Shipping
UPDATE: Reeftopia has updated our shipping policy and are introducing a graduated shipping policy. $49 shipping for orders of 79.00 or less. $39 shipping for orders of $79.00 to $179.99. Order $180 or more to get FREE Shipping and FREE STUFF: At checkout remember to specify your choice of 12 Nerite Snails or 3 Emerald Crabs in the "SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR SELLER" box.
*SPECIAL OFFER: Orders exceeding $225 get a 10% discount when you enter the discount code "123" at checkout. Styrofoam Box, Outer cardboard, Heat Packs etc. is FREE. Minimum order is $50.00.
REEFTOPIA SHIPPING SCHEDULE: Orders placed by 8 AM Monday -Wednesday, will be scheduled to ship for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday arrivals. *Note some exceptions may apply. **DON'T MISS IMPORTANT REEFTOPIA EMAILS: CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER REGULARLY FOR UPDATES REGARDING YOUR ORDER!**
We ship via FedEx Overnight.
Phone hours are Monday through Wednesday from 9:30 AM to 4 PM EST. You may also e-mail us at these times or at any time. We ship within the continental US Monday through Wednesday for arrival Tuesday through Thursday. Order by 8:00 am EST to receive shipment the following day.
The Reeftopia Guarantee....
We guarantee all livestock for 5 days after leaving our facility. The following is a list of conditions that apply to our guarantee.
You must be home or have a responsible party accept delivery.
Your water quality must be within our normal Reef Aquarium parameters which means - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite specific gravity of 1.022 to 1.026, and a pH of 8.0 TO 8.4.
You must follow our acclimation procedure.
Credit for lost items...
We will replace any items that expires within the five day period in a future shipment that qualifies for free shipping. DOA items can be credited to your card provided that we are notified within 12 hours of the arrival time of the shipment. Very rarely we have a shipment that gets lost because of bad weather etc. In this event we guarantee the entire shipment. If your shipment somehow gets lost in transit let us know promptly. We generally ask that you accept the late shipment and let us know what is ok and what items do not make it. We then simply re-ship the lost items. We do not guarantee reshipped items. Missing items... We have everything that is posted on the site about 98% of the time. If there are items missing from your order we will deduct them from the total. We do not backorder items due to the cost of freight. Adding new specimens to your aquarium... We take extreme care in shipping disease free fish and invertebrates. Many items can become weak during shipping and acclimation. Reeftopia cannot be held responsible for disease related problems.
Terms of Shipping
You or a responsible person must be present to sign for and take immediate delivery of your order upon its arrival. If you miss your delivery and the live arrival guarantee is void. If a delivery is refused for any reason, including not being home to accept delivery, or refusing a delivery that arrives late, the customer is responsible for the cost of the items, plus return freight charges. Note.. If you are not sure that someone will be at home to accept shipment it is a good idea to have your items delivered to your workplace or to the nearest FedEx station. We reserve the right to deny or cancel service at our sole discretion.
Special orders/wish list requests
We appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in our products, including requests for wish lists or to be added to a wish list. As a small company with a limited inventory and focused operations, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accommodate special orders or maintain wish lists at this time.
HOW TO ACCLIMATE MARINE FISH AND INVERTEBRATES.
Step 1: Open the box in an area out of direct light. This area does not need to be dark however it is a good idea for the area to be devoid of bright lighting.
Step 2: Turn off aquarium lights.
IMPORTANT NOTE... HAVE SOME PATIENCE DURING THE ENTIRE PROCEDURE. YOUR ITEMS HAVE BEEN PACKED FOR AT LEAST 12 HOURS. A FEW EXTRA MINUTES WON'T AFFECT THE HEALTH OF YOUR SPECIMENS. MANY ITEMS CAN TOLERATE SURPRISINGLY COLD CONDITIONS AND WILL DO JUST FINE WHEN ACCLIMATED PROPERLY.
STEP 3: Place the unopened bags into the aquarium and let them float for 15 minutes.
NOTE... DO NOT PANIC IF ITEMS ARE NOT MOVING OR APPEAR TO BE OVERLY AGITATED. ITEMS SUCH AS SNAILS, HERMIT CRABS AND MARINE ALGAE ARE SOMETIMES SHIPPED DAMP AND MAY APPEAR TO BE DRY. THIS IS NORMAL.
Step 4: Cut each bag open just below the metal clip, rubber band or heat seal. Using a 1-oz measuring device, (a shot glass works well), pour 1 ounce of aquarium water into each bag. Repeat this every 5 minutes until you have doubled the original amount of water. It is a good idea to stabilize the bags during this process by placing them upright in a tray or other device. Coffee cups or a casserole dish work well. Be sure to use a stable platform during this process.
Note... Items which are shipped damp should have about 4 ounce of water added to them.
Step 5: Wait 5 minutes or so and pour off about half of the water. Note... It is generally not a good idea to pour shipping water into your aquarium. It is better to discard the water into a pan. IF YOU USE THE SINK TO DISCARD WATER BE SURE THAT THE STRAINER IS IN PLACE IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCE OF LOSING A SPECIMEN DOWN THE DRAIN.
Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 once.
Step 7: Carefully place each item into the aquarium.
Step 8: Leave the aquarium lights off for a minimum of 1 hour.
Notes... Snails should be placed right side up onto a rock if possible.
Items such as crabs and shrimp should be placed away from items such as anemones and close to a hiding place so that they can acclimate before venturing out.
It is a good idea to place Gorgonian and Sponges in an area where there is some current in order to facilitate feeding.
