Back in the Saddle ...Live Rock Supplier Plz.

[Anonymous]

Yep, gonna strap it on again and give it another ride.

Need to find a good show quality/well encrusted/non-ripoff rock supplier who sends what they advertise on time.

Price is a concern, but will pay for quality.

Any suggestions?

 

[fungia]

i bought my rock from oceanproaquatics.com and like it. i have also bought from jeff, his marshalls rock, and fiji from premium aquatics and they were good too. oceanpro has more selection.

 

[Anonymous]

Liveaquaria.com is where bought my LR and although there was a shipping problem (snowstorm) they took care of me and the shipping charges. Customer service to me is sometimes more important than price.

 

[Anonymous]

cool guys, thanks. This will be a pretty big order. Who does bulk the best?

 

[Anonymous]

I was quite happy with Dr Mac & Sons Tonga rock. Although it came from Tonga (in)directly (it did a stop over in LA & then LV but all in the same day), so I had to pick it up at the cargo place at the airport, but considering all 3 of those places (oh yah... SF too!) was in the middle of a big heat wave the stuff that came in was pretty damn good.

Also was fairly cheap, think it was about $3.40/lbs including the shipping.

 

[jdeets]

Premium Aquatics. Cured Fiji. I bought about 100# of this a few years ago and it was primo. Haven't bought from them recently. $4.50/lb.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... e=Liverock

 

[johnnjen]

Liveaquaria.com is where bought my LR and although there was a shipping problem (snowstorm) they took care of me and the shipping charges. Customer service to me is sometimes more important than price.

Thats where we got the majority of ours.. Great stuff !

they did ship our 45 box 3lbs light though. But a phone call to customer support took care of it. refunded me the difference in the 3lbs of rock and sent me out 22lbs of rock free of charge or shipping. I will surely by from them again

JNJ

 

[Anonymous]

I was quite happy with Dr Mac & Sons Tonga rock. Although it came from Tonga (in)directly (it did a stop over in LA & then LV but all in the same day), so I had to pick it up at the cargo place at the airport, but considering all 3 of those places (oh yah... SF too!) was in the middle of a big heat wave the stuff that came in was pretty damn good.

Also was fairly cheap, think it was about $3.40/lbs including the shipping.

Funny, I actually know Dr.Mac. I know we aren't allowed to slam vendors here so I'll just leave well enough alone. Suffice it to say, he is not the favorite for local reefers in the DC area.

But that does sound like a good deal, except that you have to go pick it up, ...obviously a "drop ship" to you straight from the factory. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Heheh, well he's not local here, so the only thing I have experience with him is live rock, it is nice though, still might have pictures if you're interested in it . Although I have heard a few stories about switching orders out without notification on corals.. but we live n a coral haven over here so ordering online really isn't necessary.

 

[Entacmaea]

Anyone know of a good cultured LR dealer, other than TB Saltwater. Can an individual order from Walt Smith directly, and are their rocks really cultured?

Thanks, Peter

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone know of a good cultured LR dealer, other than TB Saltwater. Can an individual order from Walt Smith directly, and are their rocks really cultured?

Thanks, Peter

before ordering/using cultured LR, I'd read Calfo and Fenner's new book on the subject.

It slams all the LR "culturers" out there.

 

[Entacmaea]

Snapper- Do you mind giving me the jist of it? Do you mean they slam the quality of the rock or they slam the process as not really less impactful, or not really environmentally friendly?

I'm shooting for a zero impact reef, so would like to buy cultured LR or make my own...

Thanks, Peter

 

[travisurfer]

what about www.HIrocks.com, you could seed it with live rock

 

[Mcg180]

Try Sea Trade Marine, www.seatrademarine.com. Excellent selection of rock and is an excellent e-tailer. Personally I like to deal directly with the owners of a business and Bernie the owner answers his own phone and handles all aspects of the business. Prices are very competitve, especially for larger orders.

 

[Anonymous]

sorry Entacmaea,

The book explains how "cultured rock" cannot form in a way the real LR does, cannot develop the porosity, bacterial inhabitation, and the diversity of life, that LR has. Plus, it tends to be more dense = costs more for the same tank volume.

The impact thing is a null b/c the cultured rock is "grown" in barren portions of seafloor, close to the shore ...which makes me think it could possibly also be more prone to pollution-born problems.

All said, it's a good idea that falls short in function. And harvesting LR really doesn't impact the overall reef "health" nearly as much as all the other whacky stuff out there ..namely cyanide, curios trade, and rape-like harvesting for the aquarium trade.

Go with the real thing. It is well, real, and performs as advertised. Who knows what you'll get with the fake stuff?

 

[Entacmaea]

Thanks for the explanation Snapper. Sounds like a should read the information directly for a more informed decision. There is no doubt that cultured rock is more dense and could even be less functional than collected rock. However, depending on its collection method, I would strongly disagree that collecting rock is relatively low-impact. If the rock is collected off beaches after a storm, that is probably low impact. One of the largest problems facing reefs today is the low recruitment rates for new coral larvae. Think about what type of substrate most new larvae need to succeed: rocks with surface area exposed to some light, without much macroalgae. These are probably exactly the types of LR that are most often harvested from the reef- from locations whose conditions have made coral growth possible, creating the LR itself...

I'll probably end up making most of my LR- hopefully some pasta in the mix will give me the necessary porosity! ; )

Best, Peter