He serviced fish tanks for Shaq, Orlando Airport. Now he owns his own business in Columbus
From keeping corals in 32-gallon tanks to gearing up in a full scuba suit to scrape the algae inside a 1,000-plus gallon aquarium, Miles Sadowski has seen, and done, it all in the aquarium business.
Sadowski, president and founder of Sadowski Aquatic Services, LLC., got his start in the saturated aquarium market of Orlando, Fla. He was 18 years old and in college, and needed a job, so he started servicing aquariums through a tank maintenance company. There, he serviced aquariums for high-end clients like Shaquille O’Neal and other commercial accounts.
Now, Sadowski has brought his business to Columbus, an area he calls an untapped market of the aquarium trade.
“I saw that there were not too many people doing aquarium maintenance in the area,” Sadowski told the Ledger-Enquirer. “So, I decided to throw my hat into the ring. … Over time, I picked up enough stops and went full-time with it.”
‘High-end’ clients in central Florida
Sadowski has been interested in aquariums since he was 7 years old, when he’d drive to a local reef shop and purchase crabs and shrimp and set up smaller tanks, referred to as “nano” tanks by hobbyists.
“It’s pretty much a lifelong hobby and passion of mine,” he said.
So his job in Orlando working for Bottled Ocean was a perfect fit. The company maintained aquariums for numerous celebrities, O’Neal included, and Sadoswki spent “every Friday” scuba diving inside the Orlando Airport’s 3,000-gallon food court fish tank, scrubbing the tank and hand-feeding the fish.
Another memorable job was the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, a Marriott hotel south of Orlando and minutes from Disney World and Universal Orlando. That hotel boasts a 300,000-gallon indoor lagoon filled with tarpon, black drum and other game fish.
“I used to have to actually get in huge waders and clean all the algae out,” Sadowski said. “ … You’re kind of a celebrity when you’re in the system and you’ve got all the fish swimming around you.”
Setting up shop in Columbus
Sadowski relocated to Columbus for its lower cost of living after finding out he was having a baby. He picked up two jobs while starting his own business on the side, then eventually he went full-time with Sadowski Aquatic Services in mid-2020.
There aren’t many pet stores in Columbus outside of chains like PetSmart, Petco and Petland, and there are even fewer aquarium-focused outlets. Petco, for example, is the only chain in the area that sells saltwater fish and coral.
Any special livestock requests, a coral like a Superman rhodactis mushroom or an achilles tang, usually must be ordered online or through Petco.
“There’s a lot of people who are very passionate about (the hobby), but they don’t really have the resources to get where they want to get,” Sadowski said. “So, a lot of people have to go online or to other chain stores that can’t really provide the care they need or quality of livestock they’re looking for.”
Sadowski hopes to remedy that.
His business fabricates custom tanks. He also maintains aquariums for businesses and hobbyists, and he offers tank relocation services, during which he and his service technicians will break down the aquarium, package everything up, move the tank to the new location and set it up.
He also offers quarantine services — a lifesaver in the fishkeeping hobby, as many fish illnesses such as ich or any fungal diseases usually must be treated in a separate tank, referred to by hobbyists as a “hospital” tank.
And for those wanting high-end coral or fish, Sadowski takes livestock orders. He’ll take a weekend and make the six-hour drive to Orlando, visit the city’s numerous aquarium-specific retailers and drive the item back to Columbus.
“We’re pretty much everything you need for aquariums and your aquarium needs,” Sadowski said. “If you can think of it, I can pretty much guarantee that I can make it happen for you.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
