Refund & Return Policy

Live animals cannot be returned

For the safety of our livestock and the health of your aquarium, live animals cannot be returned for any reason. Once a fish, coral, or invertebrate leaves our facility and enters your care, reintroducing it to our systems would risk cross-contamination and disease spread.

If a live animal arrives in poor condition or deceased, our DOA policy and Live Arrival Guarantee apply instead. We do not accept live animal returns for buyer's remorse, tank incompatibility, or water parameter issues.

When refunds or credits apply

• DOA livestock — Full store credit or replacement under our DOA policy.
• Incorrect item shipped — If we send the wrong species or size, we will replace it at no cost and cover return shipping of the incorrect item if applicable.
• Defective equipment — If a pump, light, or piece of equipment arrives broken or non-functional, we will replace or refund it within 30 days of delivery.
• Cancelled pre-orders — Full refund if the order has not yet shipped. If already packed or in transit, standard shipping and DOA policies apply.
• Weather holds you cancel — Full refund if we held your shipment for weather and you choose to cancel rather than wait.
• Livestock on hold — Held livestock (up to 72 hours) is paid in full in advance; no refunds if fish become ill or perish during holding.

Non-livestock return rules

Equipment, dry goods, supplements, and non-living products may be returned under these conditions:

• Item must be unused, in original packaging, and in resalable condition.
• Return request must be submitted within 14 days of delivery.
• Customer pays return shipping unless the item was defective or incorrectly sent.
• Refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5–7 business days after we receive the return.
• Opened supplements, food, or chemicals cannot be returned for safety reasons.

Plants

Plants are not covered under the live arrival guarantee, but we want you to succeed:

• If a plant arrives severely damaged, rotted, or clearly diseased, contact us within 24 hours with photos for a partial or full store credit at our discretion.
• Minor melting, leaf loss, or color change after planting is normal transition behavior and is not covered.
• Plants cannot be returned. Credits are the only remedy for qualifying issues.

Store credit terms

Store credits issued for DOAs, plant issues, or returns are valid for 12 months from the issue date. Credits:

• Can be used on any item in our store, including livestock and dry goods.
• Apply to merchandise only. Store credit cannot be used for sales tax or shipping costs, which must be paid by card or PayPal.
• Website credit requires signing in; guest checkouts cannot use store credit.
• Cannot be exchanged for cash or transferred to another account.
• Are applied automatically at checkout when you are logged into the same account.
• Expire after 12 months with no extensions.

E-gift card termsTérminos de las tarjetas de regalo

• Use online at nexus-aquatics.com or in store for livestock, plants, dry goods, water, services and sales tax.
• Gift cards cannot be used to pay for shipping.
• Non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
• Non-transferable and cannot be resold.
• Balances cannot be reloaded or added to.
• More than one gift card can be used on an order.
• Refunds on items paid with a gift card go back to the gift card or store credit, never cash.
• Lost or stolen? Contact us: we deactivate the old code and reissue the unspent balance only. Spent amounts cannot be recovered.
• No expiration date and no fees. Treat your code like cash.

Check a gift card balanceConsultar saldo · Buy an e-gift cardComprar una tarjeta de regalo