Should I do this? Is it safe?

[Jan]

Hey all,

I just had a great deal offered to me, to buy a 10 polyp head of Baby's Breath Favia from a person on ReefCentral. But he is a regular hobbyist, not a store, and said he would ship this coral to me in a bag with just regular air and not oxygen (like they do at Barrier Reef). I'm nervous about buying corals shipped without oxygen anymore....the seller said that he hasn't had problems with shipping before...but I've been burned recently by a bad shipment from Southern Ca where half of everything was DOA.

What do you think? Here is the piece:

 

[edwing206]

Depends how far he is. That coral is amazing btw! First in line for frag.

 

[spongebob lover]

very kewl frag .
if you think it's worth it then do it, if you feel sort of scared i wouldn't do it .

 

[class clown]

I'm probably the first person to not take shipping advice from, but think you could sweet talk him into going to a LFS and taking a small drag off of the O2 line?

 

[Jan]

I tried that approach, Ben. :lol:

He said it is safer to ship without O2 in case the coral ends up exposed to air for any length of time. He said he has quite a bit of coral shipping experience...he will quadruple bag it, and ship it in a cooler with styrofoam peanuts and a heat pack. He seems to know what he is doing. I am leaning towards doing it because it is an awesome coral and a really good deal.

He's in California and I would pick up at the Seattle Fed Ex facility the next morning.

Gee, sounds like I've made a decision, doesn't it? :lol:

Yes, Luis, you can be first in line for frags.

 

[class clown]

Beleive it or not Jan, I've actually heard the same thing about 02 from a few people. not sure how much truth there is to it. It's a beautiful coral that's for sure! Hope all turns out well for ya!

I tried that approach, Ben. :lol:

He said it is safer to ship without O2 in case the coral ends up exposed to air for any length of time. He said he has quite a bit of coral shipping experience...he will quadruple bag it, and ship it in a cooler with styrofoam peanuts and a heat pack. He seems to know what he is doing. I am leaning towards doing it because it is an awesome coral and a really good deal.

He's in California and I would pick up at the Seattle Fed Ex facility the next morning.

Gee, sounds like I've made a decision, doesn't it? :lol:

Yes, Luis, you can be first in line for frags.

 

[Sherman]

Does he offer any guarantees? What if it's DOA? You're SOL?

 

[Jan]

Yep, I would be SOL.

 

[DonW]

I hate paying shipping and there are a few different schools of thought on how to bag corals. If I do buy corals CA is as far away as I would go. I always want a full tank photo with the coral being sold in the photo. I never ship corals from people that use kalk to keep their ph up. If you cant be pretty sure its going to make it I'd just check with Barrier Reef and see if they cant get you something close to it.

Don

 

[Jan]

lol, that's good advice about getting a full tank shot. If Ben and I had seen some full tank shots of our Southern Cal. fiasco this summer, I'm sure we would have backed out. :lol:

What's the theory about the kalk keeping ph up, though?

 

[edwing206]

I tried that approach, Ben. :lol:

He said it is safer to ship without O2 in case the coral ends up exposed to air for any length of time. He said he has quite a bit of coral shipping experience...he will quadruple bag it, and ship it in a cooler with styrofoam peanuts and a heat pack. He seems to know what he is doing. I am leaning towards doing it because it is an awesome coral and a really good deal.

He's in California and I would pick up at the Seattle Fed Ex facility the next morning.

Gee, sounds like I've made a decision, doesn't it? :lol:

Yes, Luis, you can be first in line for frags.

Sweet!!!

 

[spongebob lover]

He said it is safer to ship without O2 in case the coral ends up exposed to air for any length of time. He said he has quite a bit of coral shipping experience...he will quadruple bag it, and ship it in a cooler with styrofoam peanuts and a heat pack. He seems to know what he is doing. I am leaning towards doing it because it is an awesome coral and a really good deal.

hmm peanuts..... yummi peanuts, i like the salted ones but the ones with caramel are always good too .
ok enough with food , i don't know why you're asking when it seems like you're going for it :lol: :lol: .....you can always go down to Cali and then bring it by car :lol: .

By the way, can i be second in line for a frag? :lol: or you can always skip Luis and just give it to me :lol: :lol: j/k dood

 

[DonW]

lol, that's good advice about getting a full tank shot. If Ben and I had seen some full tank shots of our Southern Cal. fiasco this summer, I'm sure we would have backed out. :lol:

What's the theory about the kalk keeping ph up, though?

Kalk is nothing more than a patch for a problem when it is used to hold ph up. Be it high nutrient or excess co2 either way the water is o2 deprived. Thus the shipping water will be o2 deprived and ph will fall on its face very quickly.

Don

 

[Jan]

i don't know why you're asking when it seems like you're going for it .....you can always go down to Cali and then bring it by car .

By the way, can i be second in line for a frag? or you can always skip Luis and just give it to me j/k dood

I think I am one of those "externalizer" decision makers....I ask people's opinions on something important and then do what feels right to me.

Yes, you can be 2nd in line...it's going to be quite a while before I frag this thing though. So don't get too excited. :lol:

 

[Jan]

Kalk is nothing more than a patch for a problem when it is used to hold ph up. Be it high nutrient or excess co2 either way the water is o2 deprived. Thus the shipping water will be o2 deprived and ph will fall on its face very quickly.

Ahhh....makes sense.

 

[Blazer88]

I'm curious about the kalk/PH as well since that's what I do. Back to the shipping...are you doing overnight shipping? I ship corals on a regular basis and here is what works best for me. I always use FedEx overnight. I drop the coral off at my local FedEx right before the cut off time (5:30pm for overnight). I don't ship the coral to the house address but rather the closest FedEx that will hold for pickup. Doing it that way assures the coral will be dropped off first thing in the morning (generally around 10am) and the buyer can pick it up asap. This also avoids the idiot driver who leaves it in the truck too long, delivers to the wrong house, etc. The transit time is generally around 16 hours max. I also don't use O2, just regular 'ol breathing stuff My packing is pretty simple; tripple bagged in a small styrofoam cooler packed tight w/peanuts. I have shipped many corals that way and haven't had an issue to date. Beautiful coral BTW, I hope everything works out for the best.

 

[Blazer88]

Doh, I'm too slow. Thanks for the explaination about the PH thing Don. I haven't had a problem yet but that doesn't mean that I'm not a higher risk to purchase stuff through.

 

[Jan]

I always use FedEx overnight. I drop the coral off at my local FedEx right before the cut off time (5:30pm for overnight). I don't ship the coral to the house address but rather the closest FedEx that will hold for pickup. Doing it that way assures the coral will be dropped off first thing in the morning (generally around 10am) and the buyer can pick it up asap. This also avoids the idiot driver who leaves it in the truck too long, delivers to the wrong house, etc.

Blazer, that's what I'm doing too...the box goes to the Fed Ex facility, not my house. THen I pick it up in the morning. I'll ask the seller to ship it as late in the day as possible.

Beautiful coral BTW, I hope everything works out for the best.

Thankyou. You are invited to drop by my house any time to see it in person....bring your camera. :lol:

 

[spongebob lover]

....bring your camera.

LOL!!!i think we all say that at some point :lol: .

 

[Skimmy]

i hope you ordered that coral jan....:razz: