Standard Order Shipping

Standard Shipping Days and Time

Any order that we receive before 2:00 pm Monday – Friday Mountain Time will ship that day as long as we have everything you ordered in stock.Orders we receive over the weekend will ship on Monday.Larger orders (full systems, pallet's of grow media, grow beds, fish and sump tanks) could take up to a week to ship.We do not ship orders out on holidays where USPS or Fedex is closed.We will do everything to ship out the next business day.

Order Status

When your order is shipped out, tracking information is added to the order status.Login into your account to review your order, get tracking information and determine when the shipment will be delivered.

How are shipping rates calculated?

Web application software is used to connect our website to FEDEX and USPS.Information about the weight and dimensions are exchanged as well as the pickup point and the destination.The shipping carrier then returns the shipping information to the website specific to your order.We only charge you what the carrier charges us.

What if the shipping rates seem too expensive?

Please contact us to get a shipping rate quote.Sometimes there are errors in the website information exchange, or the shipping vendors provides incorrect information.If you feel like the amount is excessive, please give us a call and we will be happy to look into it for you and adjust the shipping price accordingly to get your order to you in the most cost effective manner.

Why not have free shipping on everything like Amazon or other vendors do?

Some of the vendors that promote free shipping often increase the price of the item to include that shipping charge.We try to keep prices as low as possible and just charge what the shipping carrier charges.

Does "Free Shipping" apply to everywhere you ship?

No.For items that are listed as Free Shipping this allowance only applies to the continental U.S.48 states.Sorry…it is just too expensive to ship to HI, AK, Puerto Rico and internationally.

Do you charge a handling charge?

We do not charge a handling charge, except on extremely fragile or extremely heavy items.We feel that is just a cost of doing business.Because of this, however, we try not to spend much money on packing materials and try to use recycled materials whenever possible.We are betting that you would rather have less cost than snazzy packing materials.

Which shipping providers do you use?

We offer a choice between Federal Express and the U.S.Postal Service.While this complicates our business, we feel it is important to offer a choice, especially for smaller, lighter items that may be shipped by the USPS at a lower cost.Please understand that your shipment is only insured and tracked with Federal Express and USPS Express.If you select other USPS services you assume all risk of damage and risk of the shipment not arriving at all.All shipments are considered "FOB shipping point", which means that you pay shipping cost, select the shipper and assume responsibility for the goods when they leave the our premises.We have NO control over the shipping carriers once it leaves our building.

Can I use my own Fed Ex or UPS account instead of yours?

Sometimes our customers ask to use their own Fed Ex accounts because they think they will save money on shipping.In our experience this is rarely the case because we do a high volume of shipping with Fed Ex, so get preferential pricing that we pass directly on to our customers.Plus, it is additional work for us because we need to refund the shipping from your order and process your shipping outside of our normal shipping software.Based on this we will no longer ship using outside account numbers.

How soon will I get my Aquaponic Source order?

Please allow up to 10 business days for USPS Parcel Post delivery
Fed Ex ground and USPS Priority Mail shipments typically take 3 – 5 days
International shipments can take 15 – 30 days for Priority Mail, and 7 – 14 days for Express Mail.
Expedited 2-day delivery service is available for domestic shipments only.

Freight Shipping

What is Freight Shipping

Any product that is too big or too heavy (over 50 lbs) to be shipped by Federal Express, UPS or the U.S.Postal Service must be shipped on a freight truck.We always take into consideration the most effective way to get the shipment to your address based on cost, time, product and delivery options.

When shipping by freight you pay by the pallet.A pallet is generally a 40″ x 48″ wooden structure that the product is stacked on top of, and then everything on the pallet is wrapped to keep it stable.The more items and the heavier the items on your shipment the lower the overall cost.For example it is less expensive to ship a fish tank and 20 bags of expanded clay growing media, than it is to ship an empty tank.Large light weight things get charged more than heavy things.

We use a wide variety of freight shipping carriers which specialize in delivering products from our warehouse to your location.When possible, we will work with our vendors to dropship products from regional distribution centers around the U.S.

What Effects the Freight Rates?

When ordering via the website or using a custom quote from one of our team members, we will ask you about delivering to your location.Rates can change substantially based on:

• Home delivery – Freight carriers have to change to a small truck to deliver to a house, since neighborhoods have various limitations on semi-trucks.Therefore home delivery can cost a bit more and take additional time.
• Rural delivery – Freight carriers typically delivery to larger cities.Therefore they will change over to a local carrier to take a delivery out to a rural area which can take longer and cost a bit more.
• Lift gate service – This means the tailgate of the truck can be lowered to the ground to roll the pallet off of the truck.Unless the pallet can be hand unloaded, a fork lift, loading dock or lift gate will be necessary.Lift gate service often means that the freight company has to change trucks, and usually costs an additional $75-$100.
• Business or school delivery – Typically the least expensive option if the business or school has a parking lot that a full sized semi-truck can pull into.Rates will be the lowest if there is a fork lift or loading dock available to unload the pallet(s).

Freight Damages Policy

While we don't expect damage to your shipment, it sometimes happens.When your shipment arrives please inspect it before signing off with the trucker.Freight damageMUSTbe documented on the Bill of Lading (BOL) at the time of delivery – we cannot be held responsible for damaged item claims that are not noted on the BOL.If there is visible damage, digital photos of the damages are highly recommended and should be sent to us within 48 hours so we can report them to the carrier.If you unwrap the shipment and find damages that were concealed at the time of delivery those also need to be documented and reported to us within 48 hours of delivery.We will work with you to repair or replace damaged items but please understand that most freight companies will only compensate on a reduced level of damages for anything not noted on the Bill of Lading.

If you still have questions about how this works please send us an email at info@theaquaponicsource.com or call 855-285-4252 and we would be happy to answer them!

International Shipping

Do you offer International shipping?

Yes we do!We ship most of our products internationally, except to the counties on this list – click here.We do not ship live products such as insects and worms and some of our drop shipped items to foreign countries.International shipments are only with USPS.We highly recommend USPS Express Mail International (EMI) over USPS Priority.
USPS EMI estimated delivery time is 7-14 business days.
USPS Priority estimated delivery time is 15-30 days.
USPS EMI is the more reliable, expedited, traceable, and insurable service to almost every country.
USPS priority while less expensive than EMI, is slower, less traceable and less reliable.
TRACKING INFORMATION IS ONLY AVAILABLE IF YOU SELECT EXPRESS SHIPPING.

Both service types have individual country limitations for weight and dimensions.Should your shipment not fall within the size or weight limitations of your selected service type, we may split your shipment into two shipments to fit within the size or weight limitations of your selected service type.If your shipment is not able to be split, then we will attempt to ship via the alternate USPS service type and will notify you of the additional charges, if necessary.USPS country specific and service type specific weight and size limitations can be found on the USPS website.

Do you ship to my country?

For a variety of reasons, including import and export regulations, we are not able to ship to the following countries.

ALGERIA