Aqua SD

[LbulletM]

This is going to be a short one.

I participated in their live sale somewhere around 1/15. Great prices, great corals. I think i picked up 11 corals.

Unfortunately, I live in the middle of nowhere and they ship via UPS which didn't arrive until ~3:30 pm. Most of the corals were bleached out and I've lost a Bubble and a Hammer and have an expensive Trachy that was almost completely bleached and still hasn't recovered. This was my first coral shipment and I'm still unclear about what counts as DOA, so I did not put in a claim for any of the corals since they technically were still alive on arrival, just a lot worse for wear.

Ironically, the freebies (three of them!!) that they sent me are doing better than most of the corals I actually purchased.

I wouldn't write them off as a company, a few of the corals looked great and are still doing great. A couple of the corals are still recovering well, a few more still are recovering, but not doing so hot. Customer service during the sale was prompt and polite, as well as after the sale when setting up shipping and payment.

I fully expect that my experience is a result of long shipping times due to my location. I like their corals and their prices, however, I'm not sure I will order again due to UPS's inability to deliver packages to my area quickly. If they ever switch to FedEx, someone let me know! Would love to give them another chance.

 

[Mariners]

Was it next day delivery? Ive actually had corals from other vendors who sent me stuff 2-3 days delivery and were just fine--even higher end zoas like mayan sun as such. Imo, as long as the packing w heat or cold packs are good then ur corals should be fine. Did they offer to replace ur lost items? Hope ur stuff recovers, good luck.

 

[LbulletM]

Was it next day delivery? Ive actually had corals from other vendors who sent me stuff 2-3 days delivery and were just fine--even higher end zoas like mayan sun as such. Imo, as long as the packing w heat or cold packs are good then ur corals should be fine. Did they offer to replace ur lost items? Hope ur stuff recovers, good luck.

This was actually my first ever online coral purchase, so when almost everything came bleached, I didn't assume that it would count as DOA, since everything was technically alive to my noob eyes (only a small amount of skeleton on a couple of corals). I received my second ever online coral purchase from another vendor on the same day around noon via FedEx rather than ASD's UPS, and they were open in the bags, so I don't think the weather had much of an effect, though it was cold around that time. My wife was the one that unpacked the bags into the tank for temperature acclimation, so not sure if the heating pack was still warm.

I've heard of zoas and other soft corals surviving extended shipping, but the ones I've lost were a Bubble, Trachy, and Favia. Ironically, I was able to save a huge freebie Lobo that is still coloring up from being bone white.

Like I said, there are way too many good reviews for me to discount them as a good seller from one bad experience. I think I mostly blame their shipping carrier choice. If I do order again, I'll have to set up something where they're held at the facility to avoid rough handling or bad temperature changes. Of course, leaving for work at 5:30 am and getting home between 3:30-6:30 pm every day makes ASD a much less viable option for me.

 

[Zachhll]

I Just revived a shipment form Aqua SD yesterday. Every thing was alive a and opened up this morning. Very happy. In my area UPS is way better then FedEx. Most FedEx packages here show up a day late or to my neighbors.