Lotus Pods
Lotus Pods are an excellent naturalistic decoration and buffering item for the freshwater aquarium!
Lotus Pods are ideal decor for blackwater tanks as well as many other setups, providing shelter to fry and small species of shrimp, crabs, crayfish, snails, and fish while maintaining a natural look in the aquarium. They also serve as an ideal growth medium for biofilm and diatoms, both of which are key food sources to countless aquatic animal species, including shrimp and other invertebrates as well as fish.
Lotus Pods also have buffering qualities. As they decompose, they release tannins (tercatin, punicalin, punicalagin) that lower the pH of the aquarium, but at a gradual rate. This is particularly beneficial for aquatic animals that require acidic, low-pH water. Lotus Pods can also be used sparingly in high-pH setups as well, especially when their pH-lowering quality is counteracted with pH-raising decor such as lace rock and dried coral.
Our Lotus Pods are sourced from 100% pesticide and chemical-free areas and are safe to add directly to the aquarium. These pods can be allowed to decompose in the aquarium. Lotus Pods may float initially, but can be weighed down and boiled to make them sink immediately in the aquarium. Do not use rocks to weigh them down when boiling since rocks can explode when boiled. However, other heavy decor can be used to initially weigh Lotus Pods down until they become waterlogged.
Lotus Pods range from 3-4 inches (7 - 10cm)
If you are looking for other botanicals, we offer a variety of other natural leaf litter for your aquarium.
We ship all of our packages out of our warehouse located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
UPS 2 Day is a premium service that has two day delivery to nearly every address in the United States.
UPS 1 Day is an overnight service to all continental addresses. We have been able to negotiate excellent rates with UPS, and our longtime customers will notice a 25%-60% savings when compared to our previous overnight shipping service.
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- Dry Goods Only Shipping
Dry goods will ship for FREE if you spend $50. There will be an $8 shipping fee for dry goods for any amount less than a subtotal of $50 on dry good only orders.
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- Shipping Details
UPS 2 Day and UPS 1 Day is a description of the shipping time and service. Please refer below for up to date handling times. Using UPS 2 Day and 1 Day does not guarantee the package will be shipped on the second or next day from which the order was placed.
All of our packages are shipped via UPS 2 Day or 1 Day if animals are included in the order. USPS is an option for dry goods and plants only.
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- Shipping Rates
Shipping rates will vary based on shipping service, how far the package has to travel from our location in Indiana, and how big the package is. We currently offer three shipping price rate tiers for small, medium, and XL size packages. All rates are calculated automatically at checkout.
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- Extreme Cold Shipping Advisory
Winter temperatures are here and parts of the country may be too cold for us to safely ship using UPS 2 Day Shipping services. If the overnight lows in your location or here in Indianapolis, IN where we are located are too cold, we will suspend shipping as needed for the safety of our animals and your investment. (we reserve the right to hold an order in extreme weather if we deem it is unsuitable to ship for the safety of the animals) You may always contact our Customer Service team via email at info@AquaticArts.com with any questions or concerns.
Delays in shipping may occur when temperatures in shipping destinations or here in Indianapolis, Indiana where we are located reach 90 degrees or more, overnight lows are 30 degrees or below, or when postal holidays occur for both UPS and USPS shipments. The temperature cut offs for UPS 1 Day are above 110 degrees or overnight temperatures are below 20 degrees. We will send you an email when we print your shipping label, and that will be the day we ship your order out. This email will include your tracking number as well. Your package should take 2 days to arrive after that if you chose UPS 2 Day or if you chose UPS 1 Day your order would arrive the next day after shipment. If your order contains only plants or dry goods then your order may ship with USPS if that is the shipping option you chose at check
- Our Normal Shipping Schedule by Carrier
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- Current handling time is 1-9 business days
- Pricing is by size of package needed to fill order and distance it must travel. It will be calculated at checkout.
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- PO Boxes We do not ship Live Animals to PO Boxes. If you enter a PO Box address during checkout, you will receive a message that says: "There are no shipping methods available for your cart or destination".
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- Handling Time
Our current handling time is 1-9 business days, although they can occasionally be longer. If you order with UPS 1 Day (which is STRONGLY recommended during the winter as well as summer), your package will almost certainly ship within 1-9 business days. The only exception would be if temperatures are too extreme to safely ship the animals out. The handling time for a UPS 2 Day order is variable based on outside temperatures, postal holidays, and the size of the order. During the summer and winter, UPS 2 Day orders as well as USPS orders may have significant delays (up to 60 days in severe cases) before we can ship them to you due to extreme temperatures. (we reserve the right to hold an order in extreme weather if we deem it is unsuitable to ship for the safety of the animals).
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- Final Note
Orders are shipped in our choice of boxes in order to custom fit each order so shipping rates can very pending on what exactly is ordered. UPS rates are based on size of package needed to ship an order, distance the package must travel, total weight of the package and which UPS shipping service is being used. We will also include heat packs or cooling packs with orders when temperatures warrant a heat pack or cooling pack to be included at no cost to you.
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In the event of any problems with your shipment, please CONTACT US via email at info@AquaticArts.com - We will be happy to help!
All orders come with our 100% Live Arrival Guarantee at no charge. You can read more about that HERE, on our Live Arrival Guarantee page.
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