AlgaeBarn...Is it all just hype?

[TFD Live Reef Foods]

I have to quote my own quote because my faith was restored. I am going to be the first to admit that when I do not get the quality I paid for, I will scream yell, have a fit and cry foul. When I spoke on Algae Barn selling RODI water, I had placed an order 2 years ago. As I was leaving for class tonight, I found this on my doorstep. I checked my messages and AlgaeBarn apologized for the order that was hosed 2 years ago and wanted to mend the relationship that I have had since the 1 time I did order from them I got RODI water. Back in 2018 they did try to make up for the original order but it was still water. Somewhere on R2R there is a post and I am ranting about them. Well I gotta say, I can see pods in the 3 jars and they are active. They sent pods in a thermal wrapper because its cold in Chicago. To answer the original question in this post ” AlgaeBarn...Is it all just hype?” The answer is since they got not management, YES they are worth it. (No hype). You can look below. I got 3 jars of pods and a bottle of Phyto. I did not ask for this nor pay for it. I am happy because I now have pods for my new 210. I will be putting in another order this Friday. @AlgaeBarn Thanks you guys are worth the hype. I can also see customer service is still great too.

Dang thats crazy man they Really Really hooked it up too! I am getting ancy for my TurboStart but I know its coming!

 

[Jeeperz]

Can you DM me a recent order number? The thing with the brine shrimp is they are much larger than most copepods (hence easier to see).

And I've used a 40x loupe, that I use at work to inspect pitting in metal. I see just as many with my naked eye as I do my loupe, you just have to concentrate with good light while doing so. The specs of "dust" are pods or dead pods/detritus, so I can see them with my eye. As for the purchases, it's been a combo of my girlfriend ordering and myself. We live together and both have reefs. We have similar feelings as some jars have decent amount some a lot less, even in the same order. I kinda have a feeling how they are measured. They are grown out and a scientific guess is used based on how many occupy a given volume, not that they are hand counted in each bottle, that would be ridiculous.

 

[TFD Live Reef Foods]

And I've used a 40x loupe, that I use at work to inspect pitting in metal. I see just as many with my naked eye as I do my loupe, you just have to concentrate with good light while doing so. The specs of "dust" are pods or dead pods/detritus, so I can see them with my eye. As for the purchases, it's been a combo of my girlfriend ordering and myself. We live together and both have reefs. We have similar feelings as some jars have decent amount some a lot less, even in the same order. I kinda have a feeling how they are measured. They are grown out and a scientific guess is used based on how many occupy a given volume, not that they are hand counted in each bottle, that would be ridiculous.

I think the one thing we've learned from here is that if you have placed an order with algae barn and you are legitimately unsatisfied with it then they will do everything they can to make it alright. Just gotta reach out to them and express your concerns otherwise they have no way of knowing if people arent happy and have no way to improve.

 

[Jeeperz]

I think the one thing we've learned from here is that if you have placed an order with algae barn and you are legitimately unsatisfied with it then they will do everything they can to make it alright. Just gotta reach out to them and express your concerns otherwise they have no way of knowing if people arent happy and have no way to improve.

I'm sure algae barn is aware of what their competition provides, especially reef nutrition, it's called market research. Considering reef nutrition packages are extremely consistent and algae barns are not. Maybe I'll buy a bottle of algae barn Tigger and reef nutrition Tigger and post a sidexside.

 

[bacc2bacc]

Ordered a few times with Algae Barn throughout the years and the quality has gone way down recently. Not throughly impressed with any of their products. The only good thing I can say is their willingness to refund or send you replacements, but why replace a subpar product? Take your money and go to reef nutrition or pod your reef.

 

[Humblefish]

I stopped buying from this company when my last two pod orders included heat packs in 80F weather. But they want to sell me a special fridge to store the pods in. Wha wha what??!

Algae Barn was GREAT years ago. The pods actually arrived alive.

 

[TFD Live Reef Foods]

I'm sure algae barn is aware of what their competition provides, especially reef nutrition, it's called market research. Considering reef nutrition packages are extremely consistent and algae barns are not. Maybe I'll buy a bottle of algae barn Tigger and reef nutrition Tigger and post a sidexside.

I think the one big thing i missed is that when I ordered the 5280 pods and compared it to the Reef Nutrition TigPods it appears that the pods from reef nutrition are bigger and more plentiful. But the only reason i think there appears to be more in the reef nutrition bottle is because it is a bottle like half of the size, so it looks a lot more packed. Another thing i didnt consider is that the 5280 is several varities of copepods. Which are smaller than the tigger pods that reef nutrition sells (only 1 variety of copepod)

So if you get a bottle of straight tig pods from Algae Barn they advertise 3000+ pods. I personally have never compared reef nutrition tig pods vs the AB tig pods.
I gave my observation on the 5280 pods vs Reef Nutrition Tig pods and I think all of the reasons I mentioned above are why i didnt really see as much pod life as I was expecting. I 100% believe they were there, I just think they were too small for my eye to see.

 

[Jeeperz]

And I understand the pod size differences. That does not explain the difference in bottle to bottle. I have also purchased multiple bottles of reef nutrition tigger over the years, probably more than algae barn bottles. Next time I purchase reef nutrition I will add them to an old algae barn bottle and top off with saltwater and share it here. Remember, algae barn bottles are only maybe 2/3 full. At least the ones I have received.

That said I feel better when I purchase algae barn when they have the buy 2 get 1 sales. Other than the sales I've not been impressed.

 

[TFD Live Reef Foods]

And I understand the pod size differences. That does not explain the difference in bottle to bottle. I have also purchased multiple bottles of reef nutrition tigger over the years, probably more than algae barn bottles. Next time I purchase reef nutrition I will add them to an old algae barn bottle and top off with saltwater and share it here. Remember, algae barn bottles are only maybe 2/3 full. At least the ones I have received.

That said I feel better when I purchase algae barn when they have the buy 2 get 1 sales. Other than the sales I've not been impressed.

Here's how full mine was


This was the first and only bottle of pods I've got from them so I cant attest to any variations from bottle to bottle. I think most of the concerns i raised got explained to me and made sense. But im not disagreeing with you at all. Id be pretty interested in seeing a comparison too. I may order one as well and maybe if a few of us do we'll have enough orders from different people to do an actual visual analysis.

I agree though I usually just get Reef Nutrition because they sell it right down the road from me so it just makes sense. Plus I like the excuse to go into my LFS.

 

[Jeeperz]

Of course it's hard to tell by pic. I assume the dust looking particles are pods. I see the adult Tigger pods though. Seems a tad better than what I get but without an in person view, hard to tell. Also noticed your water line is much higher than what we get. Our bottles are never more than say 2/3-3/4 full. I guess I have to be happy with a vendor that ships. When I lived in a big city I just purchased reef nutrition as there were 2 stores that usually had them within a 5-10 minute drive. Closest store that carries them is now 6 hours away

 

[TFD Live Reef Foods]

Of course it's hard to tell by pic. I assume the dust looking particles are pods. I see the adult Tigger pods though. Seems a tad better than what I get but without an in person view, hard to tell. Also noticed your water line is much higher than what we get. Our bottles are never more than say 2/3-3/4 full. I guess I have to be happy with a vendor that ships. When I lived in a big city I just purchased reef nutrition as there were 2 stores that usually had them within a 5-10 minute drive. Closest store that carries them is now 6 hours away

Yeah unfortunately i wasnt able to get a good photo or video of the pods in the jar. That pic was mainly to see how high the water was in my jar.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I see a lot off people complaining on the amount of pods they have received. It’s this really important? I started my culture with 50ml bag and it went to a full 1l Thriving culture in no time.

 

[italquam]

I also have bought three bottles of the Tisbee Pods and to be honest there looked like barely anything was even in them. I know those Pods are small but I don't see any in my POD hotel or Chaeto. I feel like the Algae Barn is more hype in my opinion , until I see how they know how many pods are in a bottle I don't feel like I got any value with my purchase. Will definitely try some new sources for PoDs , if any one knows of a good source please let me know

 

[italquam]

I no longer use them. To pricey.

I now use a local reefer who PACKS his bottles full. He sells on here. @hollback , he’s so good he usually has a waiting list!

Ohio - Copepods FS - $15

I culture Tigriopus genus copepods for my system and prefer feeding them over flake or frozen. Every several months my staggered cultures sync and produce more than I need so time to clear them out! I have 8 oz bottles LOADED with hundreds of copepods for $15 per bottle. Shipping is USPS...

www.reef2reef.com

I tried buying some from him but the wait list is too long , I thought I had two bottles lined up for Fed 24th but after I sent payment , I guess there was none left so looking for a new source of anyone knows of a good one

 

[italquam]

The biggest mistake here is confusing amphipods with copepods. What you get from aquarium depot is 99% amphipods, these are significantly larger than copepods and are an entirely different animal. With regards to the LFS, you are likely buying the biggest, but worst seeding copepod. Tigriopus are big and bright and easy to see, but also have significantly slower reproductive rates than copepods such as tisbe, apocyclops, or oithona.

How does Algae Barn count the pods in each bottle ? I don't feel like I had that many in any of the three Tisbee bottles I bought

 

[AlgaeBarn]

How does Algae Barn count the pods in each bottle ? I don't feel like I had that many in any of the three Tisbee bottles I bought

Determining an Overall Count for Your Copepods

View full PDF version INTRODUCTION You're in the market for a bag of copepods (pods) but you're stuck between choices. Company A claims a whopping number

www.algaebarn.com

Please reach out to [email protected] with your order number and a photo of the jars. We will get you taken care of.

 

[italquam]

Determining an Overall Count for Your Copepods

View full PDF version INTRODUCTION You're in the market for a bag of copepods (pods) but you're stuck between choices. Company A claims a whopping number

www.algaebarn.com

Please reach out to [email protected] with your order number and a photo of the jars. We will get you taken care of.

I don't have photos of the jars unfortunately so don't have anything to send them, was just speaking from my experience buying them. I don't plan on buying more because of my experience.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

I don't have photos of the jars unfortunately so don't have anything to send them, was just speaking from my experience buying them. I don't plan on buying more because of my experience.

Please reach out with your order number, we will get you taken care of.

 

[jimmy anderson]

A lesson in how to win a thread and customers. Other vendors and sponsors should take notice. If they would package them like their brine shrimp, I would be happy, but they don't.

 

[DaneGer21]

I tried buying some from him but the wait list is too long , I thought I had two bottles lined up for Fed 24th but after I sent payment , I guess there was none left so looking for a new source of anyone knows of a good one

There’s a reason there is a wait. PODS on top of PODS, and more PODS packed in his bottles! I’ll wait. My hard earned money goes to another reefer AND you get what you pay for.

To each their own...