Where does one buy affordable coral online?

[Juka087]

There is a post on here talking about how coral is insanely expensive online right now, and I agree. However many people are saying that there are affordable places. What are those places? I am just getting back in to the hobby, and may want to buy something online that I can not find at a LFS.

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Check out the vendors on this site. I've used Mistresscorals personally, and was very happy with what I got. Also, auctions like piecesoftheocean, ebay, etc. I've won quite a few on piecesoftheocean and am happy with those as well. Usually 4+ per auction, and it's less than the collective 45 dollar shipping. I'd recommend buying more than 1 "cheaper" coral at once, so you can save on shipping costs

 

[C. Eymann]

Pacific East Aquaculture has some great deals. Also, some good deals can be had at your LFS if there are decent ones in your area.

 

[Lor]

New $19.99 WYSIWYG Aquacultured Acropora Frags just posted!

Find them here: https://pacificeastaquaculture.com/collections/amazing-acropora A few samples of the New WYSIWYG $19.99 Aquacultured Acropora Frags

www.reef2reef.com

trusted seller.

 

[Quietman]

This assumes you don't have insanely expensive taste.

 

[Reefermadness89]

Skip the online sales if you want to save money.
Skip the lfs too.
Online a 40$ zoa is no 85 because shipping, unless you buy like 4 or 5 that’s dumb for a single zoa frag ect.
My lfs sells hammers for 80, Petco sells them for 90, I got a solid head that had been cut and healed for a few months for 5 bucks,
And the same guy sold me a nice chunk of gsp for 5 bucks.
Find local coral keepers,at the end of the day, if their tank is full and they have to do some trim, they will want those corals gone, and cheap to get them gone.

 

[bmbpka]

AquaSD and WWC all do $1 auctions on eBay weekly. Most of them stay relatively cheap, some weeks are better than others.

 

[Foothill Corals]

I highly recommend Boom Corals. He has very healthy corals for very reasonable prices.

If you are looking for SPS only then look at a Battle Box from Battle Corals

 

[Semisonyx]

This past weekend was a crazy good live sale at @AquaSD. I bought several nice montis for $10, a fire orange digi for $5, and some really nice higher end SPS for $25-40. They also have some really good eBay deals that you can combine with shipping from a web order.

@BoomCorals has the largest frags I have ever purchased. Great quality classics at reasonable hobbyist prices.

@Budman's Corals has the highest overall color and quality frags. They come in looking exactly the same color and intensity you see on the website, and I swear they’re still growing in the bag when you get them. Every frag I’ve bought from him came in with polyps out in the bag, as happy as it would be in his own tank.

 

[jda]

For general stuff, I like Pacific East too. For acropora, Boom or Battlecorals are good.

Hobbyists selling in the for-sale forum are good. Stay away from the ones who want retail with their trendy stuff and you can find some nice deals on some packs.

 

[Semisonyx]

I second some of the hobbyists. @Big E and @therman are top notch.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

There is a post on here talking about how coral is insanely expensive online right now, and I agree. However many people are saying that there are affordable places. What are those places? I am just getting back in to the hobby, and may want to buy something online that I can not find at a LFS.

I do auctions

 

[KrisReef]

There is a post on here talking about how coral is insanely expensive online right now, and I agree. However many people are saying that there are affordable places. What are those places? I am just getting back in to the hobby, and may want to buy something online that I can not find at a LFS.

I was looking at your profile and see you are new on here, and that you were looking at Aqua San Diego ‘s profile page.
I was looking at your profile to see where you are located. Aqua San Diego is in my neighborhood and a lot of on line sellers allow local pick up to avoid shipping costs and coral stress! As others mentioned there are a number of good sellers and sponsors on this site. Good luck, and Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[ddrueckh]

Are you part of a local club? Get to know other hobbyist near you. Most will be willing to give you some frags. Once you have some, you can trade for others.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I agree that members have great packs in the classified section.

 

[Juka087]

Are you part of a local club? Get to know other hobbyist near you. Most will be willing to give you some frags. Once you have some, you can trade for others.

Were would I find reef clubs in northern virginia?

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Were would I find reef clubs in northern virginia?

Fall WAMAS meeting, Oct 26, 2019; Michael Gerdes

Saturday, October 26, 2019 Time: 1:00PM to 5:15PM (speaker starts at 3pm) Where: North Bethesda Middle School 8935 Bradmoor Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817 WAMAS members get in free. Guests are $5 each (paid at the door) Refreshments provided by WAMAS. DOOR PRIZES! Everyone at the meeting gets one ticket ...

wamas.org

 

[Juka087]

Fall WAMAS meeting, Oct 26, 2019; Michael Gerdes

Saturday, October 26, 2019 Time: 1:00PM to 5:15PM (speaker starts at 3pm) Where: North Bethesda Middle School 8935 Bradmoor Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817 WAMAS members get in free. Guests are $5 each (paid at the door) Refreshments provided by WAMAS. DOOR PRIZES! Everyone at the meeting gets one ticket ...

wamas.org

Hmm could be interesting.

 

[DanConnor]

Responding to the original post, one thing to keep in mind is the corals you choose. Tried-and-true old school strains, such as pearlberry, oregon tort, red planet, PC rainbow and the like are generally reasonably priced but some of the best looking corals around. High end pieces are often very speculative and the prices based on how a frag rather than how a colony looks.

 

[flsalty]

The key to getting good deals is patience. Any decent LFS is going to be getting in new corals all the time. You just have to wait for the stuff you want. You also have to visit it a lot. Things can disappear fast. Give the LFS a list of what you want. If they are good they'll call you if it comes in. Online, start by checking out eBay and the marketplace section here. The problem with most online vendors is you do end up having to buy stuff you might not really want to offset the cost of shipping. A 5 or 10 dollar frag isn't worth it when you have to spend 40 bucks on shipping.