Online Vendors
- Thread starter Grant W
- Start date
When I buy online, I have also had great experiences with Bulk Reef Supply and Marine Depot for dry goods and hardware-related stuff.
For livestock, I have had nothing but GREAT experiences with Drs. Foster & Smith Live Aquaria when buying fish and corals (the only place I buy fish from are Caeser's and Live Aquaria), and almost all the coral I have bought online in recent years has come from various eBay sellers (if anyone is looking at eBay auctions and wants me to look up the names of people I've bought from, I'd be happy to get them for you).
I love Atlantis Aquarium, but every single order I have ever placed with them has ended up having "issues." The coral has been healthy, but they've shipped incorrect pieces on more than one occasion, and then when I simply placed the order and told them I would drive down and pick up the pieces to make sure I got the right ones, they still made a mistake and had to tell me AFTER I had driven all the way down to Fremont from Healdsburg that they had accidentally also sold some of the pieces to someone else (the pieces were still in their tank though). Great people and great corals, but disappointing experiences for me each of the 4 times I've ordered from them over the past six years... so based on my experiences, it is best just to visit the store and pick out something in person rather than order it online.
I have also taken Tom's advice and spent a lot of time looking at Pacific East's site, but given that my tank is close to capacity (and the bank account has the opposite problem), I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet... that being said, there are two pieces there that I'm interested in, so if anyone DOES place an order with them soon, I'd consider participating to save on shipping costs.
Anyhow, there are my two cents for free!
For livestock, I have had nothing but GREAT experiences with Drs. Foster & Smith Live Aquaria when buying fish and corals (the only place I buy fish from are Caeser's and Live Aquaria), and almost all the coral I have bought online in recent years has come from various eBay sellers (if anyone is looking at eBay auctions and wants me to look up the names of people I've bought from, I'd be happy to get them for you).
I love Atlantis Aquarium, but every single order I have ever placed with them has ended up having "issues." The coral has been healthy, but they've shipped incorrect pieces on more than one occasion, and then when I simply placed the order and told them I would drive down and pick up the pieces to make sure I got the right ones, they still made a mistake and had to tell me AFTER I had driven all the way down to Fremont from Healdsburg that they had accidentally also sold some of the pieces to someone else (the pieces were still in their tank though). Great people and great corals, but disappointing experiences for me each of the 4 times I've ordered from them over the past six years... so based on my experiences, it is best just to visit the store and pick out something in person rather than order it online.
I have also taken Tom's advice and spent a lot of time looking at Pacific East's site, but given that my tank is close to capacity (and the bank account has the opposite problem), I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet... that being said, there are two pieces there that I'm interested in, so if anyone DOES place an order with them soon, I'd consider participating to save on shipping costs.
Anyhow, there are my two cents for free!
northbay-reefer
New member
I've used many online vendor for dry good, from premium, custom, depot, cave, reef geeks, DR, pet store, ect.. they are pretty much good to deal with.
Live corals order, Pacific, live aquaria and had good luck with those. But unless they have something I really had to have, I like going to the local or bay area stores. Most of the cool corals I got are from trades, frag swaps and great reefing friends from our and other clubs (mostly from BAR). With the bay area LFS bringing in so many cool corals I don't spend too much time buying online any more.
Live corals order, Pacific, live aquaria and had good luck with those. But unless they have something I really had to have, I like going to the local or bay area stores. Most of the cool corals I got are from trades, frag swaps and great reefing friends from our and other clubs (mostly from BAR). With the bay area LFS bringing in so many cool corals I don't spend too much time buying online any more.
AMAYEU
New member
Experience - Ebay once with Bay Corals from SF, mostly zoas and purple haze encrusting monti. Lighting - Par38 spots through nanotuners...com. Everything else LFS, ie live fish, CUC, dry goods, test kits. Hardware like skimmer and tank through craigslist...org. Have a wish list of vendors to try but maybe that's for another posting.
BTW- I did visit Vivid Aquariums in LA and it was very nice. I hear live aquaria is great for fish and colonies.
IMO shipping is the drawback to online. I rather pay the little extra and drive down the street to the LFS.
Mike
BTW- I did visit Vivid Aquariums in LA and it was very nice. I hear live aquaria is great for fish and colonies.
IMO shipping is the drawback to online. I rather pay the little extra and drive down the street to the LFS.
Mike
I've bought online corals from MrCoral.com
He gets a LOT of bad reviews, but also a lot of good ones. The shipping is free if you spend $130, so I bulked up on $10 frags. All my acans developed bubble algae on the rocks, but I just chipped it away with a chisel. If you are like me and prefer to get lots of smaller frags, and don't mind havng to inspect, the deals are pretty good.
Do your research on him before buying though, because there are quite a range if mixed reviews.
I've also purchased from the Drs, nanotuners.
He gets a LOT of bad reviews, but also a lot of good ones. The shipping is free if you spend $130, so I bulked up on $10 frags. All my acans developed bubble algae on the rocks, but I just chipped it away with a chisel. If you are like me and prefer to get lots of smaller frags, and don't mind havng to inspect, the deals are pretty good.
Do your research on him before buying though, because there are quite a range if mixed reviews.
I've also purchased from the Drs, nanotuners.
treesmoker
Zoa/Paly Collector
I've done quite a bit of online shopping over the years (given my love/hate relationship with some of the LFS) and Live Aquaria by far has the best customer service and gaurantees. They may not have all of the collecter pieces that other vendors have but they do have a wide selection of "off brand" corals. Cherry Corals also has a lot of nice things including those higher end pieces some of us so desperately crave. Dont know much about their gaurantee because nothing Ive gotten from them has ever died. They also have pretty decent prices, especially if you wait till stuff goes on sale.
As far as dry goods and equipment I've always used Marine depot! Lastly, I must say something about our friends at Reef Nutrition, they've joined us several times to give samples and presentations to the club which has always been a treat and they continue to offer superior products at a reasonable price:thumbsup: Except for the arctipods.....those lil buggers are expensive:lol:
As far as dry goods and equipment I've always used Marine depot! Lastly, I must say something about our friends at Reef Nutrition, they've joined us several times to give samples and presentations to the club which has always been a treat and they continue to offer superior products at a reasonable price:thumbsup: Except for the arctipods.....those lil buggers are expensive:lol:
northbay-reefer
New member
Too bad reefer madness is gone, but that used to be my favorite place to shop for corals.
agreed (re: ReeferMadness)!
Not only did they always have a great collection of coral, the names/descriptions they came up with for each individual piece made it worth a daily visit even if one wasn't actually shopping for coral... definitely too bad they're gone! (anyone know what happened to 'em?)
Not only did they always have a great collection of coral, the names/descriptions they came up with for each individual piece made it worth a daily visit even if one wasn't actually shopping for coral... definitely too bad they're gone! (anyone know what happened to 'em?)
gdm42001
Premium Member
I have used, and have no complaints about
I have used, and have no complaints about
I have used, and have no complaints about
- Marine Depot
- Bulk Reef Supply (awesome shipping on T5's)
- saltwaterfish.com
- thatpetplace.com
- Aquarium Specialty[FONT="][/FONT]
- [FONT="]Buckeye Field Supply[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]
- [FONT="]purelyh2o.com[/FONT]
- [FONT="]Cherry Corals
[/FONT]
crispyreef
New member
Unfortunatly I just had the worst time ordering bulbs from reef science. He took my money right away but noticed there was no tracking number. After a week I called him and he thanked me for reminding him about me order. Still no tracking number. I then shot him an email to remind him again. It took damn near a month to get two mh bulbs and I had to remind the guy to ship my order a couple times. I like the bulb but now I need to find somebody else who carries it. Every few days I had to rotate the good bulb around to give the other corals some light. Never again reef science!
Great vendors I've used:
Marine depot
custom aquatics
reefer madness
brs
filter guys
there are some more
Great vendors I've used:
Marine depot
custom aquatics
reefer madness
brs
filter guys
there are some more
northbay-reefer
New member
Thanks Paul, I'll check them out. I've heard good things about them
Walt Smith
Premium Member
Paul,
Sorry, got your facts a little wrong.
My nephew Kris Wray did work at Reefer Madness but the company was sold and Kris could not get along with the new oweners who promptly ran it into the ground.
Kris then went to work for Blue Zoo for a while then got a better offer from Route 66. Since Route 66 is wholesale only hobbyist don't hear from him much anymore but he likes his new job and is doing well.
Walt
Sorry, got your facts a little wrong.
My nephew Kris Wray did work at Reefer Madness but the company was sold and Kris could not get along with the new oweners who promptly ran it into the ground.
Kris then went to work for Blue Zoo for a while then got a better offer from Route 66. Since Route 66 is wholesale only hobbyist don't hear from him much anymore but he likes his new job and is doing well.
Walt
Hi Guys,
Walt has it right. I left Reefer due to poor leadership upon the new reign of ownership once RMI was sold. I then moved onto Blue Zoo Aquatics and was hired to open and run their Collector's Choice Dept. I moved on in July of '10 from BZA.
It is nice to see that Reefer Madness is still alive in all of our minds
It was a darn shame to see it go away, but we all have the memories and some still with living livestock from those days! I am happy to be able to be at the wholesale level now. I am privileged to now be able to help all retail outfits supply only the most sustainable, and healthy product the market could possible offer.
Happy Reefing and RIP Monty!!!
Walt has it right. I left Reefer due to poor leadership upon the new reign of ownership once RMI was sold. I then moved onto Blue Zoo Aquatics and was hired to open and run their Collector's Choice Dept. I moved on in July of '10 from BZA.
It is nice to see that Reefer Madness is still alive in all of our minds
It was a darn shame to see it go away, but we all have the memories and some still with living livestock from those days! I am happy to be able to be at the wholesale level now. I am privileged to now be able to help all retail outfits supply only the most sustainable, and healthy product the market could possible offer.Happy Reefing and RIP Monty!!!
crispyreef
New member
That's from the source! Thanks Walt and Kris, keep up the good work.
northbay-reefer
New member
Hi Guys,
Walt has it right. I left Reefer due to poor leadership upon the new reign of ownership once RMI was sold. I then moved onto Blue Zoo Aquatics and was hired to open and run their Collector's Choice Dept. I moved on in July of '10 from BZA.
It is nice to see that Reefer Madness is still alive in all of our minds
Happy Reefing and RIP Monty!!!
I've order from you several times in the past and enjoyed the beautiful corals and awesome customer service that you provided, some of the corals that I purchased from you years ago you are still alive and are in the DBTC (don't break the chain program), thank you for your work and service in the past and good luck with the whole sale business. RIP Monty
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