Hitchhiker packed rock

[beastium]

Anyone have experience or info on either
Www.liverocknreef.com
Or
Www.tbsaltwater.com ?

Im starting a tank soon and want to use this type of rock- packed with hitchhikers polups sponges possible fish octopus crabs macro u name it.

Tbs doesn't show pics of their rock while liverocknreef displays some awesome looking pieces. Tbs has an option to choose which hitchhikers r included I saw octopus for like $50 lol.

I want to know: anyone ever bought? I know I m risking unwanted hikers but the natural wild aspect is the clincher for me like a mystery box

And would anyone be *interested* in a group discount?

 

[cmantis]

Just get some rock from here for 1/4 to 1/6 the price.

 

[JonnyJ]

I have Tampa bay rock in my nano, if you have any questions you can PM me

 

[NL146]

You could also check out the tb forum on RC

 

[beastium]

They have a lot of threads on this.

Seems tbs is more trustworthy but they don't have pics and lrnreef has such crazy pics.

Wondering if tbs can minimize bad hikers somehow without reducing good ones

 

[basiab]

It is always a gamble as to what you will get from uncured rock. It depends on how long the rock is out of water. The longer it is out the more stuff dies. So if your goal is to get as much live as possible then you want to spend extra buck for the quickest shipping. Doesn't matter which company. But you should do your homework to find out which ones have a good reputation.

 

[beastium]

yea. it seems tbs has a better rep on forums, but the LLNR rock looks more diverse. i'd probably let this rock mature for at least 2 months before adding anything, at which point there may be some knuckleheadz and depending on which species may need to counteract with bio weapons of sort.

does anyone know how to trap a xanthid rock crab? what else would be detrimental to a tank. def don't want isopods either.

anyone wanna share the risk with me? haha

 

[beastium]

I'm either going with tbsaltwater or sealife aquatics aka kp aquatics which is only 3.50/lb but tbsaltwater has the reviews

 

[beastium]

It's going to be either sealife aquatics or floridaliverock.com

Uncured rock is the way to get the most life from the ocean. Gotta monitor carefully in non display tank tho first

 

[e_baer]

I got 80 lbs uncured LR 7 or 8 years ago and everything was fine. Then about 5 years ago I got more uncured LR and everything was fine. Sealife inc is really good. Their rock is nice.

 

[liverock]

ive used florida live rock 3x it has lots of coral or plant hitchhickers as well as mantis shrimp & gorilla crabs. Dale at florida liverock always tries to either call or email to see what size tank you have and what size rock you want and if he has what your looking for. if you get the plant rock expect to get a lot of halimeda plants growing on it. the coral rock has star corals loads of featherdusters and sponges. i didn't really have that much die off due to him sending it to airport in the am and me recieving the rock in the late afternoon

 

[beastium]

'liverock' haha, I didn't see an option to choose between plant or coral rock tho?

Ebaer did you get sealife inc rock both times?

 

[liverock]

Ask Dale when you inquire about an order. The plant rock has too much plants imo. I 1st used him when his company was still called gulf view,my last order from him was the week before last xmas, when i decided to resart my tank after sandy.

 

[e_baer]

All the rock I have is Caribbean, but only the second time was from sealifeinc. It was actually my friends rock that he put in his tank, then a few weeks later got out of the hobby so it became mine.

'liverock' haha, I didn't see an option to choose between plant or coral rock tho?

Ebaer did you get sealife inc rock both times?

 

[beastium]

If I chose the 'cured' option from one of these sources, would I be getting the same amount of hitchhikers that would result from a couple months in my new tank?

 

[liverock]

I don.t think Florida liverock has cured rock. I would think if it was cured the people curing may remove a lot of the pest hitchhikers but not real sure.

 

[KathyC]

If I chose the 'cured' option from one of these sources, would I be getting the same amount of hitchhikers that would result from a couple months in my new tank?

No guarantee there will be any hitchhikers at all.
No guarantee that they will live through the shipping. Rock wrapped in damp paper towels can only support x amount of life, there must be some die off.
No guarantee that you won't end up with a Mantis shrimp or some other undesirable hitchhiker in your tank.

IMO just plain old live rock and a mix of base rock is your best bet. Get a cup of sand from someone on here that has a healthy tank, and you will have all sorts of life in your tank in a couple of months.
This isn't a hobby that can be rushed.

 

[beastium]

Sealife had an option like this.

I'm not trying to rush I like the natural look and diversity.

I've waited 6 months after cycling a tank to add anything so I could let the bacteria and pods thrive.

Anyone else have experience with florida uncured rock?