AQuarium Depot reviews

[Mike N]

Thanks for sharing your experience.
I placed an order on Thursday with them before doing any research... the prices got me.
On Friday I did some research and didn't like what I found, so I called to cancel the order.
I got an answering service. I left a message saying I wanted to cancel my order and to please call me back.
I never got a call back and my order was pushed ahead in processing.
I also tweeted and DM'd them on twitter to get it cancelled to no avail.
Called again the next day and got no answer but left another message.

Obviously, im not too happy with the post-order customer service and I feel like they're ignoring me on purpose just so the order goes out.
Looks like nothing I can do now but hope they send healthy corals.

 

[jjstecchino]

Thanks for sharing your experience.
I placed an order on Thursday with them before doing any research... the prices got me.
On Friday I did some research and didn't like what I found, so I called to cancel the order.
I got an answering service. I left a message saying I wanted to cancel my order and to please call me back.
I never got a call back and my order was pushed ahead in processing.
I also tweeted and DM'd them on twitter to get it cancelled to no avail.
Called again the next day and got no answer but left another message.

Obviously, im not too happy with the post-order customer service and I feel like they're ignoring me on purpose just so the order goes out.
Looks like nothing I can do now but hope they send healthy corals.

Good luck, I really mean it. Maybe they are monitoring this forum and seeing people already on the alert, they may decide not to try their usual scam and actually send you decent animals.

 

[flchamp89]

When I had my issue. I let them know about this thread the number of people here. Overall I am happy. I won't pay insane money on corals. If the colors aren't as described for me it's not huge deal.

 

[Mike N]

If the colors aren't as described for me it's not huge deal.

I can't agree with this lol
Not the end of the world of course, but it definitely would matter to me.

 

[flchamp89]

I can't agree with this lol
Not the end of the world of course, but it definitely would matter to me.

I hardy find a coral I don't like lol. I like shrooms and zoas. I'm not really into the super duper popular fancy named stuff lol. I'm happy if it's healthy and gows. But I get your point if spending big bucks. The most expensive coral I've bought is 40 bucks and felt like a fool lol. To me they all look good in my box.

 

[Mike N]

I did end up getting a reply email from Aquarium Depot about my order before they shipped it out. Apparently their email contact ([email protected]) is the best way to get a response for future reference.
The guy there was pretty forthcoming about their prior issues and everything. He said he's cutting all frags personally and basically running the company by himself. That was enough for me to feel confident enough to proceed with the order.
Three of the five zoas I ordered were pretty much perfect in terms of color, the other two slightly faded. All 5 were very healthy though, so I have no complaints.

 

[Aaronhome27]

Recieved my order of 8 frags. Very well packaged shipped 2 days by ups and good temps. Had 4 paly frags... All fell off the frag plugs. 3 doa with rotten and cloudy water. 1 survived and I was able to frag it. Had a Hollywood stunner chalice. It too was off frag except for 1 single live mouth. The rest was crushed in the bottom of bag. It doesn't look like it will make it. Had a Pocillopora Doa no polyps at day 3 now. Out of my order I had 2 good frags. Tried to use thier automated DOA system and it won't allow even the smallest of pics to upload. Messaging is shut off on thier Facebook and no real email to send to. I'm $93 in to 2 inexpensive frags that lived. I did message through thier automated system even though I couldn't send pics. Never got a response in 3 days. Avoid this place. The prices are cheap for a reason. This is an upfront an honest review. Pics below show a few of them. No the bags weren't tossed down. I set them on the counter after seeing that they were off frag and appeared dead. Each bag was carefully removed and not set down on a hard surface unless it was obvious that there was a major issue. All other bag were floated in a 78 degree temp controller tub and drip acclimated over a 2 hour period.

I will say that the NPS gorgonian I got was very nice. It has readily fed daily. It's the lone and only decent true survivor out of the whole order. Cost was $93 for a gorgonian and 3 days of no responses from this vendor after several attempts through thier automated system. And they make it very hard to contact them to say the least.

 

[flchamp89]

Recieved my order of 8 frags. Very well packaged shipped 2 days by ups and good temps. Had 4 paly frags... All fell off the frag plugs. 3 doa with rotten and cloudy water. 1 survived and I was able to frag it. Had a Hollywood stunner chalice. It too was off frag except for 1 single live mouth. The rest was crushed in the bottom of bag. It doesn't look like it will make it. Had a Pocillopora Doa no polyps at day 5 now. Out of my order I had 2 good frags. Tried to use thier automated DOA system and it won't allow even the smallest of pics to upload. Messaging is shut off on thier Facebook and no real email to send to. I'm $93 in to 2 inexpensive frags that lived. I did message through thier automated system even though I couldn't send pics. Never got a response in 5 days. Avoid this place. The prices are cheap for a reason. This is an upfront an honest review. Pics below show a few of them. No the bags weren't tossed down. I set them on the counter after seeing that they were off frag and appeared dead. Each bag was carefully removed and not set down on a hard surface unless it was obvious that there was a major issue. All other bag were floated in a 78 degree temp controller tub and drip acclimated over a 2 hour period.

I will say that the NPS gorgonian I got was very nice. It has readily fed daily. It's the lone and only decent true survivor out of the whole order. Cost was $93 for a gorgonian and 5 days of no responses from this vendor after several attempts through thier automated system. And they make it very hard to contact them to say the least.

Falling off the plugs is a constant issue with them.

 

[Mike N]

Recieved my order of 8 frags. Very well packaged shipped 2 days by ups and good temps. Had 4 paly frags... All fell off the frag plugs. 3 doa with rotten and cloudy water. 1 survived and I was able to frag it. Had a Hollywood stunner chalice. It too was off frag except for 1 single live mouth. The rest was crushed in the bottom of bag. It doesn't look like it will make it. Had a Pocillopora Doa no polyps at day 5 now. Out of my order I had 2 good frags. Tried to use thier automated DOA system and it won't allow even the smallest of pics to upload. Messaging is shut off on thier Facebook and no real email to send to. I'm $93 in to 2 inexpensive frags that lived. I did message through thier automated system even though I couldn't send pics. Never got a response in 5 days. Avoid this place. The prices are cheap for a reason. This is an upfront an honest review. Pics below show a few of them. No the bags weren't tossed down. I set them on the counter after seeing that they were off frag and appeared dead. Each bag was carefully removed and not set down on a hard surface unless it was obvious that there was a major issue. All other bag were floated in a 78 degree temp controller tub and drip acclimated over a 2 hour period.

I will say that the NPS gorgonian I got was very nice. It has readily fed daily. It's the lone and only decent true survivor out of the whole order. Cost was $93 for a gorgonian and 5 days of no responses from this vendor after several attempts through thier automated system.

Ouch, very sorry to hear about this.
I was expecting the worst with my order, but was pleasantly surprised when I received it.
I did go with one day shipping though, I think that may be a large contributor to some negative experiences. Most vendors only use one-day shipping for a reason.
As for getting in touch with them, did you try this email? [email protected]

 

[Aaronhome27]

Well I have to update this. They did contact me finally tonight with apologizes and refunded. They explained how they were inspected and shipped. But instead of a 0 star rating I'd definitely put them up to maybe a 3 because they made it right and actually took a loss. I may call ahead next time and. Insider trying this one more time.

 

[EMeyer]

There are 2 horrible outlets out of Florida I will personally avoid forever, no matter how enticing are their offerings, prices or promises of atonement: reef2go (or whatever name of the day) from Clearwater, FL and saltwaterfish.com from Vero Beach, FL. I don't know if these business are related, however they employ almost identical scammy business tactics. I am going to describe their modus operandi based on previous personal experience.

They offer very enticing items on their web sites at almost too good to be true prices and free shipping for orders of $150 give or take. They both give you a "DOA refund" and a 2 weeks guarantee for a store credit but NOT A REFUND in this instance (this is an important part of the scam). In addition the store credit is only redeemable with a second order. If there is a dead animal in the order where a credit has been claimed, they will deduct the price of the dead animal from your claimed credit money before giving a refund.

So here is how the scam works:

You are a first timer there, you love their offering and their incredibly "competitive" prices. You place an order for corals/fish high enough to get free shipping. They will ship the order with some decent animal, but they will make sure there are at least some in such a bad shape that will not survive.
These animals as expected will die, you are disappointed but report the loss, claim the credit and they will happily give it to you.

These store credits usually expire within 18 months, so this is usually the time frame you will place a second order to redeem your credit. Your purchase will be high enough to cover free shipping.

Again you will get a shipment of a few decent items plus some of the dead/almost dead animals they have in their tank. You will get some DOA on this subsequent order and the price of the DOA will be deducted from your claimed credit.

I suspect this is how they unload their sick/dead fish/coral to cut their cost and their losses.

In addition to the DOA you will get some almost dead items that will die within 15 days. You claim the credit and their cheerful customer service representative will again happily give it to you.

You are more than disappointed, maybe mad but... you hate to let the credit go, so you will place a new order after some time when the burn hurts less...

Bad psychology at work here...

Before you know you are hooked on an endless chain of credit/new orders until you realize that the animals you thought you were getting at incredibly low price, if they even survive, they are costing you a lot more than if you had bought from reputable places in the first place.

At this point you decide to say hell to them and the credit and hopefully you cut your losses and never return there.

In short: They do not care or have no regard whatsoever for the animals they sell/ship. They kind of count on part of the order not surviving. In this regard the ridiculous 3 days free shipping plays right into their scheme. They try to hook you up in a chain of credit-new order that never ends until you start adding your losses and you realize that those advertised great prices were just a bait.

My personal advice: Stay Away!! Don't get tempted by those nice pictures and too good to be true prices. Who will be paying the price will be you and those poor animals kept and sold with no care or regards by these unscrupulous businesses

This was a long and interesting read, much like when I read about flat earth theories or fake moonlanding theories.

I've ordered from both companies many many times. Literally most of my livestock over the past 5 years. I have never had any experience like what you're describing.

We've got online vendors and even hobbyists selling frags for $50 to $100 and pretending thats some kind of deal, and people want to complain about the outfit that offers $5-$10 frags?

 

[flchamp89]

15% off today.

 

[Mr Fishface]

I've also been very curious of this company. I plan on making an order when I get my upgrade finished in a couple weeks so I can leave a review at that time. My LFS sells sick and pest covered corals starting at $25, and quickly go up from there, as well as offering zero refunds or guarantee. Even Kenyan tree corals start at $20 to give you an idea. So the idea of $10 frags with the possibility of DOA refund is appealing.

 

[flchamp89]

I've also been very curious of this company. I plan on making an order when I get my upgrade finished in a couple weeks so I can leave a review at that time. My LFS sells sick and pest covered corals starting at $25, and quickly go up from there, as well as offering zero refunds or guarantee. Even Kenyan tree corals start at $20 to give you an idea. So the idea of $10 frags with the possibility of DOA refund is appealing.

See my thread. Almost everything in my tank is from there.

 

[WV Reefer]

See my thread. Almost everything in my tank is from there.

I’ve had great experiences with them also. I have a lot of corals from them and it is my go to place for inverts. I buy pods whenever I see their BOGO sale.

 

[Aaronhome27]

This was a long and interesting read, much like when I read about flat earth theories or fake moonlanding theories.

I've ordered from both companies many many times. Literally most of my livestock over the past 5 years. I have never had any experience like what you're describing.

We've got online vendors and even hobbyists selling frags for $50 to $100 and pretending thats some kind of deal, and people want to complain about the outfit that offers $5-$10 frags?

You say this to shed a bad light in n people who have had issues with a vendors. Yes coral are offered cheap. But in the end if you spend $90 on a shipment and none survive do to handling prior to shipping then is a $90 loss regardless of how you want to paint the picture. It's great you've had luck but not everyone is you apparently. To speak in a condescending manner to those that have had issue is pretty degrading. My situation was remedied but I did document exactly what happened with my order, with pictures infact. That can't be denied.

 

[EMeyer]

I wasnt disputing your experience, just the wild theory that they deliberately sell dead livestock as some kind of scheme to maximize profits.

I've experienced the occasional DOA from literally every online vendor I've ever purchased from. I'm just saying, there is no evidence or reason to think its some widespread conspiracy. Its just that when you put animals in plastic bags and mail them across the country, sometimes they die.

I'd rather this happen with a $10 frag than a $50-$100 frag.

 

[Brad Miller]

Anybody else with recent orders and the outcome ?

 

[MrDuane-007]

I just completed an order with them to Southern California. Everything arrived on time, packaged well and survived. Only one hiccup out of 14 items, which customer service immediately refunded the amount. Im a novice when it comes to my tank but everything is now mounted and living well in the tank. Very good experience for me. When in doubt email them, they were quick to answer all of my questions.

 

[flchamp89]

I have an order coming today. I order weekly.