High Tide Aquatics

Suggestions on buying coral online

ReeferRey

ReeferRey

Supporting Member
BARcard
hello,
I typically buy only corals locally but I often see great online deals on corals.
I was wondering if you guys buy online which websites you guys suggest or
have positive reviews on previous purchases

thanks
 
Buying online has come a long way, it’s a real way to buy corals. Some big retailers have wack pricing, though, so don’t overpay. Shipping tends to be the kicker, typically. Any time you want to ship live animals in water across the country, overnight, shipping will be high. Do the math first, make sure you’re still getting a good deal on your corals after the shipping.

When I buy online I typically buy from hobbyists, not big stores, just because it’s nice to support other hobbyists.

obligatory club promo: if you join the club as a supporting member, we sometimes do group buys to split shipping. Also some of our fellow members are selling nice corals for good prices.

We also have regular free frag swaps and programs that let you save money by swapping corals amongst members (free and everyone wins).

plus the aggregate knowledge of so many members, shared equipment like par meters, for annual $30 fee to keep the lights on

A lot of us will try to convince you to join the club, because it’s that good lol.
 
Last edited:
tribbitt said:
Buying online has come a long way, it’s a real way to buy corals. Some big retailers have wack pricing, though, so don’t overpay. Shipping tends to be the kicker, typically. Any time you want to ship live animals in water across the country, overnight, shipping will be high. Do the math first, make sure you’re still getting a good deal on your corals after the shipping.

When I buy online I typically buy from hobbyists, not big stores, just because it’s nice to support other hobbyists.

obligatory club promo: if you join the club as a supporting member, we sometimes do group buys to split shipping. Also some of our fellow members are selling nice corals for good prices.

We also have regular free frag swaps and programs that let you save money by swapping corals amongst members (free and everyone wins). There’s a bunch of

plus the aggregate knowledge of so many members, shared equipment like par meters, for annual $30 fee to keep the lights on

A lot of us will try to convince you to join the club, because it’s that good lol.
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking the time to reply and with such great detail on everything, I appreciate it.
 
Take it from a guy that’s spent thousands of dollars of corals in the last three months because he’s impulsive, impatient and maybe a little crazy. I’ll list the ones I’ve ordered from.

I categorize online buying options in several categories; the big guys like liveAquaria, Saltwaterfish, saltwateraquarium, and oceansgarden. There’s more but I haven’t tried them all. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses but they offer a great stay alive guarantee. I’ve known people to have a freezer full of dead fish and corals just so they can order replacements from them, lol.

Then your small to medium vendors can range pretty far and wide. Depends on if you want clean up crews, macros, high end corals, kr specific varieties. Those can include chop shops, coral flippers, our hobbyists, local vendors to retail stores that have expanded to online selling. Worldwidecorals, tidal gardens, ASD, Kay’s coral cove, Coral exotic, salty bottom reef, and reef cleaners are a few examples.

Again, it just depends on what you’re looking for. But by far, the cheapest and sometimes for the best corals that have better mortality rates would be from your local hobbyists, stores and clubs. Plus you get to see what you’re getting. When it comes to collectibles, fellow hobbyists have been the best! And it’s always nice to make great friends along the way.

I’m finally at a point where I’m not ordering as much online anymore because I’ve gotten almost everything I’ve been looking for. Shipping adds stress and therefore raises the risk but during good weather with good packaging it shouldn’t be a problem.
 
t0mmy108 said:
Take it from a guy that’s spent thousands of dollars of corals in the last three months because he’s impulsive, impatient and maybe a little crazy. I’ll list the ones I’ve ordered from.

I categorize online buying options in several categories; the big guys like liveAquaria, Saltwaterfish, saltwateraquarium, and oceansgarden. There’s more but I haven’t tried them all. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses but they offer a great stay alive guarantee. I’ve known people to have a freezer full of dead fish and corals just so they can order replacements from them, lol.

Then your small to medium vendors can range pretty far and wide. Depends on if you want clean up crews, macros, high end corals, kr specific varieties. Those can include chop shops, coral flippers, our hobbyists, local vendors to retail stores that have expanded to online selling. Worldwidecorals, tidal gardens, ASD, Kay’s coral cove, Coral exotic, salty bottom reef, and reef cleaners are a few examples.

Again, it just depends on what you’re looking for. But by far, the cheapest and sometimes for the best corals that have better mortality rates would be from your local hobbyists, stores and clubs. Plus you get to see what you’re getting. When it comes to collectibles, fellow hobbyists have been the best! And it’s always nice to make great friends along the way.

I’m finally at a point where I’m not ordering as much online anymore because I’ve gotten almost everything I’ve been looking for. Shipping adds stress and therefore raises the risk but during good weather with good packaging it shouldn’t be a problem.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing!
 
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