Shipping Cost
For UPS Ground Shipments to the continental United States, shipping costs are added based on your order total: 
 

Estimated Shipping Times
Please take a look at the estimated shipping times map for information regarding delivery times for standard shipping. Please note that these times are from the time your order is shipped until it is delivered, these times do not include processing times. 

Special Handling
Some items such as chillers, sand, salt, and water pumps have additional shipping charges per item. These items are marked noted in the product detail view. This enhanced shopping cart is able to calculate express shipping rates much more accurately. This will reduce the chances of order processing delays and you should also benefit from lower shipping costs.

Most fluorescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs carry additional shipping. On the pages where these items are purchased, the additional shipping costs are listed. Please select one of these options. The shipping costs you select will be in addition to the Shipping Costs in the table above.

Free Shipping Promo
Desert Coral Aquatics is currently offering a promotion where we will ship most orders of $250.00 or more of non-sale items via UPS/DHL Ground for free. Discounted shipping on all other orders. This promotion is subject to the following Terms and Exclusions:

• This offer is valid only on orders within the continental United States. In other words, this offer only applies to areas in UPS's zones two through eight.
• This promotion does not apply to livestock or live rock orders.
• This promotion does not apply to orders which must be shipped in an over-sized box or are particularly heavy such as chillers, external water pumps, metal halide magnetic ballasts, DIY kits and substrate/sand. Any item that has an addional shipping charge will be billed.
• Since fluorescent bulbs require special handling and packaging, we will only ship fluorescent bulb orders of 4 or more bulbs free of shipping cost. 46.5" and longer bulbs are shipped free only if 6 or more bulbs are ordered.
• On returns, the shipping charges we pay to ship the items out will not be refunded back.

These exclusions exists because we want to continue providing this promotion. There are many items where the profit margins are very low to stay competitive with our competitors; and offten do not cover costs. We still try to discount shipping as much as we can on these items. However, this is completely at Desert Coral Aquatics discretion.

Delivery Methods
Online orders are generally processed within 24-48 hours Monday thru Friday, on all in-stock items. Backordered, drop shipped, custom-made and/or special ordered merchandise may take slightly longer to ship out. In the event of such a delay, an email message will be sent ot inform you of the potential delay in processing of your order.

Desert Coral Aquatics ships to the contiguous United States via UPS/DHL Ground and offers 2Day or Overnight service via FedEx/UPS/DHL Air. Orders shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Puerto Rico are sent via USPS and may not include livegoods, refrigerated/frozen merchandise or aquariums. APO and FPO orders are also shipped via USPS. Please note that Desert Coral Aquatics does not ship to P.O. Boxes.

Saturday Delivery:
If you so choose, you may have your package arrive on a Saturday. Please call us at 1-877-792-6725 to request a Saturday delivery, otherwise shipments arrive on weekdays. UPS does not deliver on weekends and holidays.

Back-order Items:
Back-order items will be shipped via ground service at no additional cost as soon as the item(s) are available. Shipping upgrades for the back-order items are available for an extra fee.

Refusing Packages:
If the shipment is refused or marked “returned to shipper” by UPS/DHL/FedEx, we will receive the packages back then issue a credit to the customer minus a 30% restocking fee. If not all items are refused, then only the items received back will be credited.

Leaving Packages without Signature:
UPS or FedEx sends tracking information to you via email. On the day that your order is scheduled for delivery, you can leave a note on the door instructing the driver to leave the package without obtaining a signature. Please note that this does depend on the specific driver and some will not leave the package. You may also contact your local UPS or FedEx office to file a signature waiver for all packages delivered to your home.

Tracking Numbers
Tracking numbers for each day's shipped orders are automatically emailed in the evening. If a tracking number is not working, please give us a call at 1-877-792-6725.

Missing Items
Check the amount of tracking numbers you should have received. Verify you have received all boxes and checked all packing material for small items. Check your invoice to verify that the item missing is not on back-order. Desert Coral Aquatics will add a note on your invoice next to the item that is back-ordered to advise you of the back ordered item. Sometimes a package gets separated from its order and does not get scanned by FedEx or UPS right away. Either way, give it a week to see if all the items on your order arrive. If not, give us a call and we will start a tracer with FedEx or UPS for the lost package.

Damaged Items
If your merchandise arrives damaged, please contact us within 24 hours of arrival. All damage claims must be filed with your carrier, you are required to keep all packing material and damaged items for inspection (if required). We are more than happy to provide you with full assistance in this unlikely event. Please note that orders cannot be returned, cancelled, or rejected due to shipping delays unless express service was requested at the time of ordering.

If a package is damaged by UPS, FedEx, or DHL, Desert Coral Aquatics will file the claim with the carrier.

If a package is damaged via USPS, the customer will file the claim with the carrier. Desert Coral Aquatics recommends against using USPS as a carrier due to the high difficulty, complexity, and variation in the claims process.

Please contact Desert Coral Aquatics via email at cs@desertcoralaquatics.com or call us at 1-877-792-6725 ASAP. Desert Coral Aquatics will start a UPS or FedEx Damaged Items Claim, and Desert Coral Aquatics will ship out a replacement for you right away.