What To Do When Your Corals Arrive

Coral Acclimatisation Guide 🪸
What to do when your corals arrive:

  1. Check Your Order First
    As soon as your box arrives, open it and inspect each bag. The water in the bags should look clear.

  • If any bag has brown water, take clear photos of the coral while it is still in the bag and email us immediately (info@zeoboxreef.com.au). This helps us assess the situation quickly.

  1. Temperature Adjustment
    Float the sealed coral bag in your aquarium for at least 20 minutes. This helps the coral match the tank temperature slowly and safely.

  2. Mixing Aquarium Water
    After floating, open the bag and gently pour the coral and its water into a clean container.
    Over the next 10 minutes, slowly add small amounts of your tank water to the container until the water volume has doubled.

  3. Coral Dipping (Optional)
    You may choose to dip your coral using a coral dip solution. However:

  • We do not recommend dipping soft corals like Zoas, Mushrooms, or Leathers. In our experience, dipping causes too much stress and may lead to problems.

  • If you dip LPS or SPS corals, many products suggest 15-minute dips. We recommend no more than 5 minutes, as most pests will fall off within the first few minutes.

Always follow the instructions on your chosen coral dip and rinse the coral in clean saltwater after dipping.

  1. Handling the Coral
    To remove your coral:

  • If it comes on a frag plug and foam float, gently hold the plug between your thumb and index finger and pull it out along with the foam. Then push the base of the plug upward through the foam to remove it.

  • If it’s loose in the bag, be gentle and avoid touching or damaging any soft tissue.

  1. Placement in Your Tank
    Place the coral in a lower light and low flow area of your tank for the first few days to help it settle in and avoid light shock, the low flow will encourage the polyps to fully extend.

  2. Securing the Coral
    Use coral glue or epoxy to attach the frag to your rockwork, or place it securely on your frag rack.Ultra Corellamorph - Interstella Morph Coral WYSIWYG Pup 2cm Ultra Corellamorph - Interstella Morph Coral WYSIWYG Pup 2cm Animals & Pet Supplies Ultra Corellamorph - Interstella Morph Coral WYSIWYG Pup 2cm Zeo Box Reef

FAQ

When will my order ship?

We ship orders out each Monday and Tuesday. Cut off time are Midnight Sunday or Monday. We may postpone shipments to the following week if we are advised by our shipping partner of delays or on public holidays. Information regarding tracking will be emailed once your order has shipped.

Is it possible to collect my order in person?

Customers have the option of picking up their orders locally by selecting the local pickup option during checkout. Upon placing an order, we will reach out to you within 24 hours to schedule a collection time. The pickup location is situated in Kingsgrove NSW.

Collections Times:

Weekdays - 9am - 2pm

Weekends - 9am -12pm

If required, we can arrange for collections outside of the above times as well.

In the event that my corals arrive deceased, what is the course of action?

To be eligible for our Arrive Alive Guarantee, it is necessary to send us well-defined pictures of the coral in its shipping container, within 2 hours of Star Track delivery time, via email at info@zeoboxreef.com.au.

For further information regarding the Arrive Alive Guarantee policy and claims process, kindly refer to our Arrive Alive Guarantee page.

With which courier company will my order be shipped?

We use Star Track Premium Express Freight to ship all of our orders as we have found them to be the most dependable door-to-door courier service accessible. We assess their performance every month to ensure the swiftest delivery service at a sensible cost. Additionally, we provide same-day airport-to-airport shipping, more details can be found on our Airport to Airport shipping page.

I am worried about introducing parasites into my aquarium, what do you do to minimise risk?

We totally understand your concern! Pests and parasites are a common worry in reef keeping, but it's also part of the hobby—managing them is something every reef keeper faces at some point. At Zeo Box Reef, we take extra care to minimise any risks.Every coral we get in is carefully inspected and dipped before it even enters our systems. After that, we monitor them for about 2-4 weeks, checking their health, vitality, and colour to ensure they’re thriving. Only after we're confident in their condition do we offer them for sale.

We also don’t sell marine fish, which helps prevent any fish-related parasites from entering our systems. The few fish we do have have been with us for years, and they’re completely pest-free.

That said, while we inspect each coral before shipping, we can’t fully guarantee that every single pest is eliminated—especially since we do work with wild-collected corals. That’s why we always recommend dipping any new corals before adding them to your tank, just as an extra precaution. It's part of the reef-keeping experience, and being proactive helps keep your tank healthy in the long run!

Do I have to be present at home to receive my order?

No, it is not necessary to be present as all orders are marked with an "Authority to leave" notice. If a secure and safe location is not available on your property and the order cannot be left at your doorstep, such as in the case of apartment buildings, we suggest having your order delivered to your workplace.

Can I expect the coral I see online to match what I receive in my order?

Shopping for live coral for sale online can be a source of worry for reef hobbyists, who can never be entirely sure what will arrive in the mail. Will it resemble the coral they saw online? While there is no substitute for an in-person viewing of the coral, we offer What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) corals to alleviate concerns. Our WYSIWYG corals allow you to preview the actual coral fragment or colony before making a purchase. We take pride in photographing all our corals under Ecotech Radion G5 LED Light fixtures. We use professional-grade Full Frame DSLR cameras and lenses to capture the highest quality representation of the coral. We also provide multiple photos of the coral under different light spectrums, including full spectrum (white light) and heavy blue spectrum. We also offer size approximations for every coral in centimeters. This measurement is taken when the coral is fully expanded, providing you with a better understanding of the amount of space the coral will occupy in your aquarium.

What are the shipping costs?

  • Star Track Premium shipping service offers different rates based on the order amount.

  • Orders under $200 have a shipping cost of $45.
  • Orders $200 - $599 have a shipping cost of $33.
  • Orders $599 and over are shipped for free.

  • Same-day airport to airport shipping starts from $65. Lean more

How will my order be packaged?

Zeo Box Reef Aquaculture prides itself on being a leader in the industry for packaging and shipping corals. We have a meticulous approach to packaging methods to ensure that your order arrives in optimal condition. Our team carefully hand-picks and packs each order with great care. Coral fragments are placed in specially designed containers and secured using chemically inert foam floats. For larger corals, we use a double-bagging method and add activated carbon to achieve optimal water quality during shipping. To maintain the ideal temperature conditions during transit, we use thick-walled styrofoam boxes with heat/cold packs as needed. Our shipping options include door to door Star Track Premium freight or same day Airport-to-Airport delivery. Both options are fast and secure.