Reef Cleaners Experiences

living_tribunal · Sep 19, 2020

thewalkingdad said:
Does reefcleaners raise/keep their inverts in a fallow system?

Yes they do. The big value add imo. They explicitly state it on their website.

kmwcane · Sep 19, 2020

I've had several great experiences with Reef Cleaners.

MnFish1 · Sep 19, 2020

Watevadog5 said:
Just placed an order for a 90 gallon clean up crew snails/hermits.. Needed to replenish after the population slowly dwindled.. Ships Monday, should arrive Wednesday ... Anyone have good\bad experiences with reef cleaners ??

Excellent

BlennyTime · Sep 19, 2020

I actually got an order from them delivered yesterday, was well packed and everything looked like it was in good shape. Prices can’t be beat either.

I would order over the weekend so it has a few extra days to make it before the next weekend, with how USPS is these days.

|Frank| · Sep 19, 2020

Reef cleaners are my go to. John always answers my emails and keeps me informed about shipping. The livestock is always healthy, prices are great, and usually my orders come a day or so early. Maybe because I’m in Florida as well, but overall always had great experiences. Hope this helps!

Leemcg · Sep 19, 2020

Always a great experience with reef cleaners. Great service, great quality and any problems are addressed immediately. They are as good as it gets for cleanup crew and info on them.

smokin'reefer · Sep 19, 2020

I ordered from him a few months ago. Shipping was an issue the first go around. I can't really blame that on reefcleaners. Usps dropped the ball. He refunded most of the order and I reordered with next day shipping with no incident.
I like the fact that he can quote you what you need for your tank. He didn't try and oversell me. Most Cuc deals that are out there go way overboard imo. Most recommended for my tank size would have been around $150. What he recommended was under $60. I had to add a few things to get to the free shipping point.
The dwarth ceriths i have not had before and they are tiny little super cleaners.

Chiefmaster30 · Sep 26, 2020

Anyone know how loving a cleanup crew and macros can survive shipping? I ordered a cuc Last saturday. It shipped Monday for Thursday delivery with priority shipping but... apparently USPS has lost it. Saying it’s gonna be late and not arrive until this Monday. Will it still possibly be alive?

Cell · Sep 26, 2020

That's pushing it. I had a Tuesday ship arrive on Saturday and nassarius and baby trochus survived, adult trochus all died. Trochus do not seem to ship well in general.

smokin'reefer · Sep 26, 2020

I had one that went that long. It was pretty warm then. Smelled like rotten potatoes when I got it. Yuck.

Is the weather cooler where you are at?

Chiefmaster30 · Oct 4, 2020

smokin'reefer said:
I had one that went that long. It was pretty warm then. Smelled like rotten potatoes when I got it. Yuck.

Is the weather cooler where you are at?

It’s cooler here in Tennessee. Some of the tiny Nassarius made it but not many and all 3 of the emeralds survived but 2 died the next day. I got A partial refund. Not happy with that but I’m going to give them one more chance just bc of all the good rep on here I see. I think I should have gotten a full refund. They’ll file a claim with USPS and get reimbursed.

Reefs and Geeks · Oct 7, 2020

I recently ordered from RC. Had about half of my order DOA, but John was very responsive and refunded all of the dead snails. Really like the dwarf ceriths, they are tiny! but got at least double what I paid for with them.

Labora · Oct 7, 2020

Reefs and Geeks said:
I recently ordered from RC. Had about half of my order DOA, but John was very responsive and refunded all of the dead snails. Really like the dwarf ceriths, they are tiny! but got at least double what I paid for with them.

My guess is USPS fault. Within the last few months it's gotten really bad. I had one first class package take 3 weeks. Maybe they let it sit in the sun.

Reefs and Geeks · Oct 8, 2020

Labora said:
My guess is USPS fault. Within the last few months it's gotten really bad. I had one first class package take 3 weeks. Maybe they let it sit in the sun.

It's entirely possible it was due to the handling of USPS. Beyond choosing a carrier, we don't have much control over how they are handled. I'm sure everyone's heard horror stories about how each carrier mishandled packages. I can say that the snails were all well packaged, so I don't believe that was an issue. The weather has been kinda crazy lately, so they might have gotten too cold at night, or hot during the day during their 2 day journey. They were in transit for about 48 hours.

I ended up ordering replacement snails from another vendor. Nothing against Reef Cleaners (I'm happy with my experience) I just wanted to try another and compare since I've only ever made one order online for snails. I did pay for overnight shipping with my order from the other vendor and had no losses, but was considerably more expensive of course. I wouldn't hesitate to use either vendor again in the future. Reef Cleaners does have the best selection i've found anywhere though. So if you like a variety of stuff or some harder to find stuff, they can't be beat.

Jeeperz · Oct 12, 2020

I've made several orders from them but think I'm done. The only snails that live more than maybe 2-3 weeks are the nerite and dwarf ceriths. Emerald live a week tops, pitho 2 weeks. Have had a few blue legs live but not many. Mini clams 1 week. Astrea maybe 2 tops, ninja star 3 weeks. I have better luck from my local Petco, just not the variety. I think following their acclimation guide is to blame. Their inverts definitely need qt. My first order gave my qt flatworms. This last order my snails were covered in some weird red red algae. Qt them is a must in my opinion.

clifg · Oct 12, 2020

I think it's been said a couple of times but I would strongly consider upgrading to overnight shipping. With the way USPS is going right now, it's highly highly likely you won't receive your order on time. Mine took over a week to get to me. John, great guy, sent it out again at no cost except I paid for overnight shipping and it arrived the next day.

Jeeperz · Oct 12, 2020

clifg said:
I think it's been said a couple of times but I would strongly consider upgrading to overnight shipping. With the way USPS is going right now, it's highly highly likely you won't receive your order on time. Mine took over a week to get to me. John, great guy, sent it out again at no cost except I paid for overnight shipping and it arrived the next day.

Depends where you live. I got my last order in 2 days, in Idaho

terrapin3100 · Dec 4, 2020

This is scaring me as I just ordered from them and it is now saying it will take 4 days to get to me. I am in NC and have got corals and such all across the country in 2 days tops. BUT they were using fedex, not usps. I have reached out to John to see what’s going on. waiting on a reply...

Cell · Dec 4, 2020

Love Reefcleaners. John is great. I think shipping issues out of his control has probably caused some challenges. The free shipping option seems to be taking a day or two longer than normal. I'd recommend paying for the expedited.

Leemcg · Dec 4, 2020

Reef cleaners is great I’ve ordered before and everything arrived when it was supposed to. John has always been fantastic. USPS delays and general incompetence isn’t his fault. I’m waiting for an order now, that shipped Monday, was supposed to arrive today, got delayed, and hoping it arrived tomorrow. Hoping the loss will be minimal, but I’m not getting my hopes up. With 5 days in transit It doesn’t look good.