We have some EXCITING news to share...

[Marine Depot]

GOLDEN VALLEY, MN., Aquatic Sales Solutions, LLC (dba Bulk Reef Supply) or “BRS”, the eCommerce leader in saltwater aquarium supplies has acquired California-based Marine Depot.

The Marine Depot website will continue to operate fully, including taking customer orders, until July 30, 2021. At which time, the site will be folded into BRS with all website traffic being redirected to BRS (bulkreefsupply.com).

BRS is committed to ensuring Marine Depot customers are well supported during this transition. BRS will do so through the following initiatives:
 

Honoring all Marine Depot gift cards at Bulk Reef Supply

Transferring of loyalty reward points to a BRS account

Honoring the Marine Depot return policy for orders placed prior to June 23, 2021 (all sales on or after June 23, 2021, at Marinedepot.com are final)

Assisting with warranty support for qualifying orders.

Maintaining the Marine Depot long-standing blog & YouTube channel, popular among aquarists worldwide.

Keeping a strict focus on providing quality saltwater aquarium equipment.

Continuing to stock & support popular brands like AquaMaxx.

 

Check out the Official Press Release for more information.

[Zer0]

Damn this sucks, you guys were great. Sad day for the saltwater industry. And now a possible BRS monopoly funded by Bertram Capital? Doesn’t sound so great for consumers.

 

And didn’t you guys just roll out a new website just a couple months ago? 

[Kellie in CA]

I like BRS too, but was sad to hear this.  Marine Depot has been my go-to since I started in the hobby 18 years ago, and it's local so I was able to get things quickly.   

[ninjamyst]

I prefer MD over BRS.  Sad news.  I thought MD was bigger than BRS....surprised to see this take over.  What will happen to your AquaMaxx line???  Can you teach BRS to make a better website before you guys close?  

[Zer0]

27 minutes ago, ninjamyst said:

I prefer MD over BRS.  Sad news.  I thought MD was bigger than BRS....surprised to see this take over.  What will happen to your AquaMaxx line???  Can you teach BRS to make a better website before you guys close?  

BRS claims they will still stock the AquaMaxx line as per their press release.

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

I have always been a vendor ordering from MD when I founded my small company in 2012.  They have two warehouses that I have always liked, Nevada and Georgia.  BRS is in Minnesota so I always went with MD and they had stuff I needed that BRS didn't.  However, I love the BRS TV and we all got use to the cool educational 5 min videos that find solutions via Bryan.  I hope BRS supports my paperwork from MD so, that I can continue to order the stuff I need from them.

[Tamberav]

Sad news 😞 MD carries unique items that I foresee BRS eventually phasing out. 
 

Also MD sponsors many of our contests and our photo of the month and supports nano-reef. I never see BRS do such a thing as they are too busy with reef2reef. That may be the end to some of those fun things here. Hope I am wrong and the sponsorship continues. 
 

I also foresee people losing their jobs as well.

[Marine Depot]

16 hours ago, Zer0 said:

Damn this sucks, you guys were great. Sad day for the saltwater industry. And now a possible BRS monopoly funded by Bertram Capital? Doesn’t sound so great for consumers.

 

And didn’t you guys just roll out a new website just a couple months ago? 

While this may not have been the solution you were expecting, we are looking forward to combining our expertise to improve the reefing community. We are hoping that this change will allow us to give customers the best possible experience going forward. We thank you for your support and hope that we can continue to fulfill your needs within the hobby.

[Marine Depot]

15 hours ago, ninjamyst said:

I prefer MD over BRS.  Sad news.  I thought MD was bigger than BRS....surprised to see this take over.  What will happen to your AquaMaxx line???  Can you teach BRS to make a better website before you guys close?  

Thank you for the kind words. Rest assured that BRS will continue to offer the AquaMaxx line in addition to many of our other previously exclusive product lines. We look forward to serving you on BRS!

[Marine Depot]

16 hours ago, Kellie in CA said:

I like BRS too, but was sad to hear this.  Marine Depot has been my go-to since I started in the hobby 18 years ago, and it's local so I was able to get things quickly.   

Thank you for your kindness and continued support. Our main goal is to continue to improve the reefing community however we can and we look forward to earning your support on BRS!

[seabass]

I can't help feeling like we're losing something unique, even if the changes aren't that dramatic and the product lines continue.  Don't get me wrong, I like both Marine Depot and Bulk Reef Supply, and I'm pretty sure the marriage will be executed fairly seamlessly.  However, I look at past mergers like Petco and Drs. Foster & Smith; and while Live Aquaria was mostly left to continue as they were, it somehow seems to have changed a bit (maybe it was the level of commitment from the doctors).

 

I wish you guys all the best of luck!  And I'm sure I will continue to enjoy the educational videos and reviews, as well as purchasing quality products and appreciating the excellent customer service that both companies have provided in the past.

[Marine Depot]

15 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

I have always been a vendor ordering from MD when I founded my small company in 2012.  They have two warehouses that I have always liked, Nevada and Georgia.  BRS is in Minnesota so I always went with MD and they had stuff I needed that BRS didn't.  However, I love the BRS TV and we all got use to the cool educational 5 min videos that find solutions via Bryan.  I hope BRS supports my paperwork from MD so, that I can continue to order the stuff I need from them.

Thank you for your support and we have no doubts that BRS will honor the great commitment to service that you have come to expect from Marine Depot's wholesale team. For more information along with how to submit an application please take a look at the BRS Wholesale Inquiries Page.

[Andy7]

I'm not even remotely happy about this, I avoid ordering from BRS at all costs. After them failing at something so simple as properly using the address I provide them with on multiple orders, including a tank and light I detest doing buisness with them. Marine Depot will be very missed by me, faster shipping, more varieties of products and great prices. A sad day for the hobby IMO.

[Murphs_Reef]

I don't care. I'm in the UK and would have to set up a forwarding address in the US to get anything as well as use PayPal.. it's 2021 btw.. 

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

15 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Sad news 😞 MD carries unique items that I foresee BRS eventually phasing out. 
 

Also MD sponsors many of our contests and our photo of the month and supports nano-reef. I never see BRS do such a thing as they are too busy with reef2reef. That may be the end to some of those fun things here. Hope I am wrong and the sponsorship continues. 
 

I also foresee people losing their jobs as well.

I am almost sure that BRS is going to contact Chris and sponsor nanoreef.  If they were competitors in the past MD had this board covered from day 1 as you can see where there banner lies in the sponsor section.  In fact, I think they have two full banners that means they pay double digits.  BRS is going to make a presence here, I can almost guarantee that.  But before  that, they had no reason to come here to sponsor, doesn't make sense, but it does now!

 

Mergers can mean great and bad news, I know I experienced them 3 times same company for 15 years I was with one.  

 

BRS has capital they will sponsor many contest and head us is a positive direction. 

 

I myself have to renew my wholesale application with BRS, I opened one up but never used it since I was just use to MD and they filled all my orders quickly and efficiently.  I do enjoy BRS tv a lot, for news on new and past products and how they are evaluated.

 

I am hoping for the very best with BRS!  But mergers are always difficult as they have to keep old legends reputation at or above what are our expectations, any less is just that a mess!

 

 

[Marine Depot]

On 6/24/2021 at 2:46 AM, Tamberav said:

Sad news 😞 MD carries unique items that I foresee BRS eventually phasing out. 
 

Also MD sponsors many of our contests and our photo of the month and supports nano-reef. I never see BRS do such a thing as they are too busy with reef2reef. That may be the end to some of those fun things here. Hope I am wrong and the sponsorship continues. 
 

I also foresee people losing their jobs as well.

Although we might not be able to provide a one-for-one copy of sponsorship and support, we have always been happy to support various contests and giveaways via BRS donations. Anytime you would like to request a donation for one of these events, just shoot our donations rep a quick email at donations@bulkreefsupply.com with your request and they should get you taken care of.

[Tamberav]

16 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

I am almost sure that BRS is going to contact Chris and sponsor nanoreef.  If they were competitors in the past MD had this board covered from day 1 as you can see where there banner lies in the sponsor section.  In fact, I think they have two full banners that means they pay double digits.  BRS is going to make a presence here, I can almost guarantee that.  But before  that, they had no reason to come here to sponsor, doesn't make sense, but it does now!

 

Mergers can mean great and bad news, I know I experienced them 3 times same company for 15 years I was with one.  

 

BRS has capital they will sponsor many contest and head us is a positive direction. 

 

I myself have to renew my wholesale application with BRS, I opened one up but never used it since I was just use to MD and they filled all my orders quickly and efficiently.  I do enjoy BRS tv a lot, for news on new and past products and how they are evaluated.

 

I am hoping for the very best with BRS!  But mergers are always difficult as they have to keep old legends reputation at or above what are our expectations, any less is just that a mess!

 

 

We will see. I hope they do but we are a very small community and they are very busy elsewhere.
 

BRS recently was bought by a private equity group and shortly after the new videos on their YouTube channel have seemed to change. Whether that is related or not.. one can only speculate.
 

https://www.bertramcapital.com/news/2021-02-09-bertram-capital-announces-investment-in-bulk-reef-supply

 

So there is actually big changes going on in both companies.

 

[natalia_la_loca]

22 hours ago, Tamberav said:

We will see. I hope they do but we are a very small community and they are very busy elsewhere.
 

BRS recently was bought by a private equity group and shortly after the new videos on their YouTube channel have seemed to change. Whether that is related or not.. one can only speculate.
 

https://www.bertramcapital.com/news/2021-02-09-bertram-capital-announces-investment-in-bulk-reef-supply

 

So there is actually big changes going on in both companies.

 

Yup. Buy BRS, then absorb the competition so that your customer base has fewer options. Very EXCITING for the company owners and the equity firm. 

 

ngl, I love how this thread is responding to this EXCITING news