Garf Order 10 SPS frags for $100 this week.

[R1Bill]

Hi All,

Just placed an order with Garf http://www.garf.org

I really needed the Red Epizoanthids http://www.garf.org/baja1/500red.html

Anyway, they normallly sell 5 SPS frags for $100. This week they have a special, 10 SPS for $100. thought you might want to know. I substituted the reds for 1 of the SPS frags. Let, y'all know how it comes out.

Bill

my wife is gonna kill me

[Emprr_Angl]

Mine didnt turn out very well. That picture is grossly overexaggerated. My colony of polyps have about 10polys and is about an inch long and maye a 1/4" wide......very very dissappointing.

Also, I'm noticing that they like lower light levels. The other morning they were all opened early in the morning when the sun was shining on the tank vs when the 4 vhos were on. Anyone else want to elaborate on this?

[MyUnderWaterWorld]

I too have order from them and am very dissapointed. Most of the frags are very tiny, I never got the colorful ricordia's they promise.

[wanareef]

GARF is like that - small frags or escape size as they call it and missing frags. Sorry to hear another reefer got took. They do have some really nice stuff that nobody else might have.

[R1Bill]

sorry your experience was bad. many folks slam GARF. but, i felt that:

1) they were the ONLY outfit that shipped me coral the right way.

2) ALL of the frags were alive, where most of the time only a few a alive when you get them.

3) ok, they are really small, but i did talk to them on the phone when i placed the order and i got EXACTLY what i asked for and all of the frags looked good. reefs are about patience, and 10 live healthy frags for $100 is still a deal.

4) there were no undesirables.

5) they stayed alive in my tank until i got lazy about water changes.

bill

[bgi]

My GARF experience was a mixed bag. I got 14 frags (10 for $100 plus 2 free for getting 10 plus 2 free for getting a clean-up crew).

Everything arrived alive delivered by DHL at 10:00 AM. The only loss was briareum. It expired after a few weeks. No problem for me because I have some taking over my nano already. Some frags took a few days to "wake up."

One waving hand frag had a problem: There were 6-7 small frags glued to a plug and none stayed put. I kept re-glueing them to rocks, but they would shrivel, fall off the glue and sit in the sand. Only one made it. The one that made it was larger: I glued it to a plug. Now it has more "hands" popping up at it's base. So out of 14, I have 13 left. Of these, all are growing except maybe the gorgonians. I can't tell if the gorgonians are growing. (I need to figure out what to feed them.)

The tank is kinda new, so I got all softies. Several frags are doubled in size already after only 6 weeks. The trick now is to figure out how to get them off the plug and onto a rock for permanent mounting.

My pearl jawfish loved the grunge. He used the larger shells and rubble to shore up the walls to his home.

I had no corals in the tank at the time. I knew what frags I was getting. Two of the gorgonians are very pretty - one is "killer" bright orange with deep red or orange polyps. The smallest frag was a mushroom less than 1/4" wide. It's finally starting to look like a shroom.

Here's the negative: I'm pretty sure that I got a case of white flatworms and clownfish gill parasites with the "GARF Grunge." The flatworms aren't an issue: They aren't the red kind that take over the tank. But I've lost four clowns. I've never had trouble keeping clowns. I'll not try another clown in that tank for several months to see if the parasites all expire. Then it's QT for the clown for a few weeks first.

[newerthannew]

I'd agree with the mixed bag, It was also interesting to find out that I am not the only one who got frags that wander (I thought it was just me), there specials are certainly the way to go, remember you'll lose some but the volume makes it fairly attractive still.

Tom

[Imaexpat2]

Out of about 40 frags (3 x 10 for 100.00, and about 10 individual corals ordered as a member all SPS except 5) purchased over the last 2 years I have had one that didnt survive(SPS) shipping and one that wandered (Briareum). Those frags are sure small, you will get no argument here from me, but then again they are 8.00-10.00 each so its kinda expected to be kinda small. But I have gotten a lot of freebies thrown in with my packages too that werent advertised, and I have got some eye popping corals as well too. They have happily offered to replace my two problem corals on my next order but I have been happy enough with what I got to not really feel like pushing the issue. In the two years I have used them I have found that the only way to conduct buisness is over the phone to a real live human being.

Any time you add something to your tank there is always a possibility of adding a parasite or pest. Fortunately I havent experienced this yet, although my LFS has hooked me up more than a few times though! The GARF Grunge is excellent although a bit steep price wise. Got some in all 7 of my tanks (300-10 gallons) and I couldnt imagine starting another tank with out a few pounds. I have used the GARF Grunge light and found it to be excellent too. 15 of the 18 mangroves I have purchased have came from GARF too.

I think they are about as good as any online supplier dispite the small frags and have several really good products to offer. Customer service has been great in my experience. I just wish they had a little more to offer live stock wise and advertised it more.

I do hate the hidious plugs they put the corals on though. The SPS will break off at the bases quiet readily at least they have for me so far. Most of the others (softies) have to be cut off for the most part. For things like the Gorgonians I have had to take a chisel to the plug and work it down to a small fragment to then be glued to the rock of my choosing , but that is kinda of a pain to do. Thats about all I can suggest for getting the corals off the plugs...

[bgi]

Chiseling the plug away - that's one strategy I have in mind. I also think I can just crush the plug with a huge pair of channellock pliers I have.

I thought the plugs were kinda nice, initially, because:

1) They make shipping easy and safe - GARF attaches the plugs to styrofoam blocks for protection with rubber bands. My frags were well-packed.

2) I didn't have any idea what I had, how large or fast they would grow, where I wanted to mount anything, so I just stuck the plugs in the sand in the front of my tank while I studied them. The plugs are great for this. They stay where you put them and are easy to handle.

The nanoscopic mushroom is turning out to be very pretty : bright greens and reds.

This gorgonian is really nice. The colors are subdued in the photo. The orange is more intense.

[bgi]

One of the waving hands a week or so after arrival, then after a comple months, and today: