Damp Shipping Pictorial

[bryan]

Hey all,

I finally got around to taking pics for those wanting to try damp shipping. This is by no means the only way to do it, but works great for me. May have over done it with pics of each step, but wanted to be complete for anyone that stumbles upon this in the future.

Enjoy.

Start with non-printed or scented paper towels.

Nice and clean styro lined box.

Line and pad bottom with newspaper.

Label bags for customer, even in a trade this is a nice courtesy.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued...

Paper towel ... dry

Paper towel doubled over.

Acquire first target.

Lay paper towel across water for 3-4 seconds to soak.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued....

Gently squeeze out excess water, but leave slightly "drippy"

Lay frag in lower section, preparing for roll up.

Gently roll up like a burrito.

Once rolled, fold over end.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued.....

Then fold over other side.

Drop into properly labeled bag.

Capture decent amount of air and band.

Wash, rinse, repeat until all frags for order are bagged.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued......

Then place two bagged frags into larger outer bag for added protection.

I end up with 2 bags, each containing 2 frags.

Place into shipping box.

Surround and cover/pad with additional newspaper.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued.......

Get heat pack ready.

A couple shakes and squeezes to activate.

Lay on newspaper to wrap heat pack.

Finish wrap and label with Sharpie.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued........

Place on top of packing, or tape to lid, your preference.

Place lid on cooler.

Add Thank You card and a couple business cards.

Tape up securely.

 

[bryan]

Damp ship continued.........

Apply label and you are done except for dropping off at PO/UPS/FedEx.



Peace, Bryan

 

[rocko918]

STICKY!!!


Nice. Thanks Bryan

 

[surfn]

STICKY!!!


Nice. Thanks Bryan

your wish is my command...

very nice pictorial, thank you bryan.

does the damp method work particularly better when there is extreme weather? (either hot or cold) i'm wondering if the damp paper towel is a better insulator than just a bag of water.


also, any experience doing this with other types of corals?

 

[twon8]

nice job on the pics; I've thought of taking pictures while packing stuff up, but i'm usually in such a rush and have wet hands.

 

[twon8]

oh, yeah, ive done it with sps, acros, montis, pavona, birdsnest, pocillipora..

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Nice Bryan!

I have heard that this method is even better in cooler/hotter temps due to the fact that a bagful of water is going to get alot colder quicker and stay cold.

Same way with the water heating up. Make sense?

 

[Patwa]

excellent!

Zach.

 

[bryan]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words. It has worked wonderfully with all types of corals.

I had one meltdown with a large piece of orange Pavona shipped up to Zepplin. It was a very knobby piece, and I decided to use newspaper vs. paper towels. My best guess is by not making contact with the entire coral, areas on the coral may have dired creating stressors that quickly took the piece out. Plus it was rather large at 4-5" with many fingers.

But other than that one, it's been my preferred method since I made the switch to USPS.

 

[maroonytunes]

Excellente Bryan, and thank you!!!!!!!!

 

[Azurel]

Great stuff bryan.....

 

[da6d2003]

Great essay Bryan.

How many days should they last?

 

[bryan]

Definitely a solid two days. After that, all bets are off :)

I will try something for fun now that we are hitting 40-50 degree nights here, and cool day. I'll box up a few ugly zoanthids tomorrow afternoon and record the time. I'll then let them sit on the porch in the box. I'll photo them before packing, and then on Friday around lunch when I unbox them...yes, the day after Thanksgiving :)

That will give us a 4 day ship test,(3 days in actual hours in the box) which should be the extreme case scenario.

The only thing I know going into this is the heat pack will give out at 40 hours...though I suspect it will remain warm for another 5-10 hours...so it's Thanksgiving night that will be the make or break.

Will be fun, and I'll let you all know.

Peace, Bryan

 

[johnanddawn]

Nice Bryan!

I have heard that this method is even better in cooler/hotter temps due to the fact that a bagful of water is going to get alot colder quicker and stay cold.

Same way with the water heating up. Make sense?

hmmm.... the science teacher in me questions this. water has a very high specific heat capacity and therefore keeps temp better (water temp should be very stable/gradual change, i would think anyway) then not having it. i think the common belief in this method is actually more closely tied to the O2 and water Q issues of being in stagnent water for 2 days???? really makes me wonder though, as i've personally never tried it and i like your experiment should help tie up some lose ends in the theory...
thanks a lot for this thread - well done