Our address for shipping the Triton Lab water tests, is: 7028 Valjean Ave, Lake Balboa CA 91406
1) Will your corals look like they do in your pictures?
Yes! We are fanatical about making sure that the photos accurately represent how the corals look to the naked eye. That means that we are not over-saturating the color or pushing tons of blue into the pics to get ridiculously glowing bright color. We let the zooxanthellae inside the coral tissue do that!
2) How large are your coral frags?
We try to accurately state (or shall we say, understate at times) the sizes of our frags and WYSIWYG pieces. Since we are not a “chop shop”, we grow our frags to a minimum size before we offer them for sale. This provides our customers with a more consistently-sized, healthier coral.
3) Are your corals as encrusted as the ones shown in your photos?
You bet! We want to make sure that every frag is encrusted on the plug before it leaves our facility. The only fresh glue that comes out of Unique is on the fingers of our propagation crew each day!
4) Where is your WYSIWYG section?
We enjoy the experience of browsing through a full collection of corals, and stumbling on that one special piece, and thought you might, too. Unless noted otherwise, all corals on our website are WYSIWYG, and are found in our "Latest Arrivals" section, as well as in their appropriate categories (ie; SPS, LPS, etc.).
5) How often do you add new stuff?
We add new pieces to our collection 3 times a week, and ore for special promos or FlashSales! This means that there is always something new on our site!
6) I noticed that a coral that you always seem to have in stock is now gone. What gives?
Since we propagate and grow out many of our own corals, our supply is limited to what’s ready to ship (ie; fully encrusted/healed). When the current “crop” is sold out, we won’t offer the species again until we have enough inventory ready to ship. Bottom line: If we have it, and you like it…purchase it now!
7) You sell a lot of fishes that have reputation for being hard to feed. How do I know if the fish will eat?
All of our fishes are eating frozen and/or other prepared foods before they leave our facility. This includes Leopard Wrasses, Angelfish, and even Cardinalfish. In the case of the fishes from ORA, all of the fishes we receive have been eating prior to their arrival at Unique. We then take the time to acclimate, rest, observe, and feed all of our livestock before it is offered for sale.
8) Do you ship for Saturday delivery?
UPS charges a $15 surcharge for Saturday delivery. If you're not home to accept delivery, there is a possibility that the driver may take the package back to the shipper's hub, which could be disastrous for your livestock if the box sits around all weekend before being delivered again. Inclement weather on weekends also creates added risk, so to be quite honest, it's not our first choice. It is our official policy to NOT guarantee live delivery on weekends because of these potential perils. However, we will review each shipment on a case-buy-case-basis if something goes wrong.
9) I live in Southern California. Is it possible to come by your facility to pick up my order in person?
Yes! Simply call us and arrange a time to stop by to pick up your order. We can have it packed and ready to go. Although we are not a regular retail facility, we can accommodate these requests if made in advance.
10) Do you have other stuff that is not listed on the website?
We are constantly adding new items to our inventory. Our large facility gives us the ability to work with a lot of items that are propagated on site. New corals will be added as they are deemed ready for sale. If there is something you’re looking for that is not currently on our site, just ask!
11) How do I find out when new livestock is added?
The very best way to get the latest scoop on everything that we offer is to subscribe to our newsletter. You’ll get the latest word on livestock updates, news, and information on special offers only available to our subscribers! And, don’t forget to follow us on FB and IG for special features! And be sure to hit “like” if you enjoy what you see!
12) May I make a suggestion?
Of course! Simply call, email, or chat with us! We love feedback from our customers, and are constantly re-evaluating our practices, policies and inventory choices to give you the best possible experience! Being your most trusted choice for marine livestock is our top priority, and your comments an suggestions help us improve what we do.
13) The Acro you sent lost a few branch tips in shipping? What should I do? Will this harm the coral?
In most instances, slight fragmentation of the branch tips, although unfortunate, is not harmful to your Acro. Such imposed “fragmentation” happens in nature all the time. My suggestion is to observe the coral carefully in quarantine, and to even glue the little “microfrags” to rocks or plugs to see if they take.
14) What’s that little plastic tube of liquid that came with my corals? Phytoplankton culture?
We get this call often….It’s not food, ballast, or an alien genetic experiment. It’s a good old fashioned, low tech ice pack, which did its job and kept your corals cool during shipping. Just water your plants with it!
15) Do you have corals that aren’t on your website?
We have a ton of coral that's not on the website, just reach out to us with your wish item. Serious inquiries only please.
17) I'm in L.A. for vacation, a family holiday, Reef-a-Palooza, etc. Can I stop by your facility?
Sure, you’re welcome to stop by during regular business hours, M-F. Just call. Since we are more of a warehouse-type propagation facility, we are not really geared for a great walk-in customer experience, with everything clearly marked. Instead, you see thousands and thousands of corals in big old raceways…Kind of overwhelming, actually. We’re happy to have yo stop by our showroom, just let us know when you're planning to stop by.
18) How do I find out when you have sales?
Sign up for our newsletter on our home page! It will generally be a great tip-off for when we have those ridiculously fun sales and events!
19) What does “Stock Frag” mean?
Well, we are big believers in keeping costs affordable, and having “stock” items (corals that we always have on hand) that are pretty consistent in appearance across the board doesn't require us to photograph each and every piece, saving on time and labor over our WYSIWYG pieces, all of which are individually photographed. You’ll receive a coral similar to the one in the picture, with “WYSIWYG” quality. And, if they are on the site- they are always available. A win-win.
20) Can Joe come out and speak at my club event?
Shoot us an email and we can see if we can set up a date!
21) Do I have to sign for my UPS overnight air package when it arrives?
Nope. We do not ship packages with a signature required. However it is recommended you are at your residence or nearby to get the box inside ASAP. You should get email and text (if you opted in) alerts.
22) Will you cut me a frag of your (_________) Acropora and send it to me?
In a few weeks, sure. 99.9% of the time, you won’t be sent a fresh cut anything from us. Maybe as a local walk-in under duress…but that’s about it. We just won’t ship fresh cut, fresh glued corals. Their shipping survival rate is abysmal. We joke that the only fresh glued things that leave our facility are our own fingers.
23) Did you know the “u” in your logo is backwards?
Yup. So are all the letters, except for the “qu” and the “i”, which doesn’t have a “.” over it. Made you look, huh?
24) Are you open on weekends?
We are open 24/7, 365…online. We are generally not open on weekends. Some special arrangements can be made, please contact us.
25) What Lighting and Parameters Does Unique Corals Use?
At Unique Corals, we rely exclusively on Dalua Illumagic X4 LED lighting to power our systems. We are also testing some other lighting systems, more to come on that. Lighting intensity is tuned based on coral type:
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SPS corals: 300–500 PAR
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LPS & soft corals: 50–150 PAR
Our water chemistry is carefully matched to natural seawater levels, verified weekly with in-house Triton ICP testing. Any deficiencies identified are corrected using a custom single-bottle supplement blend dosed automatically. For stability, we run:
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Alkalinity: 9 dKH
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Specific gravity: 1.026
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Temperature: 78–79°F year-round
Strong water movement is just as important as lighting and chemistry. We achieve this with high-performance Panta Rhei pumps across the facility.
26) How do you program your pumps for flow?
A: For larger systems, the Panta Rhei software allows us to replicate tidal movements, alternating between incoming and outgoing flows with reversing directions. In smaller aquariums, we typically run pumps in cycles where flow ramps up to high intensity, then slows for 30–40 seconds. This mimics the rhythm of natural reefs while also reducing electricity usage.