Weetabix7 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I recently got some absolutely incredible Live Rock and wanted to share my experience with the NR community. I wanted Pacific Live Rock and settled on uncured Manado Live Rock from Premium Aquatics. It was important to me that I get as much life as possible on the rock, so I emailed them asking when they would be getting a fresh shipment in. I promptly heard back from JeremyB and we arranged for them to ship me my Live Rock as soon as they received it in from Indonesia. Unfortunately, their shipment arrived on a Friday, so they had to wait til Monday to ship to me. When I received the box, I was impressed with how well it was packaged. There was absolutely no leakage at all. I opened it to find a styro container with a bag wrapped around the outside. When I opened the lid, I found 2 more bags individually wrapped around the rock, to hold in moisture and prevent leakage. I was very specific in asking Jeremy to try to wrap the rock well in damp paper to keep it as moist as possible during shipment. Again, I really wanted to preserve as much life as possible. I found the rock wrapped VERY well in several layers of wet paper. There was enough moisture in there that there was actually a puddle in the bottom of the box after I removed all the rock. Now for the REALLY good pics! You are not gonna believe all the life that came with this rock!!! I know I was pretty astounded. Jeremy told me that he had rocks with better shapes, but he sent the ones he did cause they had more life on them. I was extremely happy with what he chose to send. Check out the pics to see why: See if you can find the crabs & snails in the above pic. There's a total of 4 just on that rock. I believe my final count of CUC that I rec'd with the rock was 6 Hermit Crabs and 8 snails. There were 2 Emerald Crabs, but they died in transit. Not only did I get a CUC with my rock, but they even had Designer Shells! I got a nice variety of Plant Life on the rock: Incredible as it seems, I also got 2 live corals on the rock, and they are pretty ones too! I also got about 5 of these pretty little featherdusters: Here's a couple more pics, check out the nice shapes and coralline algae covering the rock: In conclusion, I am EXTREMELY pleased with my Live Rock order from Premium Aquatics. I don't think it would be possible to over-emphasize how happy I am. Not only is it of the highest quality, but Jeremy went above and beyond to give me exactly what I asked for in every particular. I would like to say a huge and emphatic THANK YOU to Premium Aquatics and JeremyB in particular. May you be in business for many more years to come!!! Link to comment
Zoafreak Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 HOLY COW! you lucked out sooooo much! wow it makes me want to buy some LR right now from Premium Aquatics Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 I wanted to add a couple of other things. If you want rock with a lot of life on it, the Manado rock is pretty fresh right now. They just got a huge shipment of it in on Friday, 5/6. The longer you wait to order it, the more die-off of lifeforms on the rock there will have been. If you wait 2 weeks to order, don't expect to receive as much life as I did. Of course if that's what you want, that's perfectly fine. Also, if you want something specific, take the time to let them know! If my experience is any indication (and I think it is), they will really do all they can to meet your requests. Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Wait you got zoanthids as a hitchhiker? I've never seen rock that awesome. Makes me want to eat it. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 I got beautiful Red Zoanthids and a pretty, large Paly. Believe me, I'm shocked too! I also got 6 Hermit Crabs, 8 Snails, 5 Featherdusters, and multiple types of Plant Life. Who knows what else will pop out of the rockwork as time goes on! I'm tellin ya, get it now while it's fresh!!! Spend the extra $$ for overnight shipping too, it is SO worth it! Link to comment
sstuckey Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I live about 2 hrs north from there. It's totally worth the drive. I drive down once a year for a frag swap near there and stop in and check out the rock pools. Sometimes I buy a little piece just to re-seed some new lifeforms into my BC14. I was looking at their "Real Reef" rock. There isn't a lot of critters but it is completely covered in coraline and great shape. It'd be a nice pick to seed your tank with coraline. If I was to start a new tank/ bigger tank/ 2nd tank, which I think of all the time, I think I would mix the manado with the real reef. Actually I'd do like I did in 08 and cherry pic out of every single pool. It just seems like there is a lot more option now, and it just keeps getting better. By the way, is this rock going to be the re-birth of the recent KISS tank? I'm looking forward to seeing how this shakes out. Good luck. Link to comment
mordibv Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I looked at that rock earlier this year . The PA video is pretty impressive . Glad to see someone who actually has some got some freebies with it . It's pretty close to what Marshall Islands rock looks like . Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 By the way, is this rock going to be the re-birth of the recent KISS tank? I'm looking forward to seeing how this shakes out. Good luck. Why yes, yes it is. And thanks. Link to comment
Lepomis Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Similar experience with the rock I have bought from them. Have been very pleased with it so far. Also had good results with just the live rock rubble. Link to comment
Amo2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Actually sstuckey turned me on premium. Made the drive one saturday. Picked my own rock. WELL worth it. I couldn't be happier. can't wait to see your tank progress weet... Link to comment
Rehype Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Thats awesome weetie. Ive always loved the rock ive gotten premium aquatics. Those are quite the hitchhikers you got there. I hope they all make it through the cycle. Link to comment
jklopp Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I live like 5 minutes away from PA Link to comment
Mini-Dude Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I love PA rock! really good, i got dry rock though Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Thats awesome weetie. Ive always loved the rock ive gotten premium aquatics. Those are quite the hitchhikers you got there. I hope they all make it through the cycle. I'm Soft Cycling to try to preserve as much of the life as possible. Link to comment
carbon-mantis Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 How much was the shipping on yours? I've been looking for a similar amount, but once you factor in the shipping from most places the LFS's $12.00 per lb stuff usually comes out cheaper Link to comment
Lawnman Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I was looking at there LR today.It is great to have Premium as your LFS.They have 5 huge LR pools with some crazy stuff in there.They have a huge maroon clown in one of them.Nice LR it still looks good today.I am waiting for memorial day or July 4th weekend.They always have deals for there walk in customers.Last year ALL LR was 1 dollar a pound you pick walk in only no shipping. Link to comment
Thrassian Atoll Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I ordered the same rock, pretty, but I did not receive any hitchhikers. But I would order from them again. Link to comment
Lawnman Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Depends on who packs the orders.They have some hardcore guys that pick off the hermits and snails then some other guys wrap them up and box them. Link to comment
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