What parameters are your corals grown in?
Our corals are grown in these approximate water conditions:
- Specific gravity: 1.025 (refractometer)
- Temperature: 79.4 – 79.8 F (controller)
- Alkalinity: 8.0 dkH (Salifert test kit)
- Calcium: 410 ppm (Salifert test kit)
- Magnesium: 1400 ppm (Salifert test kit)
- Nitrate: 0.1 – 5 ppm (from ICP results)
- Phosphate: 0.01 – 0.03 ppm (from ICP results)
Which days do you ship out corals?
We are flexible, so corals are sent out throughout the week/month/year, whenever it is convenient for the customer. However, some factors, such as the weather, sometimes needs to be taken into cosideration when picking a delivery date. There are few times during the year when we can’t ship out corals. For example, during certain days of the busy holiday season we will not ship out corals (e.g. right after Thanksgiving and close to Christmas). In those few cases in which we cannot ship out coral, a notice on the website will be posted well-beforehand so customers can plan ahead.
Under the “shop by coral colony” section, could you explain shipping status?
Under shipping status, you can either choose a “fresh cut” frag or a “ready-to-ship” frag.
“Fresh cut” means that I will cut the frag after the order is placed and it will be mounted on a frag plug.
Depending on which coral you buy, it will require 7-14 days to heal properly before shipping out. Once it is healed, the entire order is ready to be shipped out. Corals that need the full 14 days to heal are: BRC Walt Disney, SC Orange Passion, RR Pink Floyd, ORA Hawkins. Most others will be okay with 7 days healing time.
“Ready-to-ship” are frags that have already been cut from the colony, have properly healed, and are ready to ship out.
1/28/22 Update: Currently, we do not have “Ready-to-Ship” frags available. All frags from the “Shop by Coral Colony” section will be fresh cut.
How big are the frags in the WYSIWYG section?
For pieces in WYSIWYG, you can get an idea of the size of the frag by comparing it to the frag plug. The frag plug is 5/8” to ¾” in diameter.
However, this is only partially helpful because the pictures are taken at a semi-top-down angle, so they appear shorter than what they really are.
The WYSIWYG frags are priced similar to buying from the “shop by coral colony” section, so if the WYSIWYG frag is about 1”, it will be similar in price to the 1” in the “shop by coral colony” section, and the same goes for ½”. If the WYSIWYG frag is in between 1” and ½”, the price will be between the two as well.
How big are the 1/2” frags in the “shop by coral colony” section?
The official answer is that they are at least ½” measured by a ruler. Depending on the piece, I will sometimes make them bigger, however I don’t want you to expect this and then be disappointed. Also, it depends on the growth pattern of the coral. If the coral grows very compact, a ½” cut may be shorter than ½”, but will have a couple of branches. The bottom line is that I try to avoid disappointment and aim to please when I can.
How big are the ‘1” or multi-branch’ frags in the “shop by coral colony” section?
The official answer is they are at least 1” measured by a ruler. This also depends on the growth pattern of the coral. If it doesn’t have easy-to-cut single 1” branches, the frag will be a multi-branched piece that may be a bit shorter than 1” in length, but if you added the length of all the branches, it will be at or more than 1”. Again, I try to avoid disappointment and aim to please when possible.
The ‘1” or multibranch’ option is more likely to be a nice size piece compared to the ½” option, although I don’t want you to expect to be hooked up. It really depends on how much of the coral I have available.
Should I order ½” or 1” frags?
Despite 1” being the better buy, ½” sizes are by far the most popular choice. It really is your preference. I personally like to start with bigger frags myself, but the ½” option is a nice option, especially for the more expensive pieces. Someone made the argument that new branches often don’t grow from the original frag, rather many times they grow from a new encrusted part, so getting a 1/2’’ frag is not much different from buying a 1” frag. I would say that this is true about 50% of the time. In my opinion, it depends where and how the frag is mounted, and probably a lot of other factors. Generally speaking, I think it takes longer for ½” frags to get going. But if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer and you are looking to save some money, then ½” might be the best choice for you.
Should I order fresh cut or ready-to-ship?
It’s up to you. For me, I prefer fresh cuts because some species of coral change colors or even lose a bit of color if they are on the frag plug too long. So, in my opinion, you are more likely to get a well-colored piece if you order a fresh cut. This is not only at Coral Euphoria, but I’m also talking about in general wherever you buy corals.
I don’t mind waiting for them to heal. But I know some customers want stuff right away, so again, it’s up to you.
This is one reason why I don’t have “ready-to-ship” versions of every coral. Just take Vivid Rainbow Delight for example. A beautiful coral, but it often loses color or browns out after it has been fragged. It would be a waste for me to cut a bunch of ready-to-ship frags and have them sit in the frag tank for months. Although the frag will gain its color back eventually, I can’t send that to a customer.
What are other reasons you don’t have “ready-to-ship” of every coral?
The main reason is that I’m trying to let the colony grow more and I would rather not cut a frag unless I had someone willing to buy it.
What are some hardy Acropora I can start with?
My corals were supposed to ship out today, however I have not yet received a tracking number. Did it ship out?
We ship corals out as late as possible and we sometimes do not create the shipping label until we have the corals all packaged and the box sealed. (In contrast to some sellers who create the shipping label the day before.)
We are located on the west coast, and we will usually have the labels printed between 4-5pm Pacific Daylight Time. You should receive an automated email with the tracking number around that time, which will seem pretty late if you are on the east coast, for example.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have not received a tracking email before:
- 9 pm Eastern Daylight Time
- 8 pm Central Daylight Time
- 7 pm Mountain Daylight Time
- 6 pm Mountain Standard Time
- 6 pm Pacific Daylight Time
Don’t hesitate to reach out to sales@coraleuphoria.com if you have any other questions.