Live rock/sand

[Fiziksgeek]

Finally got my tank plumbed up and running for a couple days on a fresh water leak test, everything seems to be going as I hoped. No leaks at all, which is amazing since I have ~200ft of pvc because of a remote basement sump, frag tank, and 2 closed loops on the main display.


The main display is 72x36x26h (~290 gallons). Thinking of ordering rock and sand from TBS or Gulf live rock. I already have several bags of the Caribsea Aragonite special grade which seems to be onsale often. It has a good grain size, not too big, not too small, so hopefully it will be large enough that it wont blow around but also be reasonably small to support sand sifting critters.

I was thinking of ordering 300 lbs of the premium rock, and and was wondering if I should but live sand instead of using the Caribsea I already have. Its been a long build thus far, so hoping to jump start the tank now that everything is up and running.

Opinion of the live sand from the gulf? Appropriate grain size? Good life? worth the extra money if placing an order anyway? How much for a couple inches over my 72x36 footprint?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

IMHO the live rock will take care of all your biological filtration needs so I personally don't see a huge value in it but if you have the extra money, why not?

 

[LiverockRocks]

Finally got my tank plumbed up and running for a couple days on a fresh water leak test, everything seems to be going as I hoped. No leaks at all, which is amazing since I have ~200ft of pvc because of a remote basement sump, frag tank, and 2 closed loops on the main display.


The main display is 72x36x26h (~290 gallons). Thinking of ordering rock and sand from TBS or Gulf live rock. I already have several bags of the Caribsea Aragonite special grade which seems to be onsale often. It has a good grain size, not too big, not too small, so hopefully it will be large enough that it wont blow around but also be reasonably small to support sand sifting critters.

I was thinking of ordering 300 lbs of the premium rock, and and was wondering if I should but live sand instead of using the Caribsea I already have. Its been a long build thus far, so hoping to jump start the tank now that everything is up and running.

Opinion of the live sand from the gulf? Appropriate grain size? Good life? worth the extra money if placing an order anyway? How much for a couple inches over my 72x36 footprint?

Thanks for considering TBS for your new system.

Regarding sand size, we specifically harvest large grain sand size from the lease site and avoid sugar sand. Live sand is packed with diverse micro and macro organisms from pods, micro stars, coralline, worms, etc. It is very alive and will not survive in a bag on a store shelf. We recommend 1lb live sand per gallon, as this generally gives you a couple inches of sand.

For pre-cycled tanks we recommend the TBS Package. This is a tried-and-true way to cycle new tanks and create a solid foundation for a long-term healthy tank. Live sand and base rock arrive first to cycle the tank and begin building the microbial foundations. After a week, we ship the premium rock with clean-up crew. Now the tank will begin to settle in.

Happy to answer any questions.

 

[LiverockRocks]

TBS Live Sand R2R thread

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Thanks for considering TBS for your new system.

Regarding sand size, we specifically harvest large grain sand size from the lease site and avoid sugar sand. Live sand is packed with diverse micro and macro organisms from pods, micro stars, coralline, worms, etc. It is very alive and will not survive in a bag on a store shelf. We recommend 1lb live sand per gallon, as this generally gives you a couple inches of sand.

For pre-cycled tanks we recommend the TBS Package. This is a tried-and-true way to cycle new tanks and create a solid foundation for a long-term healthy tank. Live sand and base rock arrive first to cycle the tank and begin building the microbial foundations. After a week, we ship the premium rock with clean-up crew. Now the tank will begin to settle in.

Happy to answer any questions.

Hey TBS, Thanks for replying. I like the idea of the staged shipments, but I assume this means 2 trips to the airport? Also, the TBS package calculator seems to recommend 1lb per gallon of both base rock and premium, so for my 290, that would be 580 lbs of rock, seems a little excessive Lots to consider.

One difference I noticed between your deliveries and others if that you ship submerged, as opposed to the wet paper towel method. Its a superios method as it means less die off, but I assume this means extra weight and thus extra cost. Watching some youtube videos, it seem like you try and minimize the amount of water, but still, its gotta add some weight. I don't really have a feeling for how much the air cargo cost would be for something like 300 lbs of rock, as packed, is it 400 lbs? less? more? Any idea the cost to get it to BDL (Hartford)?

 

[LiverockRocks]

Hey TBS, Thanks for replying. I like the idea of the staged shipments, but I assume this means 2 trips to the airport? Also, the TBS package calculator seems to recommend 1lb per gallon of both base rock and premium, so for my 290, that would be 580 lbs of rock, seems a little excessive Lots to consider.

One difference I noticed between your deliveries and others if that you ship submerged, as opposed to the wet paper towel method. Its a superios method as it means less die off, but I assume this means extra weight and thus extra cost. Watching some youtube videos, it seem like you try and minimize the amount of water, but still, its gotta add some weight. I don't really have a feeling for how much the air cargo cost would be for something like 300 lbs of rock, as packed, is it 400 lbs? less? more? Any idea the cost to get it to BDL (Hartford)?

You are welcome.

For cycling new tanks over 10 gallons using the TBS Package, the 2-phase technique works great.

The Package calculation is a tried-and-true way to have a stable, healthy long-term tank; however, there are lots of opinions and ways to go about it. The extra lbs of rock can be placed in a sump chamber for a cryptic zone, or a refugium or in overflows.

Many customers will order a smaller sized Package and then add sand. Some customers order 1lb live sand and 1lb base rock per gallon, 1 shipment. Then they add more rock later if they want.
We have other customers who "seed" their established systems with sand and base rock.
And then we have customers who "seed" their dry rock (post cycled) tank with sand and base rock.

Yes, we only ship rock submerged.
Richard Londeree (founder) experienced the tremendous effort put into farming rock and shipping in wet newspapers degraded the quality of the product so much, he said nope, no more shipping in paper.

Shipping submerged does add weight and air cargo is really the cheapest way to move it around $1.25 per pound. 300lbs of rock is estimated to have a max weigh 750lbs in 15 - 20 boxes. Delta flies into BDL and they are quoting about $1 per lb atm.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

You are welcome.

For cycling new tanks over 10 gallons using the TBS Package, the 2-phase technique works great.

The Package calculation is a tried-and-true way to have a stable, healthy long-term tank; however, there are lots of opinions and ways to go about it. The extra lbs of rock can be placed in a sump chamber for a cryptic zone, or a refugium or in overflows.

Many customers will order a smaller sized Package and then add sand. Some customers order 1lb live sand and 1lb base rock per gallon, 1 shipment. Then they add more rock later if they want.
We have other customers who "seed" their established systems with sand and base rock.
And then we have customers who "seed" their dry rock (post cycled) tank with sand and base rock.

Yes, we only ship rock submerged.
Richard Londeree (founder) experienced the tremendous effort put into farming rock and shipping in wet newspapers degraded the quality of the product so much, he said nope, no more shipping in paper.

Shipping submerged does add weight and air cargo is really the cheapest way to move it around $1.25 per pound. 300lbs of rock is estimated to have a max weigh 750lbs in 15 - 20 boxes. Delta flies into BDL and they are quoting about $1 per lb atm.

I have placed an order

 

[LiverockRocks]

I have placed an order

Got it. Thank you.
I will reach out via email this morning.

 

[OldRed1]

You are NOT going to be disappointed with your TBS order. Their service is top tier and their rocks/sand come with an abundance of flora and fauna. Cannot wait to see photos of your tank soon!