Gibeon
Member
Ordered up a couple Monti's and a rhodactus on Tuesday night around 11:30 or so from Extreme Corals. (Love the internet, but my CC's don't!)
I received my order today and so far all is well. The rhodactus is for my 10 Gal nano at work The rock on which it came also included some red macro algae which is great for me, as I needed something to soak up nutrients and fight the cyano I'm good at growing. There is also a "free" blue/green smooth mushroom on the rock. Huzzah!
Shopping: A
Easy to navigate website. Live cart keeps running total while you browse. GREAT search function - just type in what you want, even price (i.e. 29.99). Recommend that you write down what corals have discounts that you're adding to the cart from the weekly specials section. It remembers, but doesn't show you which one is discounted when you view your cart.
Packaging: A+
Each coral was triple bagged at least. Those three bags were in an additional bag, and the heat pack was still warm. All of that was in a small cooler which was packed in a New and made-to-fit cardboard box.The box fee which is included in the shipping cost, is definitely worth it.
Shipping: A
I got the email ship notification at 3:00pm yesterday. Package was here by 10:00am this morning. Shipping price was reasonable and in-line with other etailers. I only wish I had been buying more corals to get their free shipping which activates at a relatively low $150.
Quality: A+
Rhodactus and Bonus Shroom opened up quick after acclimation and are looking good and healthy. Of note - the water in the bag was NOT cloudy. This is the first time I've received Live Goods that have NOT come in cloudy water. An extra thumbs-up for that. The whole thing looked better coming out of the bag than it did in the photo online.
Edit: A+ for the Montis. Elkhorn and Orange Digi look Awesome and seemed very happy even coming out of the bag. Of course, I guess they can't pout like leathers. We'll see how they do on polyp extension tomorrow. The Orange Digi was a little smaller than I was expecting, but I think it is accurate. The elkhorn is good sized. Neither was broken or in any way maladjusted. OH, and their water was clear clear clear as well!
Convenience: A
Couldn't have been much easier. Almost too easy. My creditors are going to love this store about as much as I do.
Price: A : Shrooms
For the shrooms, about on par with what I would pay to one of my LFS. I would normally buy shrooms live, but this was for my work tank, and the convenience of NOT coming to the office on the weekend was worth it.
A+ : Monti's
This is assuming they come out of the bag as well as the shrooms did. Though I'm not worried about it. None of my LFS can come close on the price for montis, and I'm happy to have bought an ORA coral that is generations removed from the ocean, instead of something that was just pilfered from the sea earlier this week. Edit: Montis are rockin!
Bonus: There was a free shroom and it's healthy too. I could kind of see it in the photo, but wasn't sure
Edit: There were no free corals attached to the montis.
Summary:
Overall Grade: A
Purchase Again: Absolutely and without reservation.
"Go To" Order*: Corals - First, Others - N/A
RS Sponsor: Yes
Price/Performance**: 7
Cold Prickly/Warm Fuzzy: Warm Fuzzy
*Order of who I would go to for buying livestock online.
** On a scale of 1 to 10. 1=I never got anything and 10=showed up with it on my doorstep for free and then scraped the coralline algae off my glass. 5=Perfectly satisfied. 7= Very,very satisfied
About the Reviewer: I don't normally "bad-mouth" stores on-line for the simple fact that accidents happen. I will let it be known if accidents aren't handled well - good customer service is KEY for me and what happens after things go wrong is what really matters. Glowing reviews (likethis one, eh) are all honest and indicate what I feel is an exceptional experience which I hope to repeat. Caveat Emptor - your mileage may vary. I have high standards for quality, regardless of price, but I am very fair. I reserve the right to update my review following the "extraction" of the montis this evening. If I don't update, assume all is well and that I'm busy staring at my tank(s) and adjusting powerheads.
I received my order today and so far all is well. The rhodactus is for my 10 Gal nano at work The rock on which it came also included some red macro algae which is great for me, as I needed something to soak up nutrients and fight the cyano I'm good at growing. There is also a "free" blue/green smooth mushroom on the rock. Huzzah!
Shopping: A
Easy to navigate website. Live cart keeps running total while you browse. GREAT search function - just type in what you want, even price (i.e. 29.99). Recommend that you write down what corals have discounts that you're adding to the cart from the weekly specials section. It remembers, but doesn't show you which one is discounted when you view your cart.
Packaging: A+
Each coral was triple bagged at least. Those three bags were in an additional bag, and the heat pack was still warm. All of that was in a small cooler which was packed in a New and made-to-fit cardboard box.The box fee which is included in the shipping cost, is definitely worth it.
Shipping: A
I got the email ship notification at 3:00pm yesterday. Package was here by 10:00am this morning. Shipping price was reasonable and in-line with other etailers. I only wish I had been buying more corals to get their free shipping which activates at a relatively low $150.
Quality: A+
Rhodactus and Bonus Shroom opened up quick after acclimation and are looking good and healthy. Of note - the water in the bag was NOT cloudy. This is the first time I've received Live Goods that have NOT come in cloudy water. An extra thumbs-up for that. The whole thing looked better coming out of the bag than it did in the photo online.
Edit: A+ for the Montis. Elkhorn and Orange Digi look Awesome and seemed very happy even coming out of the bag. Of course, I guess they can't pout like leathers. We'll see how they do on polyp extension tomorrow. The Orange Digi was a little smaller than I was expecting, but I think it is accurate. The elkhorn is good sized. Neither was broken or in any way maladjusted. OH, and their water was clear clear clear as well!
Convenience: A
Couldn't have been much easier. Almost too easy. My creditors are going to love this store about as much as I do.
Price: A : Shrooms
For the shrooms, about on par with what I would pay to one of my LFS. I would normally buy shrooms live, but this was for my work tank, and the convenience of NOT coming to the office on the weekend was worth it.
A+ : Monti's
This is assuming they come out of the bag as well as the shrooms did. Though I'm not worried about it. None of my LFS can come close on the price for montis, and I'm happy to have bought an ORA coral that is generations removed from the ocean, instead of something that was just pilfered from the sea earlier this week. Edit: Montis are rockin!
Bonus: There was a free shroom and it's healthy too. I could kind of see it in the photo, but wasn't sure
Edit: There were no free corals attached to the montis.
Summary:
Overall Grade: A
Purchase Again: Absolutely and without reservation.
"Go To" Order*: Corals - First, Others - N/A
RS Sponsor: Yes
Price/Performance**: 7
Cold Prickly/Warm Fuzzy: Warm Fuzzy
*Order of who I would go to for buying livestock online.
** On a scale of 1 to 10. 1=I never got anything and 10=showed up with it on my doorstep for free and then scraped the coralline algae off my glass. 5=Perfectly satisfied. 7= Very,very satisfied
About the Reviewer: I don't normally "bad-mouth" stores on-line for the simple fact that accidents happen. I will let it be known if accidents aren't handled well - good customer service is KEY for me and what happens after things go wrong is what really matters. Glowing reviews (likethis one, eh) are all honest and indicate what I feel is an exceptional experience which I hope to repeat. Caveat Emptor - your mileage may vary. I have high standards for quality, regardless of price, but I am very fair. I reserve the right to update my review following the "extraction" of the montis this evening. If I don't update, assume all is well and that I'm busy staring at my tank(s) and adjusting powerheads.
Last edited:
