Chriistian Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Im planning a 10gal nano tank, I wanted to order uncured LR online somewhere, what is the most diverse, colorful LR and does anyone have any advice on where to order from?? Link to comment
offsprg01 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 you just asked a question there are a hundred diffrent answers too well here's my answer tampa bay salt water. pros: they built a reef to "raise" lr so they don't destory one of natures most beautiful works of art they keep their lr underwater from the sea to your house. less die off. way less die off. this equals shorter cycles and more life on the rocks when you get them cons: a little pricey on the shipping becuase it's shipped under water which adds weight. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 it's also less porous and heavier isn't it? do a search on these boards and you'll find a ton of live rock sites. Link to comment
chufa Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 I agree. I got mine from my LFS, but it was Florida aquacultured as well. IMO getting this rock from a good LFS is even better, because the rock is already cured, and I did not suffer noticeable dieoff and my tank never went through any cycle. Link to comment
Chriistian Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 I guess going to an lfs would be the best bet, just a question about that, Ive never done salt before and so have never been at a place that really sells salt fish/lr/ls.....if there is anything on the LR, like soft corals or sponges, do they ussually charge extra? Link to comment
offsprg01 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 no..... : not if it's a good lfs. now thats not to say you can go to their show tank ans say " i want that rock right there.... the one with the 400 dollar super rare coral" and get that for like 7 bones a pound. Link to comment
Chriistian Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 thanks, no, well i didnt think i'd be talented enough to pass a 400$ anything under their noses and out the door, but thanks for the heads up Link to comment
ucsd reefer Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Got this as a freebie.. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=14811 still not sure what it is though Link to comment
Billdemart Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Here's my vote, Dr. Mac & Sons Coral. Check this thread: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=13300 Very colorful rock, came with a filter feeding cuke, tons of feather dusters, very small snails that come out at night, some button polyps, and its pretty porous. I will always order from them. Nothing I have ever seen in any LFS around me comes close to the rock I got there. Bill Link to comment
Chriistian Posted July 18, 2003 Author Share Posted July 18, 2003 there LR is really nice, i think ill check out some lfs's and see if it compares, if not ill order online, thanks. Link to comment
DvrEANx Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Originally posted by offsprg01 well here's my answer tampa bay salt water. I live in Tampa, do you have any contact info on them. like an address or phone number. seeing a local shop being recomended by a non local makes me want to do my bussness with them Link to comment
Billdemart Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Originally posted by DvrEANx I live in Tampa, do you have any contact info on them. like an address or phone number. seeing a local shop being recomended by a non local makes me want to do my bussness with them Here you go. They were my first choice before I knew about Dr. Mac & Sons. From what I read they are very similar. But they were closed for a week and I wanted my LR immediately! http://www.tbsaltwater.com/contact.html Link to comment
blk_g20 Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 you folks on the east coast are very lucky with great LR vendors near by, thus shipping doesn't flatten your wallet as much as it does for somebody in the west coast such as myself. i looked into TBSW and DrMAC when i was looking for my LR several weeks ago. ended up going with Gulfview because their shipping was $48 for 30lb. cheapest i've seen, and got to me in CA the next morning using Airborne. also, almost all of the rocks i've seen from LFS are no where near the quality of those from online vendors. most of them at the store are white, with nothing on it. except some black spots here and there. Link to comment
dreamweaver_gcotb Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I would suggest either Triton Marine http://www.liverocks.com/ or Gulf View http://www.gulf-view.com Triton is located in Tarpon Springs, Florida. They carry both Gulf and Keys Rock. I've been to their shop in person and have seen their rock. I plan to buy from them when I'm ready to set up the new 10g tank I picked up. Gulf View is located in Lutz, Florida and carries Gulf rock. Great rock and great service! I've purchased from them in the past and highly recommend them as well. Like Tampa Bay Saltwater, both of these companies have placed the rock on the ocean floor and harvest it later. No damage to natural reefs that way. Gina Link to comment
labrat Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Just got 40 lbs of LR and 20 lbs of LS from Dr. Mac and it's kick $#^%^%$^! I highly recommend them and Dr. Mac will pick the size of the rock to fit your tank! Rick Link to comment
Chriistian Posted July 19, 2003 Author Share Posted July 19, 2003 I really like gulf views rock pics, in fact, with such a small tank I was thinking getting only decorator rock and no other type, but that would be 50$ for 10lbs, than another 50 for shipping, so $100 for 10lbs of live rock?? idk...i think ill find a pet shop and get it, even thought their lr looks better than any lfs's. Link to comment
SteveC Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 You might want to check out the sale they're having at liverocks.com. $2.99/lb. I'm even thinking of adding 10 lbs of Keys rock to my nano (I'd like to move some of my base rock to my sump once it's ready), since even with shipping it'll be under $70. Cheap! I bought 20 lbs. of Gulf View rock when I started my nano and I love it. They are really easy to work with. The rocks I see in the LFS really do not impress me. Yeah, the shapes are nicer (but a little epoxy, tufa, and some of the gravel that came with my live sand could probably make up for the difference). But if all you get with them is a few spots of coraline algae, why not just use dead rock and cycle it with chemical ammonia? The whole point seems to be the critters (pods! coraline algae! mantis shrimp! ). And online dealers seem to have the rock that is truly "live", whether it's aquacultured or imported--probably because it doesn't sit around in a poorly lit tank for months waiting for someone to stumble in and buy it. Without critters, what are you going to look at while your tank cycles? Link to comment
Chriistian Posted July 20, 2003 Author Share Posted July 20, 2003 yea i guess your right, i was only planning to keep LR for a few months before adding any fish because Im new to the hobby and i started out with a smaller tank than i really should, and LR with all the good stuff will keep me happy through those months:) .... Ill probably end up getting it online, and post up pics once I do. Link to comment
~_~ Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Originally posted by blk_g20 you folks on the east coast are very lucky with great LR vendors near by, thus shipping doesn't flatten your wallet as much as it does for somebody in the west coast such as myself. i looked into TBSW and DrMAC when i was looking for my LR several weeks ago. ended up going with Gulfview because their shipping was $48 for 30lb. cheapest i've seen, and got to me in CA the next morning using Airborne. also, almost all of the rocks i've seen from LFS are no where near the quality of those from online vendors. most of them at the store are white, with nothing on it. except some black spots here and there. Um, actually the the west coast is where everything is at. The only thing the east coast has is the florida aquacultered rock that gulf-view or TBS sells. Vendors such as DrMac may be on the east coast, but there rock actually comes from the west coast, thats usually bought from Walt Smith. Link to comment
dreamweaver_gcotb Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 I've been to Triton Marine's facility (liverocks.com). I've seen their rock, how they care for it until it's sold, the lighting, etc. Everything looked great to me. The rock is awesome! I can't imagine buying from anyone other than Triton or Gulf View. Since Triton is so close to me and they have both Gulf and Keys rock, I'll be buying my newest batch of rock from them. I really can't say enough for these guys. When we went, my kids shot about a million questions at them and they just smiled and answered. Never once did I get the feeling we were bothering them in anyway. They were simply wonderful! Link to comment
SteveC Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Originally posted by ~_~ Um, actually the the west coast is where everything is at. The only thing the east coast has is the florida aquacultered rock that gulf-view or TBS sells. Vendors such as DrMac may be on the east coast, but there rock actually comes from the west coast, thats usually bought from Walt Smith. Ummm... maybe I'm misunderstanding you here, but no live rock "comes from" the west coast. The rock you're talking about comes from the Indo-Pacific region, which is so far from the continental US that it really doesn't make a difference which coast you're on by the time it gets to you. Also, I may be mistaken but I don't think all or most or even that much of the Indo-Pacific rock is bought from Walt Smith. There are quite a large number of collectors, shippers, and distributors involved, some of whom are more ethical than others. Link to comment
~_~ Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 I'm saying that most non aquacultered rock is usually flown to and dropped off to the west coast citys such as Los Angeles. After that depending on how the vendor does it, it's either shipped again to the online vendor or shipped directly to the customer if they have a setup there where the rock gets flown in. Link to comment
SteveC Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 Good point. I guess it would definitely matter for uncured live rock, but I'm not sure it would make a difference for cured LR. I may be missing something here, but I think that would depend a lot more on the vendor's curing facility. Anyhow, the point I was trying to make is probably the same one you were making as well: that it's not hard to get quality live rock in any part of the continental US if you shop around. And that's a good thing! And who knows, maybe GARF's aquaculture facilities will turn into some mega-successful venture and Idaho will become the hotspot for live rock. Or maybe not. Link to comment
Vincerama Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 OK, so can someone actually NAME a west coast LR provider? I don't knwo where LFS's get it, but they are usually bleached half dead rock and half the time they are dead LR that someone traded in for some dry goods or something! ie; I'd almost prefer to buy from an online vendor. A west coast operation would be great since shipping is horrible! OR you can look the other way and just pay for shipping if aquacultured rock is very important to you! Don't forget you also have the option of creating your own rock using the GARF (www.garf.org) Aragocrete method! Of course that rock is dead, but you could use it as the majority of rock in your tank, then buy a couple of pounds of LR from your vendor of choice (keeping the shipping costs down) then let the LR seed your rock! Life will spread when given a chance (as will algae... ) Having said that, I had DrMac send me 20 lbs of LR and 10lbs of LS from Maryland to San Francisco. it cost about $60 for shipping...whcih would have bought me 10 lbs of the local stuff for 6 bucks a pound....but my rock sure is purty! (Well, what you can see from under the algae, that is!) V Link to comment
tinyreef Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 exoticfish.com jeff sells to the public and transships, i believe. i don't know of another transshipper that does that other than maybe themarinecenter.com Link to comment
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