Tampa Bay Saltwater Live Rock

[Digiman]

I have a 55 gal. that I have cycled and am ready to start loading it up with LS and LR. I have been looking at my LFS LR and have found that it isn't the highest of quality with a very high price. So I have resorted to the internet to find the best deal. I have found Tampa Bay Saltwater has a good package deal and the photos and comments on their page looks great. Although, I am wondering if any of you guys has had any experiance with them or if you have another place to look, also would be great.

Thank you,
-- Digiman

 

[MattM]

• Plus - Much more life than on Fiji.
• Minus - Some of the life will not survive long term.
• Minus - Because if is much less porous than Fiji, TBS rock is heavier for the same volume. I.e.; 30 lbs of Fiji cover a greater tank volume than 30 lbs of TBS.

 

[fishfarmer]

A buddy of mine went with the package deal that TBS has. I've seen the rock, LOTS of life, macroalgae, corals, brittlestars, crabs. It was kinda bricky. I ordered the 30 lb coralline special from www.gulf-view.com. The life wasn't as great as my friend's package deal(TBS sends some of their best rock), BUT the shapes were much better. I specifically asked for certain sized pieces and got exactly what I wanted.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say another plus is that it is aquacultured, so we aren't taking rock from natural reefs. A minus with mine was that in the 30 lbs I received, I had some undeisrable hitch hickers (mantis, welks, unknown crabs). But overall I was pleased with it.

 

[reefsRcool]

check out the post by floppyfish from two days ago. and dumb question howe is your tank cycled if you don't have rock or sand yet :wink: good luck and let us know how it comes along

 

[Anonymous]

My friend went to TBS and hand-picked rock from their stock. The rock was loaded with cool sponges and macros, but it was also loaded with mantis. Some other weird crabs too. I'll see if I can get him to give more info...

 

[LilBugger225]

I was very pleased with my order from TBS. I got the package and there IS a lot of life on the rock. Some of it does die off but many of the sponges are thriving after a year. There are some cool blue and orange sponges that will come on the rock as well as some corals. Most of the corals are still thriving in my tank as well. Like was mentioned the rock is not vary pourous and it IS very heavy compared to some other live rock. There are also alot of hitchikers that can come along. If you do get the rock do not make the same mistake as I did and put the "hairy" hitchiker crabs in your tank. They are pure evil! (The porcelain crabs are ok though) I also got many (at least 5) mantis shrimp but I caught three of them and 2 were DOA in the box and one is still in the tank and I have not seen him but I hear him and cannot catch him. They will also generally throw some extra stuff in the box like a condy or something. I got a cool staghorn type coral. So if you are willing to deal with the hitchikers and the water changes go for it!

LB 8)

 

[Digiman]

dumb question howe is your tank cycled if you don't have rock or sand yet :wink:

I used damsels, I was setting up a fish only tank and have now changed my mind.

-- Digiman :roll:

 

[Digiman]

I was very pleased with my order from TBS. I got the package and there IS a lot of life on the rock. Some of it does die off but many of the sponges are thriving after a year. There are some cool blue and orange sponges that will come on the rock as well as some corals. Most of the corals are still thriving in my tank as well. Like was mentioned the rock is not vary pourous and it IS very heavy compared to some other live rock. There are also alot of hitchikers that can come along. If you do get the rock do not make the same mistake as I did and put the "hairy" hitchiker crabs in your tank. They are pure evil! (The porcelain crabs are ok though) I also got many (at least 5) mantis shrimp but I caught three of them and 2 were DOA in the box and one is still in the tank and I have not seen him but I hear him and cannot catch him. They will also generally throw some extra stuff in the box like a condy or something. I got a cool staghorn type coral. So if you are willing to deal with the hitchikers and the water changes go for it!

LB 8)

What's the best way to get rid of them before adding the LR to the tank without killing the other life on the LR? Also, how big is your tank and what size package did you get? Did the amount of LR fill the tank or even come close?

Thank you,
-- Digiman

 

[Anonymous]

I used a FW dip for the rocks and mine shot right out. It didn't seem to adversely affect any of the other creatures on the rock, but it was just a very short (~10 second) dip.

 

[SPC]

TBS or Gulf View is the only rock I will purchase, no other rock I have seen compares to it as far as life. Now, also be prepared for alot of different plant and algaes to appear over time. Personally I like all the different plant species (some I haven't been able to identify yet), IMO it makes a tank more natural.
Steve

 

[csanchez77]

I am planning a 90 gal and am also interested in the TBW rock. I ahve read many many good things on this website and on www.reefcentral.com

The only concern ever crossed (consistently) was the predetory animals. I have heard of freshwater dipping and soda water dipping.

Can someone give more details on this. I would like to save the animals and select which one I wish to keep, so I dont wish to kill anything (atleast not at first).

Digiman:
from all I have read, and my past exp with live rock additions, you will be recycling your tank. However if you go with the TBW package...please let me know how it turns out.

Thanks
Chris

 

[LilBugger225]

Well I got this rock before I knew better about predatory crabs. I just thought they were kinda cool... BIG MISTAKE! I would do the FW dip method but you can also see them crawling on the rocks in the boxes when they arrive so you may be able to get them that way. There are a few different crabs you can get... the 3 diff ones I got were rock crabs (pure evil) , red emerald crabs (not as bad but they will still munch on your corals, and porcelain crabs which to my knowledge have not hurt anything. I got the 55 gal package and my tank is 75 gallons. I started out with about 50 lbs of aragonite sand and seeded that with the live sand from TBS. I also had 20 lbs of live rock to begin with from a previous tank which I added after the cycle. After all was said and done it filled it up enough to where I was satisfied. Some of the rocks are very large and are hard to position just right. I'm still not real happy with the aquascaping job I did but once they were in they were in. I am a short girl with a tall stand and it wasn't very fun getting all those rocks in there while being careful of the acrylic. Oh yeah and if I were you I would take any fish that you have in the tank out while cycling your live rock and be prepared for many water changes. My ammonia level never got even close to bad but I still made many changes any ways just to be on the safe side.

HTH

LB 8)

 

[Digiman]

I have decided that I am going to go ahead and get the TBS liverock package. I can't wait to see all the life that is on the rock they have. Will post photos when I have everything in the tank.

Thanks again,

-- Digiman

 

[MarkO1]

I did the same as Lilbugger (55 gal for a 75), but since have added about another 50# of fji rock and upgraded to a 90 gal.
Agree 100% with LilBuggers statements too, except that I believe the clicking I still hear when the lights go out is from Pistol Shrimp (I haven't seen any Mantis since last Novemebr, when I believe I got the last one.)
Be vigilant about the removal of the crabs and Mantis. If you are dedicated, you will be fine.
The life on the rock is fabulous. You will see some of it eventually die off, but in my experience the majority is still there and propagating.
Here's a shot of the 90 before I added the fiji:

http://home.attbi.com/~ohary/wsb/html/v ... 14665.html

Also, not that the Xenia in my tank has experienced explosive growth!
_________________
markets investing

 

[csanchez77]

Yes Digiman, please post pics...I want to see.

I also plan to do the same, that is order a 75g package for my 90gal.

 

[LilBugger225]

MarkO: did you get a buncha oysters with your rock? I did and after almost a year they were all doing great and then last week all but 2 died in one day. Weird huh? Anyways, just wondering if you had the same experience. I still have one pistol shrimp so it could be him making the clicking but I still think there is at least one mantis in my tank. I saw one of those rock crabs in my tank yesterday :twisted: after I thought I had gotten rid of them all, time to set up the trap again!

LB 8)

 

[MarkO1]

Yeah, I've got lots of oysters in there still.
My tank is 11 months old. 90% of the oysters are still doing fine.
Every once in while I'll spot one of those bastard "hairy" crabs. There are about 5 other crabs in there that I leave in. They seem to "filter" the water with fanning claws. I don't know what thery are, but seem harmless.
Right now, my biggest problem is the darned Xenia. I need to find a natural predator. Know of any?
_________________
defeating debt

 

[Digiman]

For you that have already received the package. Any suggestions as far as setting it all up? How to put the sand in? What to do with the fish? How long should the fish be out of the tank before reintroducing them?

Also, I have a protein skimmer I think is called a cyclone (not sure). How powerfull does it need to be for a 55 gallon? This one is working I get a cup full of junk a day. But I am not sure if I went with something like a AquaC 120 if it would do better? Any thoughts on that or should I just stick with what I have and see how it works. Again, my filtration was based on a fish only tank and it would have been good enough, but not too sure now.

Thank you,

-- Digiman

 

[LilBugger225]

MarkO: those filter feeding crabs are porcelain crabs and I have at least a dozen of them. They don't hurt anything, if you have ever put DTs in your tank you can see how nuts they go fanning the water. I don't know about your xenia but can I have some?

Digiman: What you probably have is a Seaclone skimmer and in my opinion they pretty much suck and are noisy. I've got a turboflotor on my 75 but that might be a bit much for a 55. As far as adding the sand goes what I did is I purchased aragonite first or "dead" sand and then seeded it with their live sand because I wanted a deeper sandbed then the amount they were sending me would give I just simply placed the bag on the bottom of the tank and slowly dumped it out. Then put in the first half of your rock that they send you and start the cycling process. I used a rubbermaid garbage can to keep saltwater going all the time and a good ammonia detector. Then when they send you the last half and the critters I would give it a few weeks to be sure the tank is stable before even thinking about adding any fish. I waited a little over a month I believe before I added anything. HTH

LB 8)