metrokat Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I've wasted a lot of gas and mileage simply going to LFS's to "look" at their stuff. I thought I had found some gems for $9.99/lb at the store 10 days ago. They were perfect shelf rock for the cave formation I had in mind. Lo and behold they were even purple! Love that purple. So I bought 5lbs of it, and happily skipped on back home where I put the darn bag of rocks on my very sensitive and perfectly calibrated UPS digital weighing scale. FOUR POUNDS FORTY! Not even 4.5! BLOODY LFS! So I took a picture of it. And went back to the LFS where they attempted to convince me my scale was incorrect. Anyway, they have seen me in their store practically every week so they made good on their mistake. During that 2nd visit I learnt that the rock I had bought was technically "fake". They "made" the rock, then they "painted" it that purple and then they stick it in the ocean for 12-18 months. So I'm left wondering how much of that is truthful? In just one week in my tank the rock has all kinds of algae on it (green, red, brown diatoms),why did it not while it was in their tank? So how "fresh off the boat" or "fresh off the assembly line" was this product? Anyway. My gulf live rock shipment is due this Friday/Sat. I'll be sure to post pictures of it. Link to comment
HecticDialectics Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 That fake ass painted-purple rock is everywhere around here. Link to comment
phi delt reefer Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 That fake ass painted-purple rock is everywhere around here. +1 - they dye some man made rock and throw it into the ocean for a year or so then harvest it. Its live but its not worth $10.00/lb. I get premium figi live rock for that price. Welcome to reefing - everyone is out to make a buck Link to comment
Amo2011 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 should have ordered from premium aquatics Link to comment
Thrassian Atoll Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 should have ordered from premium aquatics +1 Link to comment
igotreefermadness Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 The algae probably comes from the fact that their tanks had a high level of phosphates. So the rock had been "soaking" in it for awhile. Once you put it into your tank, the phosphates begin to leach out and algae thrives off of it. I have had it happen to a few pieces of live rock. Link to comment
Alexraptor Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Well that certainly was an interesting bit of information. Because as happens i have a piece of dead rock thats been dried out and dead for years now, that still has splotches of bright purple. Link to comment
ry05coupe Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 IMO it isnt a terrible thing. Artificial live rock is definitely better for the enviornment than taking the real stuff. Too bad it looks ####ty most of the time! Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 good to know. I see little hair algae now, I'll be sure to thank them for that too. The algae probably comes from the fact that their tanks had a high level of phosphates. So the rock had been "soaking" in it for awhile. Once you put it into your tank, the phosphates begin to leach out and algae thrives off of it. I have had it happen to a few pieces of live rock. Link to comment
bwoodward0012 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 the whole point of that rock is to make an inexpensive alternative to real live rock so that it's not being taken from the ocean as often, which is a good thing. on the other hand, $10 a pound is freakin insane! i think my lfs sells it for $4 or $5 a pound. it does seem to only come in that "shelf" shape though, which is the main downside, plus its hard to notice what is dyed and what is actually coraline growth once its been in your system for a while. noble idea, just needs some work. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Wow. You cried to the LFS for rounding up on the weight? Most of that was probably water that evaporated on the way home anyway. Link to comment
_Mitch_ Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I see this rock as a good thing (a cheap, environmentally friendly alternative to live rock) but the fact that they sold it to you as real live rock for $10 a pound upsets me. I know it is "live" but it's man made rock so I'm not sure what to call it. You should definitely get a refund or something. As for the weight issue, adinsxq has a good point about the water evaporation. Also .6 lbs is like 3 bucks, which is definitely not something to go back to the fish store to complain about, in my opinion. Link to comment
metrokat Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 First, there was no water in the bag. Even if there was, 3/4 of a pound of water "evaporated" from a sealed bag? lol. right. Second, no I did not "cry", I'm not going to get cheated. Wow. You cried to the LFS for rounding up on the weight? Most of that was probably water that evaporated on the way home anyway. Link to comment
Sneds Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It's better for the environment, you helped stimulate the economy, cover that s**t in corals after a bit and know one will know it's not "real" live rock. Do we want pretty rock or corals? Good for them for making it right with you, be a good customer and they will treat you the same. If not, there are plenty of LFS's that will gladly take your cash. It's ok to be upset over $3, but don't go overboard. Sounds like your on your way to a nice setup, on to the next step- don't look back or count what you have spent and all will be good. Happy reefin' Link to comment
cital Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I bought rock for my current tank from bulk reef supply. It is not "live", but the shapes are incredible, and it is so clean. It took a little longer to get things going, but I will never buy "live" rock again. I HIGHLY recommend the rock from BRS. Link to comment
poolboy8888 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 This is why i dont like most LFS, however i applaud them for making it right. I agree with it being environmentally friendly, but it shouldn't be $10 a pound! They should also let you know it isnt coraline. Also how are you guys getting a 3$ difference? If it is $10 a pound then it would be $5 for a half pound. Right? Not to mention if you were gonna get a piece of rubble which was half a pound, and they charged you for a whole pound, I would be mad as well. Link to comment
metrokat Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 It's ok to be upset over $3, but don't go overboard. Sounds like your on your way to a nice setup, on to the next step- don't look back or count what you have spent and all will be good. Happy reefin' Thanks Sneds. I wasn't "upset" no where close to it. Which is why they made good on my complaint, I'm there very often. I bought rock for my current tank from bulk reef supply. It is not "live", but the shapes are incredible, and it is so clean. It took a little longer to get things going, but I will never buy "live" rock again. I HIGHLY recommend the rock from BRS. Happy Scaping Cital, do post pictures and enjoy. This is why i dont like most LFS, however i applaud them for making it right. I agree with it being environmentally friendly, but it shouldn't be $10 a pound! They should also let you know it isnt coraline.Also how are you guys getting a 3$ difference? If it is $10 a pound then it would be $5 for a half pound. Right? Not to mention if you were gonna get a piece of rubble which was half a pound, and they charged you for a whole pound, I would be mad as well. Yep, but again it's not about $3 or $5, it was the principal of the matter. My "live" rock from Florida was $60 shipped for 10lbs. And look at the life on it. I would gladly have spent the $50 I spent on fake live rock on more from gulfliverock.com. But I am very happy with the flat shelf rocks as they let me scape the way I wanted. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Any "live rock" from Florida will be fake. Honestly, it wasn't done as an environmentally friendly alternative to harvesting naturally occurring rock from there. It was done because harvesting naturally occurring rock from those waters is illegal. IIRC that goes for all Carribean waters, though, I may be wrong on that part. Link to comment
mndfreeze Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Tampabaysaltwater uses mined ancient reef rock, dumped in the ocean for years, then harvested. How is that 'fake'. Link to comment
seabass Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I agree, it's real rock (not a cement formed man-made rock). Plus it should have a decent amount of life on it after more than a year in the ocean. A good percentage of the wild LR that is collected has already been broken off of the reef naturally (not chiseled off the reef by divers). However, the maricultured rock is a fine alternative. I guess I didn't realize that people dyed rocks before putting them in the ocean. That shouldn't really hurt anything, and apparently looks decent enough. Link to comment
7digits Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Should have just gone with reefcleaners.org or marco rocks. Way cheaper and easy to seed. Besides in a few months it would be coraline covered. Link to comment
thermosts Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Just so we are clear the "man made" live rock is ironically called "real reef". It is aquacultured in a closed system and never sees the ocean. It is pest free (until it gets to the LFS ) and has all the benefits of live rock. The rock is dyed and while it does come is shelf form, it also comes in huge chunks. Go to YouTube and search for "real reef" Link to comment
metrokat Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 You are incorrect. I have 2 kinds of LR in my tank, the shelf rock is the fake painted kind, the Florida rock is real came with hitchhiker corals, halimeda and so much more. Any "live rock" from Florida will be fake. Honestly, it wasn't done as an environmentally friendly alternative to harvesting naturally occurring rock from there. It was done because harvesting naturally occurring rock from those waters is illegal. IIRC that goes for all Carribean waters, though, I may be wrong on that part. Link to comment
Cintax Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 They should not have implied it was natural reef rock when they sold it to you. That being said, lesson learned. I think you came on the better side as the rock you ended up getting is beautiful. I use Marco rock and it is absolutely amazing. They sent me around 2 lbs more then I ordered to make up for any chunks breaking off in shipping. After three months in my tank, I have sponges, coralline, algae and other lovely stuff growing on it. Link to comment
Formula462 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Wow. You cried to the LFS for rounding up on the weight? Most of that was probably water that evaporated on the way home anyway. 4.40 would/should be rounded down if anything.... Link to comment
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