SHIPPING TUTORIAL
There's more than one way to ship, but this is what works for me.
-I like to use 6x6 or 7x7 boxes. I get mine from Wal-Mart, they're pretty cheap.
-Line the box with some type of insulating material. A lot of people use simple styrofoam, which can be found in any store that carries craft supplies. I actually prefer to use an insulating foam that can be found in the Building Supply dept. of any hardware store. It really helps to try to get a tight fit with whatever type of insulating liner you use.
This is a pic of the insulation I use. The white piece w/print is the back of the insulation, the small silver slivers are pieces showing the front surface of the insulation:
-Just inside the insulation, I like to put a large plastic bag. This is to prevent Post Office freakouts and damp boxes in the event that some water leaks out of the frag bags. I use plastic shopping bags.
-According to Post Office regulations, it is okay to ship liquids as long as there is enough absorbent material in the package to absorb anything that leaks. Therefore, I use either newspaper or paper towels as packing material around the bags.
-For bags, I like to use 6" x 20" 2 mil bags from kensfish.com. Here's a link:
http://www.kensfish.com/shippingsupplie.html
If you're bagging zoas, you can put 2-3 frags in one bag as long as you wrap each frag in a paper towel to protect them from jostling each other. This will also keep them damp if water leaks out of the bag. I only use paper towels w/zoas.
For other corals, one frag to a bag is probably best.
They don't need to have a whole bagful of water, just enough to keep them covered during shipment.
I like to double bag my frags, and fasten each bag individually with a rubber band.
-Place bag in box, fill remainder of space w/newspaper or paper towel, and close larger outer bag over the whole w/tape.
This is what your package should look like before closing and taping the outer bag over the contents:
-For heat packs, I like to use 40 hr. heat packs from kensfish.com, see above link.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT YOU SHIP W/A HEAT PACK DURING WINTER MONTHS!!!
Wrap heat pack in newspaper or paper towel, place on top of outer bag, place top piece of insulating foam, then close box, tape well, address and ship!
Heat Packs, opened and unopened:
Make sure you remove your heat pack from the outer wrapping before shipping.
This is what your package should look like w/the outer bag closed and the newspaper wrapped heat pack placed on top:
A couple of last tips:
-Don't ship in a thermos. The thermos will not allow enough air in for the heat pack to work, and the coral/s will become dangerously cold.
-Make sure that your insulating liner is very tight, with no holes or openings. I HAVE noticed over the last couple of months that the kind of insulation that I posted a pic of above keeps corals substantially warmer than simple craft styro. It literally makes the difference between corals received in 63 degree water and corals received in 79 degree water. I can verify this by personal experience.
-Corals shipped in larger boxes/containers do not stay warm as well because the heat from the heat pack disperses over a larger area. Tight packaging makes a difference.
-Corals can be shipped in much less water than you would think. For a frame of reference, I can and have successfully shipped 3 zoa frags in one bag with 1 1/4 cups of water, or 6 squirts from a turkey baster.
The less water there is, the less the package will weigh and the lower the shipping charges will be.
-MAKE SURE TO WAIVE THE SIGNATURE ON THE PACKAGES YOU SHIP OUT!!!
