I visited this store today (3/13/26) and was genuinely excited because I had heard nothing but…read moregreat things about it and how knowledgeable the staff was. My daughter recently received a betta fish for her birthday, and I wanted to upgrade her tank with driftwood and plants. Since I'm new to this, I was looking forward to asking the "experts" a few questions. Unfortunately, that excitement disappeared the moment I walked in. As soon as I entered, the older gentleman behind the counter looked directly at me and then immediately turned away without saying a word. He wasn't helping anyone at the time. I walked around the store for a while and noticed a young woman cleaning items nearby. Not once did she greet me or ask if I needed help. When I was looking at the driftwood display, she walked by, so I asked a question. She gave me what felt like a dirty look, gave a very quick answer, and walked away. I initially thought maybe she was busy helping other customers, but that didn't seem to be the case. What made the experience worse was what happened next. While I was still browsing near the entrance, several other customers walked in. Every single one of them was greeted by the gentleman behind the counter. I hate to even bring this up, but it left me wondering why my experience was so different. I'm a Hispanic male with tattoos, and every other customer who was greeted appeared to be white with no visible tattoos. I truly hope that wasn't the reason, but I honestly can't think of another explanation for the difference in treatment. Either way, it was disappointing. I had specifically chosen to visit a local specialty shop because I wanted the advice and expertise that comes with it. Instead, I left feeling unwelcome and will likely just go to a big box store instead--something I was hoping to avoid. I hope this isn't the normal experience for customers, but it was certainly mine today.

Cool spot to bring the kids (on a budget). Also, nice activity to do on a rainy or cold day. The…read morefish were colorful and unique and fun for the kids to look at. There are also some turtles outside (back of parking lot). Located in an interesting dome structure (saltwater fish is on the second floor). Parents: I'd avoid a stroller, if possible. It's a bit cramped in here plus it can get crowded. Also, there are stairs to get to the top floor. Small parking lot in the back but also additional parking in the strip mall. Check out Uncommon Objects (interesting antique store) next door.

From Chicago, just moved to Austin. First time at the Meadows Center at Texas State. Here are some…read morethoughts: -Run entirely by students, done very well, very enjoyable. -We wanted to check out the glass bottom boats, and we were not disappointed! -We went on the 45-minute tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, funny, and passionate--great combo! Cost was about $15 a person. -Saw a lot of wildlife, including deer, many birds, including a hawk, turtles, and many fish. Don't forget to check out the aquarium! -About a dozen people on our tour boat, from toddlers to 60's. Everyone enjoyed the experience. -Boat was covered, so it felt cool enough on the water even on a warm spring day. Highly recommended!

The tour boat guide was very knowledgeable and found us some very cool things to look at on the…read moreglass bottom boat tour.

Amazing experience! There is SO much for the kids! You can spend hours there at a very reasonable…read moreprice! Highly recommend!

I will say this aquarium is an acquired taste but I will say there is so so much to see! I…read morepersonally really enjoyed it. There are so many animals and fish and what I loved the most is that they have an outdoor aviary area and get the chance to feed birds and even goats and llamas!

Being a newbie in aquaponics, I was talked into setting up my growbeds with a timer for the fill…read moreand drain cycles of my 7 beds with a "revolver" that would switch from one bed to the next. My advisor, who had never had an aquaponics system, but had lots of "book knowledge" told me it would be too hard to do the bell siphons. I decided that having beds with bell siphons would not only be less expensive, energy wise, but also less chance of a mechanical breakdown from the timer or "revolver". Then I met Mo, who actually has an aquaponics setup himself. Mo offered to help me set up the first bell siphon on one of my beds. Being a hands-on person, I thanked Mo, but decided I didn't need any help and set about installing it myself. After much frustration, I could not get my first bell siphon to work. I built it according to instructions I acquired online and In theory it should have worked. I called Mo at that point and within minutes after Mo & Cole came to look at my setup, they saw the problem and solved it quickly. Mo has checked in several times since then to make sure everything is functioning correctly and offer advice if needed. I would definitely recommend Pure Aquaponics to anyone - novice or veteran. They are a hands on company that knows their business. They turned what was a very frustrating problem into a breeze. Thank you, Mo!

From the owner: We specialize in helping set up and run aquaponic systems.read more

Need help with cleaning big tanks call this place it has helped me save time and energy when neededread more

Wes Was on time, helpful, knowledgeable and made me feel safe while he was in my home. He helped me…read morechange my substrate clean my tank and get me back to a good starting point for my small freshwater aquarium. I look forward to continuing doing business with him moving forward.

I loved this place! I took my 6-year-old and my 1-year-old, and they both had a great time. It's a…read morelittle on the smaller side, but it's a nice little getaway that's perfect for young kids. The staff was friendly, welcoming, and very helpful throughout our visit. I would definitely recommend it for families with young children!

How much joy can a for-profit aquarium bring you? That's a question I was asking myself before and…read moreeven after I went to SEA LIFE off the San Antonio Riverwalk. When I was a kid, I was ecstatic when the Legoland Discovery Center and the SEA LIFE opened in Grapevine. My parents would take my brother and me on a day-trip to Grapevine to go play with Legos and tour an aquarium right after both opened in the Dallas area. Little Zach could stare at the fish for hours on end and ultimately beg his mother for another useless stuffed animal from the gift shop. Those were the days. Adult Zach is a lot more cynical. About $23.56 with fees was the price of admission for the more recently opened SEA LIFE in the Rivercenter Mall. It was the first weekend that SEA LIFE was Animal Crossing: New Horizons themed. It's the same aquarium, but with some inspired touches from Animal Crossing, including signage and info of the different critters pulled directly from Blathers, in-game. This was already successful at a few aquariums across the globe and was traveling to all the SEA LIFE locations in the US this year. I love Animal Crossing to death. It's my favorite video game franchise, point-blank period. Why couldn't Animal Crossing attempt to partner with the Dallas World Aquarium or the Texas State Aquarium? Who knows. SEA LIFE it is. SEA LIFE in all caps. SEA LIFE in all its profitable greed. SEA LIFE is housed in the worst mall in San Antonio, the Rivercenter. Home of the Texas Revolution tchotchke. A place only made to house tourists visiting the Riverwalk and the Alamo next to the Ripley's Believe It or Not, wax mannequins, and the Catholic church that wouldn't succumb to the greed that downtown had turned into. That greed hits you as you enter the Metropolis Parking Garage scanning your license plate and immediately putting a $10 hold on your card. $4 an hour here. SEA LIFE doesn't validate, just gives you a little discount. Greed. After getting my ticket scanned, I was escorted to an overflow line to meet Tom Nook. Here I waited for over 30 minutes for my little picture. I struck up a conversation with one of the ladies managing the line about the opening rush of this Animal Crossing exhibit. She was very friendly, telling me how she typically works on the aquarium floor, but was asked to help manage this line upstairs and wished she was back downstairs. As I waited in line with a family getting uncomfortably close to me in the back and two girls plotting how to get multiple pictures with Tom Nook in front of me, I eventually got my picture with the guy. I then took an elevator downstairs where I got to tour the exhibit. It's not a typical open-air aquarium where you pick where you want to go. This is one of the only aquariums where you feel pushed to keep moving through its narrow path to get the hell out of there. It was just a tier or two above just wandering a Petco. I mean, there were definitely high-dollar-value sea creatures, but that's how the vibes felt. The Animal Crossing decorations probably took them a few hours to set up. That includes six character cutouts, plenty of Animal Crossing informational plaques, and a Gully character hiding above one of the tanks. Walking through the exhibit, there were stingrays, a few sharks, jellyfish, eels, and turtles (maybe, they were not in their tank). They were fun little exhibits. There was a VR ride I didn't do because I wasn't five like everyone else sitting in those chairs. The employee managing the line from earlier was actively moving down to the aquarium floor while I was looking at the sharks. She explained the different creatures in the tank and was actually vital in helping me learn everything that was in the tank . Her expertise and knowledge were probably one of the only worthwhile and joyous things at SEA LIFE San Antonio. She deserves to work for a real aquarium. I was in the gift shop no less than 30 minutes later. That included me showing my girlfriend every sea urchin in two separate tanks over FaceTime, which probably took ten minutes in itself. The gift shop in terms of Animal Crossing merch was abysmal, as seemingly other patrons already cleared it out on day one. We were on day three here. I bought an Animal Crossing mug because why not. I love my favorite video game. When I asked for a bag while checking out, the lady at the checkout told me bluntly, "no," and offered to sell me a $5 tote bag. Mind you, multibillion-dollar attraction conglomerate Merlin Entertainments made about 2.5 billion dollars in FY25. Suddenly, SEA LIFE is the moral altruist and bastion towards sea creatures after enclosing them in a shopping mall and letting a third of their population die annually. Merlin owns the Legoland that shares the gift shop. They give Lego customers a bag. Kinda fishy.

I took my 13 month old in a stroller and she was in awe. It…read morewas hot inside but they had fans set up randomly so you can get a moment of cool. The attraction as a whole was great!

It's a little pricy in my opinion but most places are now a days unfortunately but I do recommend…read moretaking your kiddos here. Heads up, the first fish tanks you see, you'll assume the aquarium is cheap LOL but it's not, keep following the trail and it gets better. I took my almost 2yr old and 5yr old autistic daughter and she LOVED it. They have a mini and a big tunnel. We saw sharks, jelly fish, star fish, sea horse... I'll upload some pics.