I will be wrapping it up. I am 100% more concerned about keeping the water moving. I have a battery bubbler but I'll have to jerry rig some AA batteries to act like D batteries. Never thought much about how they're shipped. I always get them at my LFS. I would guess it's not much different than reptiles. It looks like a 4th storm is going to hit before I can get out of the house. No power outage yet *knocks on wood*.