E-Tropicals.com LR Experiences?

[Deimos]

Hey all,

 

All the non-living things have been assembled for my 15 gal nano...now its time to buy that LR. I've been looking at the E-Tropicals.com Caribbean LR for use during the cycling. Its cheap ($1.97/lb) so I'm a bit concerned. Since I'm cycling..I'm not looking for "show" LR yet. It doesn't bother me if it isn't completely covered in corraline algae...has anyone used this rock? If so..what did it look like? Quality? Basically..any experiences? Hitchhikers?

 

Any sharing on this would be great,

 

Thanks in advance..

[JustPhish]

I can't comment on their rock, but your use of "show" makes me want to post. Show pieces, whether they be corals or rock, are not better looking but larger. Sizes generally run tiny, small, medium, large, extra large and show.

 

If you were to email me and ask for show rock, you'd get yourself some huge 30lb+ pieces, not neccessarily better looking rock.

 

HTH

[Dave ESPI]

There is a HUGE amount of information in General forum. Do a search and you will get lots of info.

www.liverocks.com is one of my suppliers.

FWIW, Me being a skeptic, if the rock is 2.00 a # I highly doubt that it is decent or worth adding to a small tank. Perhaps as base rock in a larger tank yes. But you might luck out.

[Deimos]

Thanks a lot guys,

 

I'm probably going to take my business elsewhere. I just can't believe that $2/lb LR can be worth its salt, so to speak. Right now, I'm looking at Premium Aquatics, Dr. Mac and Sons, and Harbor Aquatics. Anyone with any experience with any of them is free to comment..but I've pretty well got it narrowed down now.

 

Thanks again...

[tinyreef]

just got my $2.45/lb rock in from Jeff's Exotic. it's ok imo (as it needs a lot of curing, sponges and dying stonys) but otherwise nice form and decently fresh (judging from the decay stage).

 

i was hoping to time his shipments in (mondays, i think) to sneak decent rock. oh well. with shipping it came to about $4.75/lb. higher grade is another dollar i believe.

 

if you're looking for hitchhikers you're better off with the carib or gulf. i just have a personal pref for fiji.

[Deimos]

Really?,

 

You find that Caribbean LR has more in the way of hitchhikers? Anyone else with info on this?

 

Thanks again...

[SteveC]

I asked etropicals whether their rock was aquacultured and where it comes from. Their reply was that it is not aquacultured but they didn't tell me where it comes from. It can't be from Florida if it's not aquacultured, so more than likely you'll be having to deal with higher rate of die-off that you get when rock has to sit through customs, etc., etc.

 

I bought rock from gulf-view.com over two months ago and I'm still extremely happy with it. Their coralline rock came completely covered in coralline except for the side that was actually on the ocean floor. If you're looking for good "foundation" rock, I would definitely consider that.

 

When I started my nano, I ordered half coralline rock and half "deco" rock (has more life on it) and the whole thing cycled in under two weeks with the ammonia levels never getting above 1 ppm. Another guy on this forum did the same thing only with all deco rock, and he had a much rougher cycle with smell and everything. Mine never smelled bad, in fact it smelled pretty good! I also put about 10 lbs. of live sand that I'd ordered from the same place in. I think that combination made for the gentlest and quickest cycle.

 

Aquacultured rock generally has more life on it when you get it because it's harvested and shipped domestically. It doesn't have to go through long periods of transshipping and customs and whatever. Basically it's just ocean --> holding tank --> shipping box --> your house or the airport. One problem some people encounter is too much of the wrong kind of life on the rock (mantis shrimp, hairy crabs, aiptasia, isopods, whelks) but I've only had one killer crab (and he wasn't much of a killer), one whelk (removed before it killed anything I bought), and four aiptasia (which haven't spread in two months and won't now thanks to my peppermint shrimp--in fact, I'm now down to two aiptasia) in 20 lbs. of rock. From what I've read, I've probably done a little better than the average, but not by much. Some people have had really bad luck, though even after hearing their stories I'd probably still do it the same way again if I were setting up another Caribbean tank.

 

I've had a lot of cool hitchhikers and so I think it's worth it, but I see my nano more as entertainment than as an underwater garden so I don't mind the risk. Other people have different goals (which are just as good as mine) and may not want to risk the nasties. Personally I was a little disappointed when I didn't find a mantis, because you know, woooooooo, a mantis, booga booga! But it'd kind of suck to find one now that I have other critters in there I don't want to lose.

 

Steve