Our Commitment to Nature
Our Commitment to Nature
Aquarium Zen is inspired by nature and hopes to share with our customers an appreciation for the wonders of life on earth.
A novel way of expressing that love for nature is through an artfully designed aquascape. Everything is connected in nature and we see our aquascaping business as an opportunity to affect people positively and to make the world a better place, even in a small way. If even a small portion of our clients leave Aquarium Zen with a better appreciation for the interrelationships of plants, fish, aquatic ecosystems and the stewardship of nature, we will have done our job.
As part of our commitment to nature, we choose small, grassroots conservation organizations to support both monetarily and with our volunteered time. Our current focus is tropical montane cloud forest conservation.
The cloud forest environments are magical places filled with moss-covered trees, exotic birds, rare amphibians, exuberant vegetation and cascading mountain streams – great inspiration for our aquarium designs. Through our efforts, we have helped a cloud forest reserve in Ecuador gain important publicity and raised funds for significant land purchases.
Bringing Nature Aquariums to Seattle
Bringing Nature Aquariums to Seattle
One of our lifelong dreams was to open a magical aquarium shop that would become a destination experience as much as a pet store.
Aquarium Zen is the result of decades of focused aquarium experience, passion, and dedication to the art of the Nature Aquarium. Our goal is to inspire every person who walks into Aquarium Zen.
We realize our customers and community are the most important factor in our business' success. To keep high quality customer service standards, every customer interaction is handled by Aquarium Zen's owner and sole operator, Steve Waldron.
Aquarium Zen is the product of Steve's vision to bring an aquarium shop focused on the Nature Aquarium style to Seattle. Steve has over 30 years of aquarium experience and has worked as a professional aquarist for nearly twenty years, including the management of aquaculture systems for university fish research laboratories as well as the retail and wholesale tropical fish trade. Steve has achieved the Master Fish Breeder and Master Aquatic Horticulturist status for the Greater Seattle Aquarium Society and is a contributing writer for the premiere English-language freshwater aquarium magazine, AMAZONAS. If you are looking for professional aquarium advice and experienced mentorship, Steve is looking forward to becoming your aquarium buddy.
We are endlessly grateful for this opportunity to celebrate our love for naturalistic aquariums with the wonderful community of Seattle and all of the Pacific Northwest.
What People Are Saying
What People Are Saying
"One of – if not THE – best places for seeing what can be accomplished with an aquarium."
"The perfect blend of modern art masterpieces blended seamlessly with the allure of untamed nature. More of a living museum than the traditional pet store, this is one of the most impressive businesses I've ever had the privilege of visiting. Having traveled from the bayou with visiting this shop as the top of my itinerary (aside from work), it was a true pleasure. I am most jealous of any locals who are able to make regular visits to spruce up their aquaria. With absolutely certainty, I will be back and will be filling my bags with goodies to take home."
"It's great to see a store like this. It's a fusion of the 'old school' dedication and expertise of the tropical fish hobby combined with a stylish new look. Beautiful natural setups with healthy fish & live plants. I haven't kept fish in decades but I am re-inspired!"
"A different experience than any other fish store in Seattle. Aquarium Zen is more like a well kept public aquarium or an art gallery than a pet shop. Steve knows his stuff, and only keeps the most interesting fish and plants."
"Best aquatic plant store I've been to."
"Absolutely wonderful shop. The owner is skilled and knowledgeable and most of all willing to help a newbie like myself to the planted tank hobby. He spent a good amount of time giving me suggestions and ways that I could get results without going for the most expensive thing. His tanks look better than anything I've seen at an aquarium. A must see shop!"
"Wonderful place. The aquariums are beautiful...all hand-created with natural plants. Steven is terrific, helped my children and me select everything, taught us how to set things up and gave us his card in case we had problems. I thought the pricing was very reasonable and the result is beautiful. I'm now going to buy another one for my office, too. I never expected to do that! Steve is an artist – you can tell he loves what he's doing, and he's doing it for the right reasons. You've got to support that!"
"Steve was so patient and helpful. His shop is a wonderland. He was straightforward and encouraging. I'm telling everyone I know about this shop."
“I had a ton of questions which Steve was happy to answer and he didn't make me feel rushed. The selection of fish, plants, and substrates are great! I was a loyal customer to [another Seattle area LFS] but I found a new wonderful place that I feel confident will provide me the best customer service and products. I will continue to take the hour-and-a-half drive here since its worth it.”
"The owner is very helpful, knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Amazing to find such excellent customer service nowadays! So, appreciate his experience that is shared. No weird upsale tactics. Healthy quality fish and plants. Reasonable prices too. Great experience all around. Thanks! What more can you ask for?”
"So glad I found this place as I am new to planted tanks. The owner is skilled, knowledgable, friendly and extremely helpful. He didn't try to sell my anything that might have been out of my skill level and advised me on CO2 strategies I might use. It is a pleasure walking around the shop – it looks better than most zoo setups!"