Tidal Gardens — Local services in Copley Township

I'm don't want to come across as trying to write a novel but, I wanted to share my experience with Tidal Gardens.

I purchased a Walking Dendro in August from Tidal Gardens via mail-order. I was hesitant to order livestock, mainly because my past online livestock purchases weren't so great. During the holidays I ordered a pair of Pom-Pom Crabs and they were delivered a few houses down to a neighbor, for some reason instead of my home, who was out of town at the time. Needless to say the crabs were frozen by the time they were discovered. Another time I ordered a Frogspawn and it was dead on arrival because the base of the coral had punctured the bag inside the box, water leaked out totally by the time it was delivered.

I took a chance on Tidal Gardens, mainly because of Than. I've watched a number of his youTube posts, all of which are very informative and in seeing his shop in some of the videos, you get a sense that Than is in it for the science and not blindly chasing profits. Back to the purchase.....

My Dendro shipped in a thick plastic bag that was sealed with a metal clamp of some sort, not the typical rubber band your local fish store uses. The bag was sealed inside of a with the appropriate amount of packing peanuts. I even received a care card with acclimation recommendations IN COLOR. Everything about the packaging was dry and secure. Though I've been in the hobby almost 5 years, I actually took the time to read the acclimation steps, followed them, and within an hour, my Dendro was in my display tank fully extended. It's close to a month and I can tell that either the tentacles extended more or grew, either way, I was shipped a very healthy specimen.

I received two confirmation emails following the purchase, one detailing the order and a second email the day the purchase shipped. The second email even included a detailed message from Than himself. I was shocked at this because in all of Than's videos, he comes across as being larger than life, and I never would've thought that he had time to reach out to someone purchasing just one coral. I have to admit that I don't care for mailorder because I'm one of those people that crave instant gratification but Tidal Gardens is turning the tide on that mentality of mine. I definitely plan on ordering from them again.

Thanks...

Tidal Gardens sets the Gold Standard. Their specimens are well represented with photographs under various light spectrums and videos with care instructions on their website.

Carefully packaged orders arrive with gorgeous, vibrant, healthy coral and if there’s a problem, they stand behind their excellent DOA policy.

They contribute to the reefing community with high quality, professional, educational videos with instructions on how to care for, light, and feed every type of coral they sell. Videos of their aquaculture facility and interviews with other industry specialists are impressive and informative.

Recently, I received an order that was mishandled during shipment and unfortunately their were a few losses. When I brought it to their attention, they were incredibly kind and professional. The replacements they sent were healthy and had good polyp extension while still acclimating in the bag! They’ve honestly ruined a few other vendors for me by changing my expectations.

Lastly, their coral isn’t the cheapest, but it is very reasonably priced and I have saved money ordering healthy specimens backed by their solid DOA policy. Also, it’s way more fun unboxing something that I’m excited to put in my tank instead of trying to imagine what my new coral will look like once I nurse it back to health.

I don’t know the Tidal Gardens crew personally, but after placing multiple orders over the years I feel like I have a good idea of who they are. I’m grateful to them for helping me stock my mini-reefs and I appreciate all that they contribute to the reefing community.

Thanks and I look forward to...

I ordered a Corallumorph, which is a rare specimen not often found locally. I have one I purchased severa years ago and has done very well. The cost of this specimen is $350 which was slightly overpriced but based on the reviews and the picture on their website (which was misleading) I took the risk. The specimen arrived and I was surprised that even though it is summer and we are in Florida, inside the box there was no cooling pads or anything to keep the specimen cool during the trip. As soon as I placed the specimen in my tank I noticed a rare discoloration on the foot of the animal that a few hours later it became obvious the foot had been damaged and was disintegrating. Hours later it detached and turned over and I realized the animal was discomposing and would die in My tank. I Emailed Ben immediately and sent him pics of the dying animal. I know these things can happen but it is disappointing since it is my first order from Tidal Gardens. I’m requesting a refund. I’m an experience hobbyist who has a 120 gallon tank over 20 years with bubble anemones reproducing, corals, fish with a very stable environment. I hope they do the right thing. I will update this post...