless, curved corner tank is nice.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

John P. said:


> Brian is very excited to learn from and support the local planted aquarium community, and would be pleased to host SCAPE's first meeting. I will work with him to establish some possible dates and times, and would love to hear what would work best for all of you (weekdays, weekends, times).


I stopped in today to look around the place - well stocked and very nice. Really nothing going on as far as plants yet, but he does have all the accessories. The only thing that bothered me is that he stocks painted glassfish.

I talked to Brian while I was there and mentioned the interest here in scaping a tank in his shop. He indicated that he was aware of the idea and pointed to a nice bowfront tank saying "I've already got the tank right here".

So, he knows we're coming, he has the tank, even has a couple of empty CO2 rigs...

So? Anybody else think that it's time to quit beating around the bush and get something put together here?


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

I can't do it on the 8th (Wife's birthday). But may be able to convince her of the 9th. Otherwise, tax weekend would work for me...


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## frugalfish (Apr 20, 2005)

This sounds like a really good opportunity and a nicely centralized location for a first meeting. I think a weekend day would be best. I'm ready. Tax weekend would be fine by me...wife's a CPA so I'm definitely free that weekend.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

I have a BMW meet on the 8th (can't miss) and a fieldtrip on the 15th. But don't reschedual because of me.


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

Let me know what you all decide and I'm sure that if I'm not busy with my Medieval Re-enactments I can carpool with Mike or Andrew or someone...let the youngins drive this old man around! LOL


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

How does Apriil 16 work for everybody? Brian's fine with it, and will make sure he has all the equipment we need for a demo tank.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Who's going to do the tank?


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

easter sunday? I could probably make it in the afternoon, after church.

I swung by the shop last night to pickup my _new_ co2 tank and regulator. it's not very pretty, but it'll work. Good news is that it came with a needle valve!

It's a VERY nice shop. They have a great selection of fish, but not yet plants. Their plant tanks have brown algae right now, I'm sure it will pass. But the fish look healthy, and like I said, they have a great selection. They do cary some ADA products too, like substrate. It took me 45 minutes to get there from work (God bless the 5 freeway on Friday at 5) but it was well worth the drive.

My break from rescaping is over. I'll be making a thread about that in the aquascaping section shortly. [/plug]


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

oh, I forgot. I have three large pieces of manzanita and some extra slate I will donate to the tank.

Or anyone who wants it can have it, if the ocean blue display doesn't need it.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Woops--that's Easter Sunday? Hmmm ... should we try for the following weekend?


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

John P. said:


> Woops--that's Easter Sunday? Hmmm ... should we try for the following weekend?


April 22nd then? How does early afternoon sound? 1 or 2 pm would be great for me.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

yeah, that works for me


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

I think 4/22 works for me.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

I'll put it on my calendar then.

What will Brian provide and what does SCAPE need to come up with? He doesn't have any plants to speak of so I assume that we need to cover those at the very least.

I can commit to at least having enough c wendtii bronze to cover 12" x 12", maybe more. My goldfish will be happy to contribute plenty of mulm as well. ainkille 


John, I'm not a plant genius, but I do live around the corner - maybe you and I could meet up there to discuss a plan.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

April 22 sounds like a better plan than the 16th!!!


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

I've PMd Tony (Gomer), and I hope he'll be able to attend and help us with the demo. As far as plants are concerned, Brian will place an order for a bunch of plants to arrive in advance of the meeting. A couple of ideas:

-One idea might be to have 2/3 of the tank be an aquascape, and the remainder could be a selling tank ala what Oliver shows here:
http://www.pbase.com/plantella/selling_tanks
That way, Brian could actually keep aquatic plants for sale (and keep them happy w/CO2, high light, and a fertilization routine).

-I'm always partial to rockscapes with two-three types of plants, but I'm open to other options.

-I'm happy bringing some plants, too. I could bring some Hygrophila corymbosa "angustifolia," probably bring a little bit of Glosso, some Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, maybe some HC, Blyxa japonica, and Taiwan Moss. I'm not too keep on making this a collectoritis display, however, so maybe we should decide where we're going with this first.

-I'm not sure if we're using the bowfront or not.

cwlodarczyk--are you there M-F during the day? I work close, but live about 45 mins away.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

I'll be there as well with any extra hard/soft scape I have.

I think it'll be hard to figure out what we will do until we see the kinds of plants Brian orders. We will probably have to play the scape by ear after we arive at the shop.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

John P. said:


> -I'm not sure if we're using the bowfront or not.
> 
> cwlodarczyk--are you there M-F during the day? I work close, but live about 45 mins away.


He pointed to a bowfront while I was there. If I recall it looked to be about 60G.

I lost my job a couple of weeks ago - I've got something on the line, but for the time being I'm around every day.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

cwlodarczyk said:


> He pointed to a bowfront while I was there. If I recall it looked to be about 60G.
> 
> I lost my job a couple of weeks ago - I've got something on the line, but for the time being I'm around every day.


Sorry about the job. Brian sad yesterday that he was thinking it might not be the bowfront.


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

Count me in.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Are you willing to scape?


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

As far as I know, I am game for the day there as well.


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## fishfry (Apr 15, 2004)

Cool! I'll be there. I can bring some plants if needed. I have a decent amount of Rotala sp. Vietnam, or if anyone in Scape wants some free. I will update if I have other gratis plants available to people later. Might have some fish too...


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## fishfry (Apr 15, 2004)

Also, Lauren said he carries some ADA products, anyone know how much the aquasoil is?


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

I didn't check the price, sorry.


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

I think he carries florabase. When I went in, he was still considering wether he was going to carry ADA or not. Maybe thats changed since I went in? It would be nice if he carried AS.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

l sure haven't seen ADA there.


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

John P. said:


> l sure haven't seen ADA there.


Maybe they didn't have it yet when you were there. Brian brought me right over to a bag of subtrate to show me they carried the line.

So are we doing to do a trade and a scape? Does anyone think that we may either be putting too much stuff into one day, or that we may be over burdoning the store?


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Hi Lauren,

I just spoke to Brian, and he said he showed you a bag of something else. He's working on featuring the ADA line, but has none yet.

;-)


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## Lauren (Mar 18, 2006)

alright, I'll take your word for it, but I swore he showed me some.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

turbomkt said:


> Are you willing to scape?


I'll do what I can, but I think that most here have more knowledge then I do.


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## fishfry (Apr 15, 2004)

Ok, let's hope he will consider selling AS, because that would be really nice.


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

I'm in on it...

Provided Mike want to drive!

Also, what type of Scape is gonna be done?

I've got my stems goin crazy for me so I'm sure I'll be able to bring some Mermaid, Cabomba, Ludwegia Repens, Anachairis, and possibly something else.


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## acbaldwin (Nov 3, 2005)

Count me in too! We gotta work out who's driving with whom though. I can probably bring some plants for the trade.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

I'm working on it, but may have had something come up 

I've got to go to Vegas and that weekend is the best bet for my schedule


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

OK, for those that have been to this shop before.....

What type of fish does he have?

I'm specifically looking for some Hatchet fish and either penguin Tetras or Pencilfish.

Although Blue Tetras would be another awesome find if not too expensive!


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

TetraFreak said:


> OK, for those that have been to this shop before.....
> 
> What type of fish does he have?
> 
> ...


I would suggest calling him. Even if he doesn't stock them normally he might be willing to bring them in for you.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

He stocks tons of cichlids. He also stocks some fish that you wouldn't normally see in a LFS, so if you're one for unusual/rare fish, then check with him every now and then.

I don't think, however, he has any of the fish you want. Like Carl said, your best bet is to call him and see if you can special order the stuff before the meeting.


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## epine (Dec 24, 2006)

John, does he have a large variety of plants? Next week I will be splurging on specific plants and I will be buying alot to fill my 90g.


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## Cassie (May 27, 2006)

last time I was there the plant selection was not very good, lacking both variety and health. Other lfs that have better selection and healthier plants are All About Fish in Long Beach and Strictly Fish, also in LB. Both have large plant "holding tanks" (much larger than Ocean Blue's) and AAF also has a beautiful planted showtank or two, amazing fish (rare species, healthy specimens, large FW selection), and super helpful and friendly staff.


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