Long Term Success Using Aquacultured Live Rock

[robert teseo]

I had a few long term tanks with tbs, rock and sand. all lost to hurricane sandy. my new tbs tank is now about 18 months. rock and sand. most critters and corals are still alive and growing/spreading. the sand is full of worms and it had some baby stars in it as well. I even have a brain coral that appeared and is growing nicely of one rock. I had 1 mantis which now resides in the sump[altho they are not the devils they are made out to be].the tank is as natural as I can make it. there are even a few small crabs that don't appear to be doing any damage

 

[Fish Fan]

I had a few long term tanks with tbs, rock and sand. all lost to hurricane sandy. my new tbs tank is now about 18 months. rock and sand. most critters and corals are still alive and growing/spreading. the sand is full of worms and it had some baby stars in it as well. I even have a brain coral that appeared and is growing nicely of one rock. I had 1 mantis which now resides in the sump[altho they are not the devils they are made out to be].the tank is as natural as I can make it. there are even a few small crabs that don't appear to be doing any damage

Hi! Thank you for the reply! Again, that sounds really encouraging. It also sounds like you did the live sand as well? Did you do "The Package" from TBS? And honestly, I'm kind of hoping for a mantis, I would love to have a mantis tank, so no worries there ;-)

Thanks again for the help!

 

[d2mini]

Did any of you guys do the live sand too? I was thinking that might not be worth it, but if there's decent life in the sand......

Thanks guys, really appreciate the feedback!

-Fish Fan

Go with "The Package". IMO, the sand is as important as the rock. So much good bacteria and stuff in there.
Once you are done setting up the tank with The Package, you are ready to add fish and coral.

 

[d2mini]

As far as critters, coming up on two years and I still have a basket starfish (came in on the gorgonians, which are included with the package) and many urchins.

 

[robert teseo]

yes, the whole package. my 1st tank with a package was back around 2005. always had great service from Richard. he will work with you if you want something special.as a diver, I want my tanks as natural as possible.in my latest tank, I could not even count the number of star,cup and tube corals in the tank that came on, or are actively growing on the rock

 

[Fish Fan]

Wow! You guys really have me thinking about Tampa Bay Saltwater, as well as "The Package" now... Interesting! Years ago I had heard great things about TBS, and at that time I thought if I do it I'd use TBS. More recently, I had heard a lot of good things about Gulf Live Rock, GLR's shipping prices were a little better, I thought, and when I contacted Dan at GLR he was very responsive to my questions. For those reasons I had been leaning towards GLR, but now you guys have me thinking about TBS again.

When ordering from Tampa Bay Saltwater, is the ONLY option they offer the airport to airport service? That may be why their shipping seems more expensive, but on the other hand it may be worth it. I think I saw on their website that there is something of a $100 minimum shipping charge for the airport to airport service. On face value that seems expensive to me, but I can rationalize it by thinking how much would I spend on a coral or two, an urchin, some brittle stars, and who knows what else at the fish store. I have a good chance at getting all of those organisms and more on the rock, and paying extra for the shipping gives me the best chance at getting the a lot of healthy, viable organisms. When you look at it like that, what's an extra $100 or so? So I don't know, you guys really have me thinking now. Again, I when I started this post, I was expecting people to report that after 6 or 12 months most of the critters died anyway, so why not just get "average" rock or dry base rock. But the aquacultured live rock is really looking like a really great option, it honestly sounds fun to try and see what I get, and what I can maintain in the long run. I am still starting my "main" tank with dry rock, but I am absolutely setting up a "second" tank and going to try this aquacultered live rock.

I really don't mean to turn this thread into a cycling live rock thread, but quickly, my plan for this rock is I think I want to set up my 65 gallon tank, I have already about 80 pounds of dry base rock I can use for that tank. I'm thinking of maybe setting up the tank with the base rock and then doing a fishless cycle using bottled ammonia. I would give it a good month or three and really get the bio filter going strong, then I can order and add like 20 or 30 pounds of the live stuff. My theory is that by establishing the bio filter in the tank first, I have a better chance at offsetting any die off and cycling that I'm obviously going to have. I have an over-sized (DIY 55 gallon) sump I can run on this system, giving me extra water volume. That, some carbon if it smells, and some water changes to try to mitigate ammonia, and I *think*I'd have a pretty good chance at saving much of the life on the rocks. And, if I start the tank soon, and give it a few months to cycle well, then I could order my rock in the Spring when the cold New York weather breaks. Another thought is to try "The Package" in one of my IM Fusion 10 gallons. This way I would use 100% of the live rock, no base rock at all. Much to think about......

Thanks very much to everyone, I really appreciate all the feedback I'm getting here!!!

 

[fish farmer]

Wow! You guys really have me thinking about Tampa Bay Saltwater, as well as "The Package" now... Interesting! Years ago I had heard great things about TBS, and at that time I thought if I do it I'd use TBS. More recently, I had heard a lot of good things about Gulf Live Rock, GLR's shipping prices were a little better, I thought, and when I contacted Dan at GLR he was very responsive to my questions. For those reasons I had been leaning towards GLR, but now you guys have me thinking about TBS again.

A reefer I knew bought the package back around 2001 for his 40 gallon. The life was amazing, he had several porcelian crabs, corals, he may have even got a mantis. If you want the life on the rock and want to try and keep it alive, say in a dedicated system, then shipped in water would be the best option. I've alway wished I could set up an Atlantic themed tank just to let the rock life be the focus.

 

[Fish Fan]

Wow, great to hear! Yes. water shipped is the most costly, but obviously gives the best chance of life surviving. I also appreciate that this is basically same day shipping, it's packed in the morning, and I'll have it that evening. Let me take another look at "The Package", maybe this is the way to go.

Thanks again!

 

[robert teseo]

shipping costs are based on weight, which is based on tank size. a 75 gallon package sent to long island ny was about $200 per shipment. to me it was worth what I was getting

 

[Fish Fan]

shipping costs are based on weight, which is based on tank size. a 75 gallon package sent to long island ny was about $200 per shipment. to me it was worth what I was getting

Wait, so $200 delivered, or that was the shipping cost alone?

 

[d2mini]

Air freight is the only way to go. Prices vary depending on location but typically its around $1/lb.
The boxes are heavy because Richard ships in heavy duty plastic bags filled with water. Keeping everything wet, and shipping same day ensures the least amount of die-off, and that you are truly getting "live" rock. He packs everything up at the crack of dawn and then drops off at the airport freight terminal. Just hours later you are picking up the boxes at your local freight terminal. Yes it costs more due to the heavy boxes, but it's worth it.

And look how much fun it is making the pickup!

 

[Fish Fan]

Air freight is the only way to go. Prices vary depending on location but typically its around $1/lb.
The boxes are heavy because Richard ships in heavy duty plastic bags filled with water. Keeping everything wet, and shipping same day ensures the least amount of die-off, and that you are truly getting "live" rock. He packs everything up at the crack of dawn and then drops off at the airport freight terminal. Just hours later you are picking up the boxes at your local freight terminal. Yes it costs more due to the heavy boxes, but it's worth it.

And look how much fun it is making the pickup!

Great pic!

Yes, I do get that it's shipped wet, same day, and as I was mentioning previously, when you weigh the cost of the shipping vs what it would cost to buy all that life, it's really a deal.

Thanks again!

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Here's info from Richard about shipping:

Shipping live rock...how it is done
No fed ex or UPS for live rock, however dry rock can be shipped to your door fed ex....
________________________________________
OK...getting many messages about how much for folks to ship to their zip code...

This is real live rock that is shipped underwater and cannot be sent via fed ex or ups...you read all the time how some folks get their live rock delivered via ground service wrapped in wet newspapers and experience dead loss and stressed out live rock..death....and curing....and other issues....so that defeats the whole purpose of growing and shipping the highest quality live rock on the planet! That is not what this rock is about. This is real live rock that comes to you alive and happily shipped underwater and is added directly to your tank with no issues, every time, no curing no fuss no muss.

Most folks I ship The Package to
http://tbsaltwater.com/thepackage/index.html

never even get an ammonia spike and have a cycled happy reef tank in a week.
http://tbsaltwater.com/testimonials/index.html

I ship via the airlines to your airport. This insures a fast and timely shipment, usually same day to your airport. I pack it in the morning and you pick it up after work. You can safely add this rock to an existing cycled tank with no issues.

Pick up is easy, I supply the shipping info...and you just back up to the air cargo building load your boxes and off you go. It is not where you go as a passenger, the freight facility is in a different location, usually. Is quick, painless and insures you have the best quality live rock on the planet!

And....for weight estimate, for live rock only you can double the amount of rock ordered for an estimate on total weight with water on it. IE fifty pounds of rock will weigh about ninety pounds with the water on it and be shipped in two boxes 17.17.10 inches. All the airlines are at about $90 per 100 pounds shipping charge. I pack 20-25 pounds per box of rock. So 50 pounds of live rock shipped to your airport would be about $90 in freight charges....or a little less. Anything over 100 pounds is an additional .90 a pound.

If ordering a Package, triple the size of the Package for weight estimate on part one, and a little less on part two as you won't have the live sand weight. IE a 30 gallon Package will weigh about ninety pounds part one...and little less on part two.

more shipping info here

http://tbsaltwater.com/ordering/shipping.html


__________________
www.tbsaltwater.com

 

[Fish Fan]

For those of you that have ordered from TBS, let me see if I understand the pricing. Let's say I choose "The Package" for a 20 gallon tank, which is listed on his website as $266.00. Then, I have to add the minimum $100 for shipping, plus any other airport fees and packing fees? So realistically "The Package" is going to cost $400, maybe more, is that correct?

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

My delivery and set up experience:

+

This was my tank immediately after receiving and placing the second shipment of the package, which comes about 30 days after the first.


.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

For those of you that have ordered from TBS, let me see if I understand the pricing. Let's say I choose "The Package" for a 20 gallon tank, which is listed on his website as $266.00. Then, I have to add the minimum $100 for shipping, plus any other airport fees and packing fees? So realistically "The Package" is going to cost $400, maybe more, is that correct?

20# of rock plus 10# of sand, double the weight for the water, = 60#. It will be shipped in three boxes. You are under 100#, so freight will be around $90.

The Package, if you choose to get the animals, will come in two shipments. Half the rock and sand on shipment one. The other half of rocks and critters in shipment two. If you do it this way there will be two airline freight charges. I don't know that the critter part is all that necessary. For a 20 gal I'd skip the critters and just get it all in one shot. You can buy snails/cukes etc elsewhere, and we already have discussed the sponges won't last long term.

Plus if you get the sand, you'll have hermit crabs and snails automatically that hitchhike in.

 

[robert teseo]

ok, yea. so my 75 package was 908 plus 2 shipments, sand and, rock and critters were about 200 ea. total cost for a running 75 system was about $1300. to me that was nothing compared to the tank,lighting, custom wood stand, sump and apex

 

[robert teseo]

btw, if you look at the critter pics, I even had a fish hitch hike a ride and pop out of the rock!

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

btw, if you look at the critter pics, I even had a fish hitch hike a ride and pop out of the rock!

That's pretty cool - what was it?

 

[robert teseo]

some type of wrasse. pic #71 in the critters section of the tbs site