Holiday Shipping of Live Goods. We will not be shipping live animals during the following timeframes due to increased shipping lane volumes. We don't want to kill a bunch of animals because FedEx's hub is overloaded.
November 11/22 - 11/28 we will not be shipping live animal orders.
December 12/20 - 12/26 we will not be shipping live animal orders.
Shipping: Live Animals, Clean up Crews, Fish & Corals ship Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday via FedEx Priority Overnight. If you purchase less than $179 worth of Live Animals you will be asked to pay $39.99 to cover the cost of the FedEx Priority Overnight Shipping, insulated shipping box, heat/cold packs. All Live Animal Orders over $179 USD Ship Priority Overnight for FREE. We have an ARRIVE ALIVE Guarantee. All DOA must be reported to us via email with photos within 12 hours of delivery, not 4 days later.
SAQ Chicago Fish - Fish Quarantine - All Fish that ship from Chicago (Not ORA) are Available within 7 Business Days After Ordering. Once a fish is ordered we Quarantine and Prep them for shipping for up to 7 Business Days. After ordering we will begin fish QT, then we will contact you within the next 7 Business Days to arrange shipment & delivery.
Shipping: Live & Refrigerated Foods, Macro Algaes, Copepods, Turbostart ship Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday via FedEx Express 2 Day Air. If you purchase less than $40 worth of Live & Refrigerated Foods you will be asked to pay $15 to cover the cost of the insulated shipping box, heat/cold packs and 2 Day Air shipping. All Live & Refrigerated Orders over $40 USD Ship 2 Day Air for Free.
Shipping: Frozen Food - All Frozen Food is shipping in dry ice inside a cooler, FedEx Priority Overnight. We only ship Frozen Foods on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. We require customers to pay a surcharged Flat Rate of $29.99 for any shopping cart that contains frozen food. If you buy 1x pack or 30x packs of frozen food, an additional $29.99 surcharge will be added to your shipping rate at checkout. For example if you are buying a fish and the normal Priority Overnight Shipping would cost $35, the rate you will see at checkout with any frozen food in the cart would now be $64.99. $29.99 added to the normal rate. The $64.99 cost includes one priority overnight shipment of the fish and a second shipment of the frozen food.
DOA - Live Animals, Clean Up Crews, Fish & Corals
We currently charge $39.99 to overnight all live animals. We have an ARRIVE ALIVE Guarantee. This is to insure that your new pets have the best chance at a long and healthy life. We only ship live animals PRIORITY overnight in cooler boxes with the appropriate heat/cool packs. Simple, we guarantee that all livestock arrives alive. If there is a problem with your order, please reach out to us with photos within (12 hours) of the confirmed delivery date/time according to the Fedex tracking website.
This is key, if you let your overnight package sit and extra day in the sun or snow this policy no longer applies. If we are not provided with photos within the appropriate time frame, we cannot help you. Please provide as much info as possible, how many of what species, photos of each. We will reship/replace/credit/refund on a case by case basis. We do not ship LIVE animals on Fridays.
The Bottom Line:
We do what's right for the animals and our customers. We do our best to get you your stuff as fast as possible while keeping the animals healthy as possible.
Algae Barn Specific Products
AlgaeBarn grows all of their premium Copepods and Phytoplankton at the base of the Rocky Mountains in our state of the art 2,000 sqft aquaculture facility. As hobbyists themselves they understand the importance of knowing what goes into your aquarium. That’s why AlgaeBarn runs all of our water through a twelve stage RODI system before mixing in Instant Ocean synthetic sea salt. There are no fish or copper parts anywhere in their facility so you never have to worry about introducing anything unwanted into your aquarium. We only sell premium live Copepods & nutritious Phytoplankton with no harmful chemicals or preservatives.
Algae Barn's Alive On Arrival Guarantee
We take the worry out of buying live copepods and phytoplankton online by going above and beyond to take care of our customers.
We guarantee every order we ship will be 100% Alive On Arrival or we will replace it free of charge. Boom. We’ll even cover the shipping on the replacement no matter which service you choose.
When your order arrives, be sure and inspect the contents to ensure everything is looking alive and well before you add them to your tank or put them in the fridge. We’ll give you 12 hours after delivery to make sure you are completely satisfied.
If for any reason you decide something isn’t quite ultra grade, simply snap a photo of the unopened item(s) you would like replaced. Be sure to get the expiration date on the back label in the photo. After that, visit www.algaebarn.com/claims and submit the form. They will review the photo and have a replacement out for you faster than a six-line wrasse at feeding time. Once your replacement order is processed, we’ll send you a brand new tracking number automatically. That's it, pretty simple right?
1. There will be a RED CARD that says PLEASE READ inside your shipment. Please, read this card! It has important information about the 100% Alive On Arrival Guarantee. It also tells you how to file a claim in case any of your items didn't make it. We promise we will replace any items that you are not completely satisfied with! So rest easy knowing that AlgaeBarn has your back no matter what sort of unspeakable acts may have occurred in transit while your order was with the carrier. If you have a DOA, we are sorry and we want to make it right for you!
2. The ICE or HEAT PACKS will be at room temperature! Live Copepods and Phytoplankton can tolerate a wide range of temperatures between 45 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This is much different from something like a fish or a coral, so please do not put them in the same category when it comes to shipping requirements. The purpose of our packaging methods is to keep the contents in the safe zone between 45 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit throughout their journey. We do not expect your order to arrive with frozen ice packs or hot heat packs and you shouldn't either! The ice and heat packs are there to protect the contents from extreme temperature swings in transit to ensure the contents remain somewhere between 45 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. EVERYTHING POOPS! Copepods are no exception. While they may be small, there are thousands of them in each bag and sometimes that poo can pile up and settle at the bottom of the bag. This detritus is NOT dead copepods and it does not automatically mean you have a DOA. Instead of looking at how much detritus is at the bottom of the bag, look at how many copepods are actually swimming in the bag. The best way to do this is to give the bag a shake to get them all swimming and then set the bag down for two minutes before examining the bag again. If everything is okay, you will see thousands of tiny little dust specs swimming in the water column. If you still don't see anything swimming, simply file a claim and we will happily replace any item(s) you are not satisfied with.
4. Phytoplankton Stinks! Like most things that are extremely nutritious and healthy, phytoplankton doesn't exactly smell like fresh baked cookies. In fact, it might even make you gag. We assure you this is normal! Phytoplankton has its own distinctive odor that is a little bit fishy, and very unique. If your phytoplankton smells a little fishy, it is okay to use. If your phytoplankton smells like rotten eggs (sulfur) DO NOT USE it and simply file a claim for a free replacement.
The Bottom Line:
We strive to go above and beyond your expectations with every order. We want you to be completely satisfied with your order the first time, every time. We literally ship millions of copepods every week. We are so confident in our shipping methods that we guarantee every order to be 100% Alive On Arrival. So trust us when we say that it is in everyone's best interest that we get your order to you alive and on time, the first time, every time. Thank you for your business!
Reef Nutrition Products
Reef Nutrition is owned and operated by Reed Mariculture, the world's largest producer of marine microalgae concentrates. Our Instant Algae® larviculture feeds are used by over 500 hatcheries, universities, and marine ornamental operations in more than 70 countries around the world. We also produce zooplankton, copepods, and weaning feeds.
All Reef Nutrition Live Foods are shipped with UPS 2 Day Air or UPS Next Day to assure freshness depending on how much you order of what. We use an insulated cooler box with the appropriate heat/cool packs for the shipping destination. Reef Nutrition Live Foods only ship on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday to avoid sitting in a warehouse/truck over the weekend. Any orders from noon on Wednesdays to Sunday will ship on Monday morning.
If your Reef Nutrition products arrive and are not in perfect condition, please email us describing the problem within 24 hours of receiving your order. For pods that aren't moving, we require a photo of the bottle within 24 hours of the delivery of your shipment for a refund/replacement.
The Bottom Line:
We do what's right for the products and our customers. We do our best to get you your stuff as fast as possible while keeping the products as fresh as possible.