Win the War of Coral Shopping with BattleCorals – Official Vendor Review.

When the online shopping boom reached the reefing marketplace, I initially had mixed emotions. On one hand, buying corals online would save time and money from not having to drive to your local fish store. On the other hand, however, physically reviewing corals from a brick and mortar store seemed like the only way too guarantee a certain appearance and quality. Not to mention the effortless learning to be had by speaking with a seasoned store clerk.

As the number of online coral vendors blossomed, my curiosity officially took over. From advertisements on reefing forums and blogs to questions from my fellow reefers, I took the plunge into the 21st Century coral marketplace. Throughout the last few years of reviewing coral vendors, I realized my fear of virtual shopping only applies to lower quality suppliers.

In fact, some vendors offer greater product variation and even greater opportunities to learn than a local store could ever provide. While this is a rare quality for any supplier, BattleCorals never set out to be standard. Check out my experience with one of the nicest, smartest and most capable vendors in our industry, BattleCorals.

About the Vendor.

If you aren’t a member of the Reef2Reef forum, I can’t recommend this resource enough. Sure, there’s a dozens of reefing-oriented forums, but few achieve the level of accurate knowledge sharing as this platform. Should you already follow this incredible resource, then you’ve likely already read about BattleCorals. Or, at least, read a threat or response from its founder, Adam Derickson.

I’ve followed Adam for quite some time, and I'am always impressed with not only his understanding of reef keeping, but his willingness to educate. From deep-level concepts to personal thoughts about our beloved hobby, Adam has impacted the lives of countless reefers.

Personally, however, it’s his dedication to keeping the lines between consumer and vendor as transparent as possible that I find most admirable. Take his in-depth post about coral vendor photography. Instead of pretending that his images aren’t edited, Adam did something almost no online business would even think about: revealed his exact process of refining, color correction and editing coral images.

If this interests you, then I highly recommend reading this post about capturing corals with a DSLR camera. As a photographer, his insights and willingness to educate readers about this topic is greatly appreciated.

As a coral vendor for nearly a decade, Adam is perhaps among the few online vendors with so much experience in both raising and selling corals. When you order from BattleCorals, you’ll immediately tell the difference between his refined approach and that of others.

While I could keep going on about his contributions to the reefing community and marketplace, here’s a simplified breakdown:

• Adam’s not only an active member, but also a sponsor for Reef2Reef.

• After several years of tireless work, BattleCorals offers 100% aquacultured frags in practically every species in their current catalog.

• Runs halide, T5 and LED lighting fixtures independently for his 11’ x 4’ x 12” tanks.

So, how was my most recent order with BattleCorals? Let’s get to the essentials:

How To Order.

One of the initial impressions I got from BattleCorals is that its procedures for ordering and communicating are designed to optimize both finalizing orders and answering questions. There are two ways to order from BattleCorals, which include:

• BattleCorals.com - This is, without a doubt, the easiest and most straightforward way to order. Simply browse their current catalog and place your order.

• Reef2Reef Message - While ordering through the BattleCorals website is best if you already understand your needs, I recommend sending Adam a message via Reef2Reef. Aren’t sure which corals to get or want a personalized recommendation? This is the quickest way to answer your questions and learn from the master, himself. Be sure to also subscribe to his posts, which regularly talk about current availabilities and new frag packs.

Shipping/Packaging.

For this review, I decided to go for one of the BattleBoxes. This is one of my favorite offerings out of any online vendor. Essentially, BattleBoxes are hand-selected frag packs, which range from 4-8 frags to 15-25 frags. I definitely recommend going for a BattleBox, Adam never ceases to disappoint. I’m such a fan of BattleBoxes, in fact, that this was my third order. I ordered BattleBox Option #2.

Sidenote: if you spend over $200, Adam includes a BattleBrush as an added bonus. Essentially, this brush is ideal for the random tank cleaning adventures. It’s not the fanciest bonus, but it’s an awesome touch.

Just like my previous two orders, the package was perfectly contained and shipping through FedEx was a breeze. Here’s the most noteworthy takeaways:

• Contents were pest-free, except for a couple of tiny snails and a starfish, which is an awesome indication that his tanks are very healthy and balanced.

• Each frag was perfectly healed and encrusted onto the frag plug, which is always a pleasure to see.

• The branded packaging is a really nice touch, and included two extras: stickers and the BattleBrush (for spending over $200)

• Easy-to-understand and thorough acclimation instructions.

Corals:

Since this was my third order, it’s safe to say it isn’t Adam’s knowledge or packaging skills that keeps bringing me back. Although both of those qualities are impressive, it’s his coral quality that keeps me coming back for more.

Immediately upon opening my package, I see each coral is protected against damage by being placed in an individual cup. Each cup is wrapped in a small bag, which are then contained inside a larger bag. While shipping coral comes with a certain amount inherent risk, BattleCorals does an excellent job securing their product.

First things first, these frags were huge! I was shocked by their overall size and shapes. So much so, that some would go so far as to refer to the frags as mini colonies. In terms of coloration, you really can’t ask for better. Overall, these are some of the finest corals I’ve seen from an online vendor, which is really a testament to the amount of care and attention they receive from Adam.