Aqua Lab Aquaria - San Jose, California

Dailyn J.

Really rough around the edges. The display tanks are over run with algae, have flatworm infestations, and are covered in dead plants. I wanted to get some macro algae but after seeing all of that I just don’t trust that I could ever get it parasite clean.

minh L.

I am new to the aquascaping hobby. My daughter and I are doing it to have an activity together. I went to the store on a recommendation from a relative. The store has a very good selection of different aquariums and hardscapes. Everywhere else I have been to has a limited selection since they're mostly focused on sea creatures. I was being helped by Kent and he was incredibly knowleable not only about the aquariums but also different plants. We were there for almost two hours and he was very patient and informative. Prices were very reasonable which was also great and I left feeling very confident in what we bought and my daughter is super excited about setting up the new tank.

Andrew B.

After over a month, they still have not shipped my order. They don't respond to emails or calls. The easiest thing about this place, other than placing the order, was cancelling and getting a refund. I can assume they are pretty efficient in order cancellations due to their terrible customer support .

Elena

Came here to purchase my first larger tank and overall my experience was very positive. The guy who helped me was really nice and patient answering my questions (I'm very new to the hobby). They also have some really cool tanks setup for inspiration!

My 12g long tank turned out well and I’d definitely come back if I was building out another tank.

Rachel W.

Aqua Lab is an amazing store for aquascaping supplies, tools, plants, and equipment. I went there with my 9 year old godson Alex and his father to aquascape Alex’s low tech tank, pictures attached in early February. The store gave us lots of inspiration with their display tanks, the staff was able to give us lots of information, and answer our questions. There was a large variety of plants for us to choose from that other stores just don’t have.

We purchased 6 different plants, 2 Wabi-Sabi stones, Kakako wood, and Manzanita wood for the aquascape. We also purchased Ultum Nature System all in one plant food fertilizer, kH test, and a gH test. Two months later the tank is thriving after some initial algae outbreaks and one plant death, which is due more to my thumb then anything else. We didn’t change any equipment, and our tank is low tech, simple filter, heater, 10 gallons, Dwarf African Frogs, Neon Tetras, and snails. The frogs love the Nymphoides Hydrophylla ‘Taiwan’ which we haven’t seen available else where. My godson Alex could not be happier or more proud of his tank and the advice and information we got from Aqua Lab, let alone that everything was available in one place for us to purchase has made this tank possible.

1st picture is of Alex’s tank before Aqua Lab
2nd picture is Alex’s new tank right after Aqua Lab 2/6
3rd picture is Alex’s tank today, the Nymphoides Hydrophylla ‘Taiwan’ is doing so well we have clippings to go into the quarantine tank for when fish get sick.

Final Note – regarding Covid-19 all employees were wearing masks correctly, so were customers, everyone was attempting to stay 6 feet apart, and taking turns in parts of the store were social distancing wasn’t possible. It was a wonderful experience in that aspect.

Christopher B.

Visited the other day, the variety of goods for aquascaping and aquarium hobby was really nice (and is actually relatively hard to come by), the man that worked there was also very helpful. It's definitely a place I would look to shop for my aquarium needs. If you are in the bay area, particularly south or east bay, I think it's more than worth it to shop here first before looking online or at a larger chain store.

Morgan B.

I love this aquarium shop. The owner, Kent, helped me pick out all the things I need to get started on my first salt water reef tank. Every time I come back they are very helpful and expand my knowledge of the hobby. They have tons of choices to stock my tank top from coral to fish.

Jason R.

Purchased a fish tank online that was freight shipped to my home address. The fish tank was shattered upon arrival and after a week of emailing and numerous phone calls I finally got ahold of Kent. I was promised either a replacement that would ship out first thing the following week or a full refund including the $300.00 shipping fee. I opted for a replacement, but two weeks later I never received another fish tank nor a phone call or email with any updates. Another week passed and finally got ahold of customer service explaining the situation deciding to cancel the order and asked for a full refund. Another week passed and received an email for a gift card for canceling my purchase. Still waiting to hear back from Kent to fix my situation...