S2-E38: What's REALLY Trending in SoCal Aquatics Right Now (w/ Nolan's Aquarium)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Deep End with Eric Triplett

S2-E38: What's REALLY Trending in SoCal Aquatics Right Now (w/ Nolan's Aquarium)

Date: April 20, 2026
Host: Eric Triplett ("The Pond Digger")
Guest: Nolan (Nolan's Aquarium, Santa Ana)
Event: Recorded live at AquaSwap 2026, Coast Tropical Fish Club

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Episode Overview

Eric Triplett hosts a lively, on-the-floor conversation with Nolan from Nolan’s Aquarium, diving into the real-time trends shaping the Southern California aquatic scene. Against the backdrop of the bustling AquaSwap convention, the two discuss the meteoric rise of nano tanks and Medaka, shifts in consumer interests, hot product lines, business adaptation, and the role of community clubs and grassroots events driving the hobby forward. This episode is a hands-on, unscripted check-in with an experienced local shop owner adapting to trends both old and new.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. The Pulse of SoCal Aquatics: What’s Trending?

[02:57–03:22]

• Eric asks Nolan for the top trends in-store right now.
• Nolan’s key trends:
  • Nano tanks, Medaka (Japanese rice fish), and aquarium plants.
  • These items are in such demand Nolan “cannot keep those in stock” and has to “order them everywhere.”
  • Quote (Nolan, 03:01):

    “Things that are still hot are nano, Medaka, and those are the two things that are trending. Plants? Those are the top three. I cannot keep those in stock.”

2. The Rise of Nano Aquariums

[03:23–05:46]

• Eric demos his ultra-portable 40oz "micro reef" nano tank from PNW Custom Aquariums—so small it fits in a backpack.

  • Eye-catching, so unique that people stop to look and ask about it at events/restaurants.

• Nano tanks are not just a trend—customers love the accessibility, portability, and unique conversation piece aspect.

• Nano Gear Details:

  • Eric describes building and customizing his travel reef, including troubleshooting issues like rock movement:

    “I took the whole tank apart and I glued [the rocks] to the bottom of it. And then put all the corals and glued the corals in. And now when I travel, it’s no problem.” (Eric, 05:41)

• Nolan’s Perspective on Saltwater vs. Freshwater Nanos

  • Currently runs an all-freshwater shop; loves saltwater but space constraints, and his personal passion, keep him focused on freshwater nanos and plants.
  • If the shop expands, will stick to freshwater, especially nano fish.

    "[Even] if I got another thousand square feet, which might happen one day, I just want to fill it up with fresh. And I'd want to fill it up with nano fish." (Nolan, 06:17)

3. Business Adaptation: From Breeding Colonies to Nano & Plants

[09:01–10:08]

• Nolan explains he started out focusing on African cichlid breeding colonies, but as customer demand shifted heavily towards nano fish and live plants, he adapted his inventory.
• Maintains a dedicated Africans room, but most sales (and shop space) now go to nano and plants.
  • Quote (Nolan, 09:39):

    "To stay in business, I had to go with the trends. And plants and nano were hot... bulk of our sales are all going to nano."

4. Nano on the Move: Novelty & Outreach

[10:08–14:05]

• Eric and Nolan discuss the potential of “nano on the go,” with Eric sharing stories about taking his travel reef to meetings and even to conferences and dinners.

• Nolan reflects customers are generally comfortable with nano-freshwater set-ups, with minimal filtration and easy care, which could make a portable tank trend catch on in freshwater too.

  • Shrimp-only, filterless tanks and Betta tanks are mentioned as easy “nano” options.

• Memorable Moment (Eric, 11:01):

  "I come into dinner... and then I just pull out this little tank, set it on the counter, and then all the waiters are coming over to talk to me. Sometimes the chef will come out to see what the hell is going on."

5. Hot Products: Aquarium Co-Op & Equipment Talk

[14:06–18:28]

• Nolan is enthusiastic about the success of carrying Aquarium Co-Op products in-store.

  • Was initially selective/hesitant but now is a major outlet for SoCal fans.
  • Aquarium Co-Op’s strong marketing, customer support, and product videos help with customer trust and awareness.

    "People come in not just for one item. They want, like, three or four items, and all their products are really good, really good products." (Nolan, 14:12)

• Sponge filter evolution—debating airflow, sponge coarseness, and practicality for different tank sizes.

  • Eric is intrigued by Co-Op’s upgraded sponge filter design, particularly for nano setups.

6. Hobby Growth & Customer Trends

[20:44–21:43]

• Nolan notices a “definite uptick” in new hobbyists, with many people setting up their first tank or adding more, especially on weekends.
  • Overall sentiment: hobby is steadily growing, maybe not booming like the ‘80s/‘90s, but “the best it’s been in the last decade.”

7. Building Customer Relationships & Shop Loyalty

[22:44–26:02]

• Nolan credits Eric’s contractor coaching for improving his customer engagement.
  • Shifted from just answering questions to actively listening, discovering the “why” behind each customer’s interest.
  • This builds trust, personalization, and loyalty—“they walk out and... find value and they're going to want to come back.”
  • Ongoing effort to train employees in attentive, customer-driven service over “dumping info.”
  • Quote (Nolan, 23:33):

    "What I was doing wrong that I realized is I wasn't allowing them to talk and tell me what they want... That was a big one for me."

8. Community, Clubs & Events: Driving the Hobby

[26:19–29:58]

• Strong support for local fish clubs, especially Coast Tropical Fish Club (“the best club in SoCal”).
  • Nolan stresses the synergy between local shops and clubs—discounts, event promotion, and collaboration grow the hobby for everyone.
• Details on annual events:
  • Aquaswap – main event each year for Coast Fish Club, growing bigger each time.
  • California Medaka Fest (Nolan’s shop):
    • Focus on Medaka (nano, outdoor-capable, mini-koi fish).
    • Huge demand! Last year, over 200 people lined up before doors opened.
    • The spirit is to give back to the community and promote an easy entry point into the aquatic world.
    • Quote (Nolan, 28:37):

      "Medaka are hot because you can keep them on your porch, outdoors... They're a mini koi fish... an intro to get in there to nano and even ponds."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Adapting to Change (Nolan, 09:39):

  "To stay in business, I had to go with the trends... plants and nano were hot... bulk of our sales are all going to nano."

• On the Nano Craze (Eric, 07:59):

  "This little tank moves with me all day, from admin meetings to sales calls to podcast sessions... it's literally a traveling demo."

• On Community Connection (Nolan, 26:19):

  "To me, it's all about community... being a fish nerd, there's only so many in our circle... just helping each other out and helping the hobby grow."

• On Shop Loyalty & Listening (Nolan, 23:33):

  "What I was doing wrong… I wasn't allowing them to talk and tell me what they want... letting them talk, building that relationship..."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:57] — Opening: What’s trending in SoCal aquatics
• [03:55] — The ultra-nano (PNW Custom 40oz reef)
• [05:52] — Why no saltwater? Shop format realities
• [09:01] — How demand shifted business models
• [14:06] — Aquarium Co-Op: product line success story
• [15:52] — Sponge Filter Debate/Equipment geek-out
• [20:44] — Hobby growth and customer influx
• [22:44] — Building customer trust: sales and service mindsets
• [26:19] — Power of clubs; Coast Tropical Fish Club, Medaka Fest
• [28:37] — Madaka’s popularity and community events

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Nano aquariums, Medaka, and live plants are dominating SoCal aquatic retail.
• Adapting to customer requests—especially for accessible, low-barrier-to-entry setups—keeps stores relevant and thriving.
• Strong community ties and club relationships not only grow business but also enrich the hobby for all.
• Listening and building relationships creates long-term customer loyalty, especially as trends and fads shift.
• Events like AquaSwap and Medaka Fest are vital for networking, education, and maintaining passion in the aquatic industry.

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Final Word:
This episode captures the real, unscripted energy of today's SoCal aquatics scene—a world where listening to your customers, supporting your local club, and staying nimble with trends like nanos and Medaka can mean the difference between fading out and thriving in the deep end.

[End of summary]

Transcript

[Eric Triplett]

Welcome to the Deep End with Eric Triplett, the pond digger. This is the show for contractors, tradesmen and entrepreneurs who want more from their business and from themselves. Eric brings decades of experience as a seven figure contractor with expertise in leadership, sales systems and the discipline it takes to build something real. Shaped by years in the aquatics world, his insights are rooted in precision, craftsmanship and performance. If you're done skimming the surface and ready to go deeper, it's time to dive in.

What's happening, rockstars? Welcome back to the Deep End. It's Triplet here. This is where we talk about depth, discipline and diligence in business and in life and in aquatics. This one's a quick hit, one recorded live on the floor of Aquaswap 2026, put on by the crew over at Coast Tropical Fish Club. And let me tell you, the energy in the room was popping. I mean, it's a little noisy, you'll hear some background noise in this recording, but we're talking like raffles are popping off, they're giving away tons of stuff. Music's in the background, Bump and influencers are everywhere. You had a Wyan fish keeper. He was, you know, he was the MC and just constantly on the mic chatting it up, talking to everyone. We had Logan Rando there, which was a real blast to get him on the podcast as well as many, as well many, many others and just like, put it this way, wall to wall fish nerds just living their best lives. I learned a lot of cool things. You know, there's some, a couple things in my fish room that I was struggling with and I, I caught a couple of specialty breeders and pulled them to the side and asked them some questions. It's always a great place to catch up and learn some cool new stuff. But in the middle of all that chaos, I caught up with Nolan from Nolan's Aquarium over there in Santa Ana. And he's been grinding in the game for about a decade now and he's got a really cool little shop and we had time to quick catch up style podcast. And so just in, in real time, like check the pulse on the industry. What's hot, what's moving for him, what trends are shifting for him in the business and what's, what's going on with him, you know, so from cichlids to nano reefs, the stud's evolving with the market and he's staying in front of what his customers needs and desires are and he's really connected with the clubs and the communities and, and you know, from Aqua Swap to Aquashella and whatever else is going on in the industry. That's what this conversation is all about. Just that kind of checkup call. I think you'll find some. Some fun value in it. But keep in mind, this is raw, it's noisy, it's super real. And honestly, it captures exactly what this hobby in this industry feels like right now at one of the industries. So let's get into it.

Nolan, what are the new trends this year? What are you seeing? What. What's going on?

[Nolan]

I will say new trends. Things that are still hot are nano Medaka and those are the two things that are trending plants. Those are the top three. I can order those and I cannot keep those in stock. I have to order them everywhere. Okay. Consistently. Cool.

[Eric Triplett]

Speaking of nanos.

Right.

What's up with this? Tell me.

[Nolan]

I was very interested to hear what you have to say about that. Very intriguing. Very intriguing. I like how you can take it around with you, put it in your backpack. It just. You don't need it, but it just. It's badass. Can we say that on here?

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, we can say whatever we want. So the reason, what we're talking about is I have the. From PNW. I have a 40 ounce micro reef with me right now. And so like talk about nano. Right? I mean it's. It's. What's. It's smaller than nano.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Right?

[Nolan]

That is.

[Eric Triplett]

Dude, I drink more beer than this in one day.

[Nolan]

You know, I. I have probably like 15 sizes of nano tanks in the shop and there's probably only one size that's this nano. Everything else is bigger. Okay, so this is extremely nano. Extremely. But honestly, I can see the corals, the polyps, clam. Those are all. They're all doing great. And it's like you walk by and people are stopping. Yeah. They want to talk about it.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

Well, that's cool. I'm glad we're talking about this because. So I. I saw this a year ago at the LA Pet Fair. All right. And I had to have it and I. I basically took it home and set it up. This. I haven't changed it since. You know, everything that's in here is basically from that time.

[Nolan]

Did you pick out the corals or it just came as a kid?

[Eric Triplett]

No, I picked out everything there. You know that there was one moment when I first set it up. I used real stone in there. And about a month later, I decided to move to. They have like a little rock structure and.

[Nolan]

Wait, are you talking about saltwater rock or stone from like your yard?

[Eric Triplett]

No, no, I, I like a saltwater reef tank stuff.

[Nolan]

Okay. You grab something.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah. And I broke some little pieces and

I put it in there and I

made my own scape in there. But it was, it, it didn't really work that well. It was okay.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

But you know, Harley, Harley makes these ones and they just put in there and so here's where I screwed up. When I first got it, you know, I, I tried to travel with it a little bit, but you know, the rock would slide around and move around from traveling. So, you know, about a month after I got it, I got one of these little skate things from him and I took the whole tank apart and I glued it to the bottom of it.

[Nolan]

It makes sense.

[Eric Triplett]

And then put all the corals and glued the corals in. And now when I travel, it's no problem.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Right. So the nano. So let's get back to the nano part. So, you know, but you're not doing any saltwater stuff, right?

[Nolan]

Strictly fresh and.

[Eric Triplett]

No, no really desire to do that. It's a big, big undertaking.

[Nolan]

This is my second shop. My first shop I had salt and fresh salt did it did better than fresh. But when I opened up this store, my heart is really in fresh. And my store is 1600ft. 1600 square feet. It's not big. It's. It's a medium sized shop. I just, I don't have enough room.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

You know, if, even if I got another thousand square feet, which might happen one day, I just want to fill it up with fresh.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

And I'd want to fill it up with nano fish.

[Eric Triplett]

Right?

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Cool.

There is a little, there's a little green striped goby in here too. Do you see him?

[Nolan]

I didn't.

[Eric Triplett]

I got a little Gobi in here. It's a goby. He's been in there for 10 months, you know, and that clam is about six, six or seven months in there by now.

[Nolan]

What does the Gobi eating?

[Eric Triplett]

Oh, I feed them these little.

[Nolan]

Okay.

[Eric Triplett]

You know, Benny pet.

[Nolan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Things. And then I'll throw some baby brine shrimp because, you know, of course I'm breeding cichlids at home, so baby brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, all that kind of stuff. And you know, they, they sell Copa pods. You know, you get this, you get the little bottle of Copa pods. Yeah, yeah, I'll do that, you know, once a month. I'll pour some Copa pods in there at nighttime and hopefully they're like, yeah, doing okay in there. But you know, it's got this little, the wet dry filter under there. You know those, those guys do fine in there. Yeah, they just take good care of it.

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If you're a hardcore aquarist, this is your next level challenge. If you're an aquarium service, you need to take one with you on your consultations. It's literally a traveling demo. And if you've got someone in your life who's into reef tanks, this is the perfect gift right now. This little tank moves with me all day, from my admin division meetings to my marketing div huddles, to sales calls and podcast sessions, scheduling div sync meetings. And yeah, I even take it to dinner. I'm head over heels for it. And if you see one in person, you will be too. Find them on Instagram @pnw custom or go straight to their website, pnw-custom.com to grab your micro reef setup. And don't forget to tell them the

pond digger sent you at checkout. Okay, Back to your shop, Nano. So when I first met you, I don't know, it's got to be five, five, six years by now. I don't know, you had the whole back section and you were really working on breeding stuff and so where did that go?

[Nolan]

Is it, it's, it's, it's crazy because when I opened up the shop, we just passed eight years all into Africans. I was setting up my whole shop, mostly 60 gallons breeding colonies. Once I opened, people started saying, hey Nolan, I need plants. Hey Nolan, I want Celestial Pearl Daniels. I want Chili Rasbores. I want autos. The major requests were all nano stuff. So one by one, I started breaking down my breeding colonies. I had like 25 different breeding colonies.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

Set up in the shop. And to stay in business, I had to go with the trends and plants and nano were hot. And you asked Me a minute ago, what was hot. They're still hot.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

So we have one room dedicated to Africans. I'm not going to change that. But a bulk of our sales are all going to nano. So to answer your question, I just had to go with the sales trends and what people are asking for every. Every single week. When I order fish and plants, there's always nano on that list. When I'm ordering Africans, it's probably every two weeks. You know that. That's where my heart is. But in terms of a business, what sells is going to be plants and nano.

[Eric Triplett]

That's. Yeah.

[Nolan]

People want something like this. People. I would say just my opinion, people would be intimidated by that and think, oh, man, there's a lot of science to it, you know, because it's salt or. Because it's salt.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

But you can take that everywhere. You can put on your counter. People love these little tanks. You can put in the office. You can put on your. You know, on your kitchen. It's. People love the nano tanks.

[Eric Triplett]

So I don't know if you heard the podcast that I did with. With Harley, but, you know, I. I've taken this tank to dinner and stuff. I'll take it to dinner, set it on the counter.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

And people just, like, stare at me like, what are you doing? You know, I come in, I come into dinner with. Carrying my yeti.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

And they're like, oh, he must have, you know, eating requirements or something. And then I just pull out this little tank, set it on the counter, and then, you know, then all of a sudden, all the waiters are coming over to talk to me. And, you know, sometimes the chef will come out to see what the hell is going on.

[Nolan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

And. And then I'll order salmon, I'll order fish, you know, like. And they're like, are you allowed to eat fish? I'm like, yeah, I'll eat fish.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

So nano's cool. So I'm just curious because I wouldn't be interested in doing a nano. I'm stick the guy through and through. You know that. Right. So. But like, this little nano reef, they do fresh water, too, you know, And I mean, of course, they're. They can cross over. It's aquarium.

Right.

But I take this one on the road. You see that little charger on the ground right there? And I got the Veil pro pack here. The only reason I have this cord right now is because, you know, I didn't charge it enough last night, but. So all that battery pack runs this whole tank. And I Just throw it in the thing and go. So I wonder if you could inspire some of your customers to, like, take it on the go with them.

[Nolan]

You know, I definitely think that's a possibility. With fresh water, you can even do where you don't need a lot of this stuff that you plug in, because we even have a couple of tanks at the shop where there may be the one tiniest one that's around this size. We have just plants and we have a couple neocaridina shrimp in there.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nolan]

There's not a, you know, like a Gobi or an auto or anything, but it's filterless. You know, just keep it closed. Like where you have like this one with the rubber bands. Yeah, and you could totally do that. It would need less filtration.

[Eric Triplett]

Sure.

[Nolan]

So.

[Eric Triplett]

Or even, you know, anabantoids or whatever. You know, you have some. Some Bettas. I think Bettas are cool. You know, throw them in there.

[Nolan]

I'm curious on this light, though, is this a high powered light? So to keep those corals alive? Because the corals look like they're thriving.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, they are. I. I don't know the space, I don't know the par on it. They have a par, but you know, the. When I talk to them, you know,

[Nolan]

because even the rubber band is like right in the middle of the light.

[Eric Triplett]

You know, I only did that for traveling normally. Normally that rubber band is floating way back here.

[Nolan]

Oh, okay.

[Eric Triplett]

But right now. Right now, it traveled a little wet today.

[Nolan]

Okay.

[Eric Triplett]

Because, you know, I have this. See, there's like a gasket in here. My gasket's getting old. And I, of course, just found out today. So it's traveling a little wet. So that's why the rubber band's chilling in the middle.

[Nolan]

Okay.

[Eric Triplett]

But normally it sits way back and. Or I'll run two rubber bands. If I'm traveling a lot. I'll run one in the back and one in the front. And then this is here. But, you know, it can be up like this.

[Nolan]

So is this on your carry on when you're flying?

[Eric Triplett]

I haven't done a carry on yet. Oh, I haven't, but Harley has. And then there's a guy called the Roaming Reef, and he travels with it everywhere. He's actually a traveling salesperson. He's traveling the country all the time and he's aquarium fanatic, so he just. He takes us with him everywhere he goes. So it's pretty cool.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

But yeah, I mean, they run it through TSA all the time because it's A living organism.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

You know, just because it's. It's liquid. Right. You're not supposed to carry liquid over. Over 4 ounces or whatever. But, yeah, you can take it on a plane. I haven't had the balls to do it yet, but. But, you know, I've taken it to Vegas, I've taken it to, you know, all around Southern California. Take it to dinner, you know, take it back and forth.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

So tell me about what. What products are doing good for you. I see you have aquarium. Aquarium Co Op in there.

[Nolan]

Aquarium Co Op's doing great. Corey is great with his marketing. He has videos out for every single product. He answers questions. People come in. So we've been carrying Aquarium Co Op for, like, two years. At first, I was a little hesitant, but once I got it in store, it sells like hotcakes. Yeah, it. People come in not just for one item. They want, like, three or four items, and all their products are really good, really good products.

[Eric Triplett]

Were you kind of hesitant and nervous because you felt like people would come and see it and then they would just buy it direct from him, or. What was your thoughts?

[Nolan]

I was a little bit nervous because in my shop, we have limited space for dry goods. So what I select and what I have on the counters, I have to be very smart about, and I have to stand behind my products that I have there. I'm not just going to carry every brand. I'm going to carry the brands that I use, the brands that I support, believe and trust in. So I had. I didn't use his products, to be honest. And I brought them in, started using them in store, and they were great. And once word got around that we had them, we were the first retail store to have them in Orange County. So I think maybe the closest one was San Diego. So people in Southern California, Louisiana, were, like, coming to us just for those products. So sales, it helped us tremendously.

[Eric Triplett]

Good.

[Nolan]

And I'm buying from them maybe every two weeks just to keep their stuff in stock. It sells good.

[Eric Triplett]

Good.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

I'm intrigued by their. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna speak real frankly on this, but I'm intrigued by their sponge filter that has that. That tube at the top that shoots. It's supposed to be more.

[Nolan]

So to me, it's more about airflow getting around the tank versus a regular sponge filter going up. The curved tip is going to circulate and create a little bit more currents and water flow. So that would be the benefit. I don't know about it being more quiet.

[Eric Triplett]

Okay.

I thought I heard something, that they were a lot more quiet. And I. But I do like the flow.

[Nolan]

They might be. I'm thinking because of the surface agitation on a regular sponge filter, where it goes straight up, it might splash. This one coming out at an angle might create less splash.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

But they did come out with that. With different size coarse sponges.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah. That was my holdback because I. I had heard some reviews that the. The sponges got dirty pretty quick for. For someone like me who has, you know, I got 30, 35, 40 aquariums in my garage. I don't have even time for that.

[Nolan]

So I will say I love their sponge filters, but that's if you're doing smaller aquariums. If you were doing a 40 or bigger, I don't know if those would be adequate, especially if you're breeding. I would probably need to put a few in there. I don't know if those would be good for a 60 gallon.

[Eric Triplett]

You'd be surprised what I'm running in my room. I think you'd be really surprised because I'm doing. I have a couple of 120s. I'm just using hydro sponges and I think. I think they're close to the size.

[Nolan]

Well, you've been doing it for a while. You have them dialed in. You know what they need to survive where you can. I don't know your maintenance schedule, but obviously I know you're a busy guy and you know what they need to. To survive to a beginner or someone who's just starting in a year fair. They might have a flu of FX6 on there because that's what's.

[Eric Triplett]

I totally get it.

[Nolan]

They have 50 fish and that's what's they're supposed to have.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally get it. But so. But recently I went over and looked at them again because I was like, man, this is so cool. I wish they had a more coarse sponge. But they have a coarse sponge now, right?

[Nolan]

The original one is coarse. The newer one, they have fine, finer sponge. I like those better, I think accommodate well.

[Eric Triplett]

I'm worried about the fine ones. Have to clean them more often. That's what I'm.

[Nolan]

It's not too much more. It's really not the one. The original ones, to me, when you pull them out to clean them, a lot of the waste falls off. Fall right out when you're pulling them out. And that's really annoying.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Nolan]

So the regular. The newer, finer ones are just like your classic sponge filter.

[Eric Triplett]

The classic.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Hydro sponge. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to try

a few of those out.

[Nolan]

I got you.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, gotcha. Because I, I've, I've threatened to just change my whole room, whole room over to those because that I really like, I really like that curved tip to like push the water around.

[Nolan]

It does make a little. It does make some difference. Yeah, it does make some difference. Plus the tip, you can adjust the height. Usually your typical sponge filter, there's like a 4 to 6 inch tube and that's all you got. You can really aim it where it's hitting the surface.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

Depending on what height you have. Because especially getting back to nano, people are putting these in their, you know, four gallon tanks. Some people are putting them in a 30 gallon where the height on those tanks are going to be different. Yeah, yeah,

[Eric Triplett]

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Do you have a trend in your customers?

[Nolan]

You think so? I will say I feel this hobby is trending up and there's a lot of new customers coming in, a lot of people that are setting up new tanks. So it makes me happy to know, I feel 100% the hobby's growing. You know, I've been in the hobby maybe 20 years. So I don't want to say this is like the height, but the hobby is definitely growing. Every. On a weekend, we might get five or six people coming in that, hey, I just set up a new tank or I'm setting up a new tank. Just. That's a lot of people. Not to mention, like, returning customers. But I think the hobby is trending in a good direction. I don't think it's necessarily booming. I think maybe. When would you say, like, was it the late 80s, 90s?

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, yeah, 80s, 90s.

[Nolan]

You know, I don't think it's there, but to me, this is the best it's been in the last decade.

[Eric Triplett]

Okay.

[Nolan]

So I'm excited about that. Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah. That's great. So I guess one of the things I'm thinking about too, is you're. You're trending with Nano. But that's. That's just like the. That's like the, you know, the first hit. They're going to go to something a little bit bigger. They're going to want to get to a 17 or a 25 or a 60. What are you doing to make sure you don't lose them when they go to that? You have to have that stuff available for them.

[Nolan]

What are you doing? For sure. So, like, some of the tanks we sell, UNS Lifeguard, they make a million sizes. So they come in, we have a whole rack. We'll have our. Okay, we have a 1 gallon, we have a 2, we have a 3, we have a 4, we have a 5, and so on. So we have probably 70 different sizes available. We have all kinds of substrates, we have all kinds of plants. You know, I've been around eight years at the store, and at the beginning, it was rough, where we can only afford to have a couple sizes. Now it's like we're stacking them deeper.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

And just having more volume in stock, it definitely makes a difference in sales, just having all of that available for customers. And I think just our reputation of being honest, being real, sitting there and willing to have a conversation with people. One thing that I got from being in your contract contractor group is I wouldn't say I would be like this before, but customers would come in and they would say, hey, you know, I'm looking for an aquarium. I wouldn't tell them what I think is best for them. But what I was doing wrong that I realized is I wasn't allowing them to talk and tell me what they want. You know, what do you want? Is this for your. Is this for your kid? You know, is this, you know, for your family, for your grandkids when they come over? Why do you want this tank?

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

Asking them those questions to fully understand that's a big take that I take away, that I got from being in your contractor group is building that relationship, letting them talk and getting that trust where it's like, they walk out and they're like, hey, you know, I had a good conversation with them. Or, you know, I. They find value in that and they're going to want to come back because they know we're a small business. They know that we'll be honest and they can go in and, you know, we'll remember their name. You know, some. Most. Sometimes.

[Eric Triplett]

No, no.

[Nolan]

You know what I mean? So building that relationship where I fill in the big box store, Obviously you're not going to get that.

[Eric Triplett]

What I think is cool about what you just said here is, you know, in the niche that we're in, ponds, aquariums, fish, there's a lot you can screw up on. And so when someone comes to you and they're coming to you for help, we have the tendency to just dump on them.

[Nolan]

Yeah.

[Eric Triplett]

Like, I'm going to try and teach them everything, and you can't teach them everything, you know, in, like, this short span of window. So the best thing to do is they came to you because they know you're the expert, you're the person in the area. They did some social meet, you know, social. They figured you out, they did their own homework on you. And so what happens is they come to you. If you listen to them and you let them talk, then they go like, oh, now they're expert and they understand me. Then that's that first stage. And you probably missed that for many years in the beginning, right?

[Nolan]

Yeah. I wouldn't say I was talking too much or tell them what is. What would be ideal for them, but just missing certain points on not letting them talk. That. That was a big one for me where I definitely. I try to pass that on to my employees.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah. I was gonna ask, have you, like, worked with them on that?

[Nolan]

So I have. Not where it should be, but I'm. I'm very lucky and blessed that the guys I have on my team have all been with me for one to four years where they're seasoned. I get, you know, a lot of compliments all the time. They're good guys, they're knowledgeable. I literally, I tell them, spend time and talk to customers. You know, that's, you know, to get a customer that comes into our store that wants to buy an aquarium or is interested or on. On the bubble. You know, we have to give them value and be honest with them. You know, whether they're going to buy a tank from us or, you know, the other fish stores here, you know, it's for the hobby and for the future of the hobby.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah, that's good. Well, they're getting ready to do an auction in like, four or five minutes. But I want to talk about real quick is we're at Aqua Swap 2026. And you. You've always been a big supporter of the. Of the. The coast club and what you got going on. So speak to the. Speak to the event and. And your. Your personal event. When is that coming up?

[Nolan]

Okay, so Aqua Swamp, this is the third year Coast Fish Club. To me, they're the best club in Southern California. A lot of great people in this club, nonprofit. They do a lot for the hobby. For me, I started out as a hobbyist. I believe in this hobby. I want to give back as much as I can. You know, we have discounts for the coast members. To me, it's all about community. You know, being a fish nerd, there's only so many fish nerds that we have in our circle, you know, organically. So I love to give back to the club. They, you know, promote our shop as much as they can. And it just, you know, it's just a revolving circle of just helping each other out and helping the hobby grow. I would say during the first one, I think I might have been the only fish store here. And now I think other stores are seeing the trend of you need to work with your. Your local clubs.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

Because they're. They're a lifeline for us. But Aquaswap, this is the third year it's a big event. This is the main event coast does every year. I'm hoping next year it's going to be at a bigger venue because this thing is just growing. It's great for the hobby. Great for local breeders to be able to bring their fish and sell and make a community here.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Tell us about your event. It's coming up.

[Nolan]

So our event is the California Medaka Fest. We had it for the first time last year. It's going to be. We're not sure the date yet. We specialize. I would say it's more a focal point on medaka, which are kind of like mini koi fish, and it's a seasonal fish where they're breeding a certain time of the year. So we want to have it when these breeders are able to have their madaka grow out and be ready for sale. So last year it got pushed back a couple months, but it's probably going to be somewhere in the window of July, August in that area. We're still debating on location if we want to go bigger, but last year it was a huge success. We had a lot of vendors, a lot of people. Everyone is happy and excited for it. So that's something that we put on just as a local fish store, just to give back to the community and grow the hobby. Because Medaka, like the first question you asked me, what's hot right now? Medaka are hot. They're hot because you can keep them on your porch, you can keep them outdoors. They're a mini koi fish.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

You know about Madonna.

[Eric Triplett]

Yeah.

[Nolan]

They're patterns on their back. They're meant to be viewed from their top. And there's a lot of great, beautiful strains that are coming out right now. And they're nano. You can keep them small. You don't need a huge pond, you know, built by the pond digger over here. You know, it's. It's an intro to get in there to nano and even ponds.

[Eric Triplett]

Okay. So as a. As a person who attended Medaka fest last year, I thought it was quaint.

It was very cool.

I mean, parking's a little tricky because. Because you're parking. But I. I think you could have. You could definitely fit more people back there.

[Nolan]

I. I think I shared the story with you, but I was a little worried how many people would show up. I didn't know how many people would show up. I didn't know if there's going to be too many people. And all the fire department comes up. So we're letting people. Or right before we let people in, I go to the front of the shop. There's a huge line, maybe, I don't know, 200 people in line. I'm like, all right. You know, it looks like it's a good number. Then I see, like, a big red truck outside, and I'm like, shit, fire department's here. They're going to shut me down. Too many people here. I'm like, oh, man, what am I going to say? You know, hopefully he's a fish nerd. And, you know, so I'm walking up to the truck, and I see the pond digger on there, and I just like. I literally, like, jump. I'm like, eric's here. Where's Eric? I was like, I was so relieved. And I was so happy because I didn't know you were coming and I saw like your badass truck. I think you got like new, like, logos on them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, it looks like a, you know, fire department where real official.

[Eric Triplett]

So.

[Nolan]

Yeah, but we could definitely make it better. But I did it all by myself in terms of mapping everything out so it can be improved for sure. And it will.

[Eric Triplett]

Well, let me know ahead of time. I want to participate in that again. And let's wrap this one up because they're getting ready to do the auction. Aqua Swap 2026. Awesome to have you on the show. Thank you for having me.

[Nolan]

Yeah, thank you.

[Eric Triplett]

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Thank you so much for your ears and attention to the podcast today. That was a nice, quick little one we got straight from the floor. Aqua Swap 2026. It's definitely something you want to put on your calendar. It's a cool event to get out there and walk the floor and talk to people. And I would highly recommend you keep your ears out for the up and coming events for the year. But if you've never been to an event like that, I mean, I'd say you're really missing out. It's like, it's where the, the culture really lives behind those really passionate people about their aquariums. And they're, they're giving away information, giving great deals on fish and different parts and filters and all that stuff, giveaways. But it's really where the passion is. It's where the future of the industry is being shaped in real time. You know, you have kids there, you have people that are in their late 70s that have been doing it for 50 something years. Like, it's really where it all comes together. So big shout out again to Coast Tropical Fish Club for putting on an incredible event. And remember, they, they meet every single month. The tropical the Coast Tropical Fish Club. You can easily look them up online and find out what's going on there. They have a lot of great speakers in the pipeline, so definitely check that club out as well. But if you got value from this, share it with someone who's deep into the fish game or someone who should be. And you know, just because someone's into fish doesn't mean that they're necessarily involved to the clubs and these kind of cool events like that. So I would highly recommend that you push the podcast around. It mean the world to me, helps us grow the podcast. And as always, stay focused on your depth, your discipline and your diligence and everything that you love out of life. Okay, I'll see you on the next one. That's it right here, the deep end. Hey, it's tripola here. Let's be real. In a world of reals, swipes and virtual trends, it's easy to forget what really moves the needle. Pawn Trade magazine isn't changing clicks, it's preserving the craft of water features, arguably the last stronghold of long form education in our industry, where real pond builders, koi pros and innovators share their knowledge unfiltered and unrushed. You won't find gimmicks or click bait in pond trade. You'll find depth, detail, strategy, story. From advanced filtration systems and equipment, aquatic plant care to retail strategies and contractor spotlights, pond trade is where the best in the business speak freely and where the next generation of pond builders learn what it really takes. If you build ponds for a living, maintain them, design them, or dream about doing it all better, this is your magazine. Delivered free, written by professionals, respected by the entire industry. This isn't just content for the algorithm algorithm. It's content for legacy. Subscribe now@pond trademag.com stay connected to the heart of the pond world. Now back to the show.