# What is RR?



## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

What's it stand for?

I seen a lot of threads stating RR coral RR something RR that.. what is RR? a specific type of specialty? or it just come from the RR store in Mississauga?


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## bc1281 (Feb 25, 2012)

It refers to the store when your talking about corals. It also means "reef ready" when your talking about tanks.


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## Sea MunnKey (Oct 2, 2014)

Actually *RR* stands for *Reef Raf*t Canada ... one of GTA forum sponsors here.

They've been around for many years & one of the top & foremost corals retailers in North America


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

It's a store where you go in and nobody talks to you or knows you're there unless you flash money!!!

I went into Reef Raft 3 times with $500 in my pocket but nobody ever knew I was there or cared. When I asked to buy something the owner laughed...so I left.


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## goobafish (Jan 27, 2015)

It refers to a coral that was originally sourced from Reef Raft, an importer that distributes worldwide. Reef Raft has a Canadian location in Mississauga and is also affiliated with Reef Raft USA and Reef Raft Japan. They name many of the corals they import and aquaculture them to provide more of the same colourful variations.

They have a history of importing the most colourful and desirable corals, and subsequently they can be quite expensive.


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## Sea MunnKey (Oct 2, 2014)

Correction ... Reef Raft USA is definitely not affiliated with Reef Raft Canada & Reef Raft Asia (not Japan) at all.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

altcharacter said:


> It's a store where you go in and nobody talks to you or knows you're there unless you flash money!!!
> 
> I went into Reef Raft 3 times with $500 in my pocket but nobody ever knew I was there or cared. When I asked to buy something the owner laughed...so I left.


Sounds like you DID flash the money Alt and that still didn't get anybody's attention !! 
I unfortunately had a similar interaction with the owner - I won't be back - He doesn't want my business


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

Bullet said:


> I unfortunately had a similar interaction with the owner - I won't be back - He doesn't want my business


After what I experience, I will never step foot into this store. It been years I never go there, I prefer to spend my money with someone who welcome me as a customer. I do not understand people using the term RR when the corals are from the ocean, whoever RR is, did not create or manufactured it.


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## Mikeylikes (Nov 22, 2013)

Its all about the money and while the corals are nice ... they gouge you for them! If people are willing to pay for them why not .. capitalism at its best I guess.

I went there once as well and yep ... same experience. I did not exist !!


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## Rappyfly (Feb 3, 2012)

This is way too funny.



altcharacter said:


> It's a store where you go in and nobody talks to you or knows you're there unless you flash money!!!
> 
> I went into Reef Raft 3 times with $500 in my pocket but nobody ever knew I was there or cared. When I asked to buy something the owner laughed...so I left.


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## nc208082 (Jun 27, 2013)

I love Reef Raft, I've been going there for years and always get treated very well. I also rarely go in with very much money maybe 100$ max and I always get a great deal. Everyone I run into when I am there also gets served and never ignored so I am not sure why many of you do. 
In regards to price yes you can drop a ton of money there but you can also find tons of great deals.


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

nc208082 said:


> I love Reef Raft, I've been going there for years and always get treated very well. I also rarely go in with very much money maybe 100$ max and I always get a great deal. Everyone I run into when I am there also gets served and never ignored so I am not sure why many of you do.
> In regards to price yes you can drop a ton of money there but you can also find tons of great deals.


I guess you have given the impression that you are a rich guy and will spent any amount unlike us..... maybe we look cheap.


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## nc208082 (Jun 27, 2013)

I'm usually trying to find the cheapest stuff I doubt I give off the impression I am rich. LOL


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> I went into Reef Raft 3 times with $500 in my pocket but nobody ever knew I was there or cared. When I asked to buy something the owner laughed...so I left.


Maybe if you would have brought enough to actually buy a frag....


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## qualityshrimpz (Dec 15, 2009)

How much are their frags?


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## Rappyfly (Feb 3, 2012)

I had very uncomfortable feeling when I saw the store had a ATM there. With reopeing to retail purchase, I still dont feel the warm welcome feeling of the OLD second floor shop.

The prices will set the qualification about its customers, and from what I have read and saw, I am not their target customer anymore.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

I have been there twice since they came on board here. I didn't have an issue and I certainly don't look rich or act like I have tons of Money. I gave the 2 gentlemen there respect and they showed me the same. 

The stuff there is expensive, But there are others that sell coral in the area and they are just as expensive and everyone raves about their stuff.

I personally can't really say much about the other place. Because I have never been there and probably never will.

Everyone has different personalities and have good days and bad and if you meet them on the wrong day then you will be left with a poor impression and a good day a great impression.

My father used to say: "if you think everyone's an asshole then maybe it's you"


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

I don;t look like a rich guy at all and I have had good experiences there. I bought a pair of amazing Japanese Waspfish there, I lost one of them but I still have the other nearly 3 years later and it's one of my favourite fish! I think I am going to start calling it a RR Redfin Waspfish to raise my status... lol


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

My experience with RR was probably 4 years ago. So who knows, they might have changed!


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## Keith T (Sep 24, 2009)

Maybe just bad timing. Jay's always been good to me. I haven't spent a ton of money there either.
Keith


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## notclear (Nov 5, 2011)

It is now not uncommon corals with a store name prefix, like JF (jason Fox), WWC (World Wide Corals), Vivid, etc.


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## Sea MunnKey (Oct 2, 2014)

For some odd twist ... this has become a Bad & Good of RR's past experiences for some. This was basically a question about what the acronym "RR" was all about ...

I would give any lfs a benefit of the doubt as they're our sponsors of this GTA forum. They somehow subsidize or fund the forum. We should be honoured that RR Canada or any of the local sponsors here are part of our reefing community. 

The Americans are dying to even get a view of what we have readily available here plus they can't match our local pricing ...


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Almost Every other sponsor has been bashed on this forum. I think it's fair game here. I have yet to see anyone that hasn't been fair game. But I do understand that everyone has opinions and you know what they say about that...


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Sea MunnKey said:


> For some odd twist ... this has become a Bad & Good of RR's past experiences for some. This was basically a question about what the acronym "RR" was all about ...
> 
> I would give any lfs a benefit of the doubt as they're our sponsors of this GTA forum. They somehow subsidize or fund the forum. We should be honoured that RR Canada or any of the local sponsors here are part of our reefing community.
> 
> The Americans are dying to even get a view of what we have readily available here plus they can't match our local pricing ...


It's ok...

I had pretty good experience with RR and they offered pretty cheap fish in the past, I remember they sell Purple Rhinopias for $299!!!


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## Yellowtang (May 26, 2015)

*What is R.R.*

I've never had a bad experience at Reef Raft and I have been going to his store since he had been running it out of his apartment. They always bring in a great selection of corals and fish. They have redone the inside of the store and I find it's worth the drive.


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## zoapaly (Jul 10, 2013)

Yellowtang said:


> I've never had a bad experience at Reef Raft and I have been going to his store since he had been running it out of his apartment. They always bring in a great selection of corals and fish. They have redone the inside of the store and I find it's worth the drive.


+1 ...best lfs with high end corals


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Sea MunnKey said:


> For some odd twist ... this has become a Bad & Good of RR's past experiences for some. This was basically a question about what the acronym "RR" was all about ...
> 
> I would give any lfs a benefit of the doubt as they're our sponsors of this GTA forum. They somehow subsidize or fund the forum. We should be honoured that RR Canada or any of the local sponsors here are part of our reefing community.
> 
> The Americans are dying to even get a view of what we have readily available here plus they can't match our local pricing ...


This is a forum board not a comercial enterprise. Members are absolutely free to talk about their experiences and opinions of LFS regardless of wether they are sponsors or not.

I am glad RR is a sponsor here and I am very glad they are in our city!


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## aquatic_expressions (Mar 17, 2006)

bigfishy said:


> What's it stand for?
> 
> I seen a lot of threads stating RR coral RR something RR that.. what is RR? a specific type of specialty? or it just come from the RR store in Mississauga?


RR can mean lots of things from Reef Ready, Reef Raft, Rich Reefer, and other things.

On this forum if it is regarding an aquarium it is referring to reef ready and if it is regarding a coral it is referring to Reef Raft.

This acronym is meant specifically to lineage specific corals.

Lot of people claim this is just a hype to sell the same coral for a higher price tag, which in some cases is true but in others it isn't.

I personally love corals from Reef Raft they seem to be more colourful. Now the corals all come from the ocean but the difference is in the supplier and if corals are hand selected. A perfect example is Reef Raft and NAFB.

I spoke to the owner and the son from NAFB and NAFB said that they have the exact same supplier that Reef Raft uses. Now I'm not stating that this is true or false but why do the quality of coral between these two store differ so much?

It just doesn't make sense if the suppliers are the same that the difference in quality is so huge. One can say that the housing and presentation of the coral is a reason and it might be to a degree but I have purchased similar corals from both store and I favour Reef Raft.

I find that NAFB is the store to go to if you are new in the hobby or a service guy looking to fill an aquarium for cheap. I find that Reef Raft is the place to go if you are looking for gems or cherry picked corals and don't mind paying a little more.

Reef Raft have built a reputation on a world wide scale for bringing in some of the nicest pieces not only to our aquariums but to aquariums in all of North America and even to Asia.

Lot of stores and private sellers make wholesale purchases from Reef Raft and then resell it. 
The difference now in my opinion is that reef Raft wants a bigger piece of the pie. So now they sell retail. Can you blame him? Especially when certain store will buy the same coral from Reef Raft at a discount and then mark it up 100000000000x more! OK maybe not that much but you get the picture. Lot of people are eating because of the name alone.

I personally like Jay he is a very nice guy and for the most part is fair. What I know he doesn't like are low ballers and time wasters, which im sure we can all agree we dont like either, and unfortunately in this hobby we have a lot of those. Please don't misconstrue my words in thinking that the people that have had bad experiences were low ballers or time wasters. But at the end of the day every shop owner is human and as we all know we have good days and bad days.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*reef raft*

been following this thread .. trying to stay out of it cause at the end of the day we all crave amazing looking corals ... 
been in his store a few times and pretty much the same treatment not sure if it was deliberate or just couldn't care ...my choice to not go back ,I like being chatted too , like stores or places where u can discuss passion of the hobby...
also have heard from friends that they love the store and get treated with nothing but respect ...
its not the only store out there that couldn't give a crap if u walked in or not ...
these stores are just not on my gotta go to stores .again my choice my loss or is it his loss ....


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## deeznutz (Aug 21, 2013)

RR=Da Shiznit!

Remember you have to pay for nice things, this is consistent across all industries, not just coral.

Nice car-pay more!
Nice house-pay more!
Nice tv-pay more!

I think Jay's awesome guy and he gets really excited when you ask him to show you something bad ass. I'm not sure about everyone else but I hate it when people waste my time. 

If you have a budget, tell him. "Hey man, I'm looking for a unique monti, I only got about $100 to spend. Whatcha got?"

Just my $0.02, hope it's enough lol.


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

deeznutz said:


> If you have a budget, tell him. "Hey man, I'm looking for a unique monti, I only got about $100 to spend. Whatcha got?"


Jay's response: Next door! Please!


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## zoapaly (Jul 10, 2013)

bigfishy said:


> Jay's response: Next door! Please!


 Jay say....here green monti for $100 )


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

zoapaly said:


> Jay say....here green monti for $100 )


Sure! If Jay offer me this green monti colony for $100, I'd buy it INSTANTLY! 

It's a reverse sunset, but it's still green base!  Green monti to me!


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## zoapaly (Jul 10, 2013)

bigfishy said:


> Jay's response: Next door! Please!





bigfishy said:


> Sure! If Jay offer me this green monti colony for $100, I'd buy it INSTANTLY!
> 
> It's a reverse sunset, but it's still green base!  Green monti to me!


For sure 100 dollars still get a nice monti , Jay very nice guy


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## notclear (Nov 5, 2011)

I sold a smaller one not long ago, under $100 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## deeznutz (Aug 21, 2013)

bigfishy said:


> deeznutz said:
> 
> 
> > If you have a budget, tell him. "Hey man, I'm looking for a unique monti, I only got about $100 to spend. Whatcha got?"
> ...





zoapaly said:


> bigfishy said:
> 
> 
> > Jay's response: Next door! Please!
> ...


Lol that is too funny.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

bigfishy said:


> Sure! If Jay offer me this green monti colony for $100, I'd buy it INSTANTLY!
> 
> It's a reverse sunset, but it's still green base!  Green monti to me!


 If you want mine you can have it for $100... lol


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## Patwa (Jan 30, 2014)

altcharacter said:


> It's a store where you go in and nobody talks to you or knows you're there unless you flash money!!!
> 
> I went into Reef Raft 3 times with $500 in my pocket but nobody ever knew I was there or cared. When I asked to buy something the owner laughed...so I left.


LOL.... really? So you walked in, got "ignored" ....and then you actually looked Jay in the face and said "I want to buy something" and Jay laughed? There must be more to the story...were you being sarcastic/smug when you told him you wanted to _buy_ something? were you being the "altcharacter" I've come to know so well (by reading your posts over the past couple years?) ...coz I would have laughed and ignored you as well, for reels.



goobafish said:


> They have a history of importing the most colourful and desirable corals, and subsequently they can be quite expensive.


RR was the first company in North America to import the Aussie Acans. The Aussie Acan craze started with RR - I remember greasy American chop-shops lining up on shipment days shoulder to shoulder with me, just so they could snag a piece and take it back home to sell at crazy inflated prices.

It was this Aussie coral connection that really served to skyrocket the Reef Raft/RR "brand" to a household name in the reef world we know now.



Bullet said:


> Sounds like you DID flash the money Alt and that still didn't get anybody's attention !!
> I unfortunately had a similar interaction with the owner - I won't be back - He doesn't want my business


I've met you before, right? Sam? You're a super nice chap from what I recall... I would suggest you go back if you can. Maybe it was a misunderstanding? Maybe Jay had a bad day!....he does want your money! 

FWIW, Jay never had the social/chatty skills in the same way his brother Jensen did. I always found it easier to approach Jensen instead of Jay. That said, these days with Jay in charge, it's still a nice experience.

give them another try!



loonie said:


> I do not understand people using the term RR when the corals are from the ocean, whoever RR is, did not create or manufactured it.


I don't get this comment....seems moot and irrelevant. RR isn't creating or manufacturing anything beyond their "brand". They do aquaculture their own RR corals via their Indo supplier, from what I recall, though.

ReefRaft "brands" their product. In the same way FragCave and Big Reef and Big Show does it.....this is explicitly for marketing (for $$$ and brand loyalty) and to establish *lineage*.



nc208082 said:


> I'm usually trying to find the cheapest stuff I doubt I give off the impression I am rich. LOL


Same here. I don't get these comments where people state they actually think you have to look "rich" to get any level of decent service from Jay/RR. A comment like that seems more emotionally driven (like what altcharacter experienced) than it is critical and true.



Sea MunnKey said:


> The Americans are dying to even get a view of what we have readily available here plus they can't match our local pricing ...


I would hazard to say that a good part of the reason why Americans are generally super jelly of us here in the GTA and the corals and prices we get is because of what RR has done (in branding themselves) to increase our public profile in the reef world.



Yellowtang said:


> I've never had a bad experience at Reef Raft and I have been going to his store since he had been running it out of his apartment. They always bring in a great selection of corals and fish. They have redone the inside of the store and I find it's worth the drive.


Indeed! they re-opened a little while ago, but they are STILL building systems and tanks to bring the store back to what we remember from back in the day.

The last few times ive been there i've seen Sweet Ride and Jay working on this and that. They're doing this for you, the GTA reefer.



fesso clown said:


> This is a forum board not a comercial enterprise. Members are absolutely free to talk about their experiences and opinions of LFS regardless of wether they are sponsors or not.


umm...

GTAA is a commercial entity - it is owned by a company called VerticalScope, based in downtown Toronto. They are 100% a "for-profit" company and they sure as heck _*should*_ be concerned if there is any negative feedback on their subscription-paying sponsors, coz it will affect their bottom line any way you cut it.

HOWEVER, reality is that i'm very, very happy GTAA's internal admin team does not come down hard on negative comments and even encourages it. I love it.....transparency and accountability are tops in my books



aquatic_expressions said:


> It just doesn't make sense if the suppliers are the same that the difference in quality is so huge. One can say that the housing and presentation of the coral is a reason and it might be to a degree but I have purchased similar corals from both store and I favour Reef Raft.


RR does share suppliers with other stores in the GTA, but RR more than likely has exclusive deals with supplier the likes of which NAFB and R20 and so on would give their left testicle to have for themselves - a good example was that Keppel Bay Corals supplier RR secured that allowed them to bring in the Aussie acans before anyone else.

After that deal ended, KBC became exclusive to Oakville Reef Gallery and then ultimately to some chop shop in the US.

I know RR has an indo supplier that they've dealt with for years and still do to this day I think. Jensen was part of that equation, having done a lot of the work to set it up, train the divers on what to look for and ensure quality years ago.



aquatic_expressions said:


> What I know he doesn't like are low ballers and time wasters, which im sure we can all agree we dont like either, and unfortunately in this hobby we have a lot of those


great post 

RR deals in high-end pieces as we all know. Not many things are "cheap" there.

If you're a chronic low-baller and generally want the cheapest price REGARDLESS of how rare, uncommon or difficult the coral is to acquire, you should stay away from RR and find a new hobby.


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## Yellowtang (May 26, 2015)

*What is R.R.*

Very well said Patwa, when the market went crazy over acans, a lot of people including myself were spending a lot more than $500. I've never walked into RR and been ignored, even if Jay was dealing with a customer he would always say "Hi", just like most stores I go to the owner or staff will always acknowledge you. The bottom line is people are going to go to stores where they feel comfortable. I like talking to the store owners about whats new in the hobby and what their thoughts are on certain products. I know walking into Reef Raft I'm going to see some of the nicest corals in the city and if I want one, I realize that it will cost me a little more, but to me it's well worth it.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Patwa said:


> umm...
> GTAA is a commercial entity - it is owned by a company called VerticalScope, based in downtown Toronto. They are 100% a "for-profit" company and they sure as heck _*should*_ be concerned if there is any negative feedback on their subscription-paying sponsors, coz it will affect their bottom line any way you cut it.
> 
> HOWEVER, reality is that i'm very, very happy GTAA's internal admin team does not come down hard on negative comments and even encourages it. I love it.....transparency and accountability are tops in my books


I stand corrected. I totally forgot that the forum was bought out a few years ago. This forgetting is a huge complement to our corporate overlords as they have indeed stayed behind the scenes and allowed us to respectfully discuss our personal experiences and impressions good or bad, sponsor or not. Thanks for the reminder!
We do have a great forum here.


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