Fragbox Review - Canadas BEST coral dealer (in my opinion)

lucyretz · Sep 23, 2017

Hey everyone!

I really wanted to make a post about Fragbox to let everyone know how many amazing transactions this store and I have had.

As a reefer who isn't particularly rich, I appreciate dealers who really are passionate about coral and not making a quick buck. In the past year I've been screwed over by companies and small garage businesses left and right. Call it my fault for not knowing any better but I really had yet to find a store that actually genuinely cared about myself and the health of my reef tank.

That search continued for months until one day I happened to be browsing through websites and saw a link for Fragbox. Their blog really showed their passion for coral, so I decided to give it a try.

6 months later, 40+ orders, all brand new equipment, an absolutely awesome team and most importantly thriving corals: here's my review. I will break it down into several categories that I feel are most important.

Selecting corals on the website:

Every reefer conquers the "WYSIWYG" (what you see is what you get) the problem is, it's always a question of will the coral actually look like how their advertising? Sure. Any piece will look nice under $1200 lights, a nice DSLR camera and sometimes some photoshop.

I'll let this picture speak for itself.

This purple torch is a recent purchase of mine from Fragbox. The top picture is the "WYSIWYG" that was listed on their website. The bottom is that exact same torch, in my tank, two days later. That's right folks, even more beautiful than the photo ?! That's a dang first. But it's an always with fragbox. I have never had a coral not look like the picture or BETTER.

Prices:

Fragbox has some of the best prices I've found in Canada. With frags starting at $5-$10, even the reefer on a budget will find what their looking for. High end pieces are also very well priced. Sometimes when I browse through the website I can't believe the prices I'm reading. $14 for a subzero frag? Are they high over there? Absolutely nuts. I take as much advantage of the unreal pricing as my bank will allow me to.

Confirmation, ship times and shipping:

Fragbox is the absolute best for being able to work with you and your schedule to ensure you get your purchases when you want them. If placed early enough in the day, they will literally bend over backwards to have it shipped out that day, or 3 days later if that's what you request.

Fragbox uses FedEx Priority overnight which is my absolute favourite service. FedEx is super careful with the boxes, all drivers I've had have been super awesome with paying attention to the labels on the box. It just makes it a much better experience for you and your corals.

When you receive your box, you'll notice it's clearly marked that its fragile. Inside you'll find a styrofoam cooler and in that you'll be greeted by fragboxes acclimation instructions. These boxes are filled tightly with packing peanuts and all corals have been double or triple bagged. Every coral has opened up within 2 hours, that's how well these boxes are packed.
They clearly label every individual bag as well with what's inside. Oh, and how could I forget freebies

I've personally ordered over 70 coral frags and colonies, upgraded all my equipment to ecotech through them and have ordered countless supplements, adhesives etc.

Fragbox emails me frequently to make sure that I am 100% satisfied with everything. They are also very happy to help you decide what's best for your tank.

Truly, this company has been the best to me and many of my friends. From Xenia frags to radions, every package is packed with care. These guys are the best of the best and I can't thank them enough for everything they have done for me.

Here is the link to fragboxes website, I seriously can not recommend them enough:

http://fragbox.ca
http://fragbox.ca
http://fragbox.ca

Directly to the goodies:

http://fragbox.ca/coral-frags-2/
http://fragbox.ca/coral-frags-2/
http://fragbox.ca/coral-frags-2/
http://fragbox.ca/coral-frags-2/

Happy reefing everyone!

JoshH · Sep 23, 2017

Love the positive review, just getting my tank going and have been hunting around for a good coral dealer. Saw fragbox but not many reviews of them so it's great to hear such great things on this forum! If you don't mind me asking, where abouts do you live? just curious as to how far there overnight service goes and if your coral have had a somewhat short or long journey, I know they ship from the GTA and Calgary is a little bit of a stretch even if it's overnighted..

lucyretz · Sep 23, 2017

Hey! I'm only an hour away from them but I have friends out that way and they do in fact ship to them as well as anywhere in Canada

I would 100% trust Fragbox with that distance of shipping. Not many people I would, but Fragbox absolutely. Regardless if the coral comes an hour away or provinces over its only overnight and FedEx does a great job handling the packages as well as fragboxes awesome packing, both will help limit how much the coral moves in the bag during shipping which is always my main concern.

Honestly, you have nothing to worry about. These guys know what their doing and I can assure you you'll be happy with your purchases!

Happy reefing!

Mark Derail · Jan 8, 2018

One Fish Two Fish, in Dartmouth NS also is very good.
https://www.facebook.com/1fish2fishdartmouth/

In Montreal there are a couple that also ship, like Reef Solution. Montreal is local to me, I've bought from them and was satisfied.

budau18 · Jan 23, 2018

Just want to add my two cents. Recently had a poor transaction with them. Made a good sized order and I didn’t receive everything I had ordered and paid for. I emailed asking about it to be told if I want the coral I originally paid for and paid to ship it will cost me another $40 for them to ship it. I don’t see how their mistake should cost me money

Jordan Parker · Sep 11, 2018

I just put in my first order with them on Sunday, I'd expected the package to be packed up and shipped out on Monday when the business week started... I called them Monday afternoon to figure out when the corals would be shipped and they told me that they would be shipped first thing Tuesday. Here it is, Tuesday evening and I've still no shipping informaton or guarantee that they will be arriving on Wednesday as promised...

They have a great selection and prices but I am far from impressed with their handling of my order, as a customer I don't find it acceptable to be kept in the dark over my purchase.

sam.veilleux30 · Sep 25, 2018

Here are some pieces i bought over the course of one year, all came healthy and with good shiping, even in march! (I live near montreal)
Ok, the pics did not upload, will do tomorrow

Jordan Parker · Sep 25, 2018

Jordan Parker said:
I just put in my first order with them on Sunday, I'd expected the package to be packed up and shipped out on Monday when the business week started... I called them Monday afternoon to figure out when the corals would be shipped and they told me that they would be shipped first thing Tuesday. Here it is, Tuesday evening and I've still no shipping informaton or guarantee that they will be arriving on Wednesday as promised...

They have a great selection and prices but I am far from impressed with their handling of my order, as a customer I don't find it acceptable to be kept in the dark over my purchase.

I have to retract my last review on Frag Box. I jumped the gun and made assumptions that I should not have.

After havjng received my order, albeit in poor condition, the owner of the company was very kind and understanding.

sam.veilleux30 · Sep 25, 2018

Ok, the pics of the pieces
Aquaman

Pink floyd, not growing and turning green but healthy

Pink cadillac

And there are some others, so far i'm happy with their service, much more than big show frags.

eggplantparrot · Sep 25, 2018

Few weeks ago i made the mistake of driving almost an hour to fragbox to pick up an overflow box for my first tank without calling for a stock check. They had every size in stock except what i was looking for lol, It was my fault.

The store looked very clean and organised. Im a complete newbie and even i could tell their 3 big frag tanks were super well kept and clean. I will definitely purchase from them in the future.

The one thing that did not impress me was their fish/invert rack. The containers were small and kinda dirty, one had a butt load of clowns in it, couple had dead fish floating around (only 2 ppl in store so could have at least cleaned that up).

For coral and equipment i would definitely shop there as the quality and prices are better than my local reef shop (hence me driving that far).

sam.veilleux30 · Sep 25, 2018

eggplantparrot said:
Few weeks ago i made the mistake of driving almost an hour to fragbox to pick up an overflow box for my first tank without calling for a stock check. They had every size in stock except what i was looking for lol, It was my fault.

The store looked very clean and organised. Im a complete newbie and even i could tell their 3 big frag tanks were super well kept and clean. I will definitely purchase from them in the future.

The one thing that did not impress me was their fish/invert rack. The containers were small and kinda dirty, one had a butt load of clowns in it, couple had dead fish floating around (only 2 ppl in store so could have at least cleaned that up).

For coral and equipment i would definitely shop there as the quality and prices are better than my local reef shop (hence me driving that far).

Yeah, the store seem nice from the website. Were you able to see the filtration in the basement?

eggplantparrot · Sep 25, 2018

sam.veilleux30 said:
Yeah, the store seem nice from the website. Were you able to see the filtration in the basement?

No i didnt venture down there, didnt even know that was avaiable for viewing.

Pictures ive seen online make the store look bigger than it really is. Fully stocked with products though (minus my overflow

)

sam.veilleux30 · Sep 25, 2018

eggplantparrot said:
No i didnt venture down there, didnt even know that was avaiable for viewing.

Pictures ive seen online make the store look bigger than it really is. Fully stocked with products though (minus my overflow )

To be clear, i dont think it's available but it seem interesting from the website.

Gatling · Sep 5, 2019

As a local who's been in the store 50+ times, these guys are the best. The owner is incredibly friendly and always has the best advice, often times explaining the cheaper equipment will last longer than higher end stuff! They aren't here to bite you for your money even though they do carry all the high end stuff. Great community of workers they have. I've never ordered online so it's cool to see a different perspective.

Dennis Cartier · Dec 8, 2019

It is my favourite store to buy frags from. Tanks are usually well maintained and the frags are healthy and encrusting. March, the owner is a nice guy and always friendly. They are in the process of re-positioning their display tanks for better access because more than a few people in the store at once caused logistical problems. For coral frags, they are my first choice.

Dennis

BurgerFish · Feb 26, 2020

Any other good canadian frag store?

Jordan Parker · Feb 26, 2020

BurgerFish said:
Any other good canadian frag store?

Frag garage is one of my favorites.

Dennis Cartier · Feb 26, 2020

There is Candy Corals in Mississuaga as well. They have some nice stuff usually. Mostly LPS, with a bit of SPS. However their prices are always quite high.

Sadly, Fragbox has started down this path as well, super high prices. Where high end frags used to be $80 or $100 at Fragbox, now they are $200 - $550. When I questioned the recent tendency to crazy prices, I got a shrug and the response that people buy them. Lol, not "this" people.

I have not tried Frag Garage yet, but do plan on giving them a try in the future. They are at the other end of the country from me, but if the frags are good, I will happily air cargo frags over. Getting 10 frags instead of 2 is a no brainer.