The saltwater coral market is especially competitive here in Colorado with many different stores offering frags. The evolution of Murrman’s Reef has been a long story. Originally it was Key’s Island and located further west in Englewood. Honestly, I don’t even know the timeline and complexities of their history, just that it is extensive. Recently they merged and moved to the location of Mile High Tides, just off Broadway in south Denver. The current address is 1594 S. Acoma St, Denver, CO 80223. Their hours are Tuesday thru Friday, 12–7PM, Saturday 10-6, Sunday 10-5, and Monday Closed.
This store specializes in Coral and lots of it. I have not seen a larger collection of corals anywhere in Colorado. They have lots of space which works to their advantage. The main room is exceptionally large and right in the middle are 4 big frag tanks, with maintenance space at the rear by the warehouse doors. To the left as you enter is a big beautiful in-wall display tank surrounded with aquarium supplies. The front desk is on the right hand wall and fish tanks line the left wall. Just past the front desk is another room with tanks lining the walls and two cute parrots situated quietly to one side. They have frozen foods in this room along with more corals and fish. As with most saltwater specialty stores they offer installation and maintenance. They also sell seawater. Now days the big thing is live online auctions, so check out their Facebook page. I could not get their website link to work, so this is not included here. In the past Mile High Tides had a freshwater section with plants and fish, but this is no longer the case. Murrman’s Reef is strictly salt now.
With the size of the store I am sure it is difficult to keep all the tanks clean and the place looking presentable because it was a mess as you will see in my pictures below. Salt creep is real! Getting in and out of tanks so frequently can make keeping the glass clean a real challenge. The warehouse style of the store does not lend well to retail in my opinion, but as a double duty I totally get the appeal. Many LFS go this route for lower cost per sqft. The coral tanks were all well stocked, though the fish tanks looked sparse. I am sure they can get whatever it is you need. Make it a practice to ask your LFS for the fish, coral, or whatever you seek as these stores are here to please and are happy to special order for those willing to pay.
To review, my biggest concern with this store is the mess. Most of the tanks seemed to be fairly clean and the livestock healthy. If all you want is some kewl coral, interesting saltwater fish, or aquarium supplies this is your store. Murrman’s Reef is the quintessential Local Fish Store for the Saltwater enthusiast!
Sequoia Elisabeth
Comments