Drs. F&S site shutdown

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

3 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Never had a single problem with it.  Just toss it in the tank and it grow coralline. Nothing leaches, and its super easy to scape as well. 

I was thinking of 50 pounds of the dry rock then maybe another 30 of live rock from my lfs I go to..they have a giant holding tank with rock

[HarryPotter]

3 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I was thinking of 50 pounds of the dry rock then maybe another 30 of live rock from my lfs I go to..they have a giant holding tank with rock

 

Just make sure no aptasia on that live rock.... or there is a $100+ investment in nudibranchs in your future 😢. 

 

(Also: bacteria are bacteria. If LR is much more expensive per pound, get 85lbs reefcleaners and 5lbs live rock. That'll seed it just the same IMO, and save a lot of $) 

[StevieT]

This will hit the Northwoods as a non seasonal business opperation.

 

With Amazon building more and more local hubs maybe they will take up shop to increase their local delivery reach.

 

WI is at full employment starving for workers.  So they should land on their feet, especially if they are willing to relocate or drive a little farther.

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

9 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Just make sure no aptasia on that live rock.... or there is a $100+ investment in nudibranchs in your future 😢. 

 

(Also: bacteria are bacteria. If LR is much more expensive per pound, get 85lbs reefcleaners and 5lbs live rock. That'll seed it just the same IMO, and save a lot of $) 

Thats a good idea, I've been tossing around which direction to go for a few months. I could take some rock out of my 20...I know I don't have bad shit in that.

[seabass]

28 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I've been looking at rock for the 75...I read that you love reef cleaners rocks. You have never had a problem with it? It looks like the best deal, 125 for 50 pounds is a pretty good price.

The thing that makes their rock different is that it is aged in a deep well to cure it (remove organics and leach out bound phosphate).  Then it's dried, so you don't pay to ship water.  I like their rock too.

 

I do like mixing in some quality live rock to add some bio-diversity (bacteria strains as well as micro-inverts).  Not sure if there is a magic ratio of dry to live (probably not).  Over time, you'd think that most of the life will spread to the other rock (assuming that your tank has the food supply to support this life).

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

1 minute ago, seabass said:

The thing that makes their rock different is that it is aged in a deep well to cure it (remove organics and leach out bound phosphate).  Then it's dried, so you don't pay to ship water.  I like their rock too.

 

I do like mixing in some quality live rock to add some bio-diversity (bacteria strains as well as micro-inverts).  Not sure if there is a magic ratio of dry to live (probably not).  Over time, you'd think that most of the life will spread to the other rock (assuming that your tank has the food supply to support this life).

That's why I have been wondering what way to go. I feel like if you have that diversity it'll help in the long run. Plus I do like random hitchhikers. I like harry's idea about getting mostly dry and then add some good live rock. I wonder how much live rock I can take out of my 20 without hurting the 20's biofilter?

[seabass]

44 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I wonder how much live rock I can take out of my 20 without hurting the 20's biofilter?

Assuming a typical amount of rock and light bio-load, I might remove 1/4th to start, and then a couple of weeks later remove another 1/4 (probably wouldn't take out more than that until you have more rock, or another bio-media source).  You could replace what you removed with ReefCleaners dry rock, or just enjoy the open space.

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

That's not a bad idea. I only have two fish in the 20 anyways. I've never been heavy on stocking, I ran with one clown for 5 months or so up until I got my lawnmower blenny. That blenny is actually going to the 75 when the time is right. I still have to take the cichlids out of the 75..kinda dragging my feet cause it'll be sad giving them up. I've had most of them for well over 5 years so they are part of the family. 

[Tamberav]

4 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

There is a couple on R2R about their fish arrive dead @HarryPotter give me a few I will try and find them. 

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/divers-den-shipping.481539/

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-first-divers-den-order.491086/

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/disappointed-with-dr-foster-and-smith-live-aquaria.537392/

 

 There is a few. I saw one that was terrible the other day I'm searching for. 

 

I shopped with them before and after Petco bought them. I still got dead fish from them before Petco bought them too. I don't notice a significant difference but there may be a lower quality at the DD facility...but my dozen orders is not exactly scientific.

 

They are great for the guarantee and they still package the fish in huges amount of water and blackout bags.

 

You now need to show a photo as proof of dead fish so if you toss is in the tank and the cuc eats it....bye bye refund. This is basically in line with everyone else. They still refund your money instead of credit which is better than other places.

 

They don't do the early delivery before 10am anymore which is my biggest annoyance. UPS delivers to my house late so 10am delivery is now 6-7pm. This could increase DOAs. I am pretty sure places like Blue Zoo still deliver early.

 

Many people claim the fish are sicker these days in general due to people farther up the chain. Wholesalers...suppliers....

 

 

 

[ninjamyst]

knew this was gonna happen when Petco acquired them.  sigh.  

[1.0reef]

13 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

What problems with LA & DD have you seen? Links? I haven’t seen anything to indicate that their quality has declined, and have placed probably a dozen orders in the last year. Recently you seem very quick to criticize. 

I’ve seen a decent amount of incorrectly labeled fish (Especially designer clowns) and likely genetically deformed fish (mostly low quality designer clowns)

[Tamberav]

58 minutes ago, 1.0reef said:

I’ve seen a decent amount of incorrectly labeled fish (Especially designer clowns) and likely genetically deformed fish (mostly low quality designer clowns)

Their designer clowns seem mostly from ORA, isn't ORA then not culling correctly? 

 

I will say they sent me the wrong frag... ordered a stylo and a monti ended up in the box. I got to keep it for free but already had a rainbow monti so not that exciting 😛

[1.0reef]

On 1/11/2019 at 9:35 PM, Tamberav said:

Their designer clowns seem mostly from ORA, isn't ORA then not culling correctly? 

 

I will say they sent me the wrong frag... ordered a stylo and a monti ended up in the box. I got to keep it for free but already had a rainbow monti so not that exciting 😛

They had other ones that weren’t labeled ORA with defects too, pretty much every large breeder won’t cull properly.

[ninjamyst]

Instant ocean salt is on sale for 200 gallons for $32.99 so I got some along with some filter pads.  They always have the cheapest filter pads online so that's what I will miss the most.