UNFORTUNATELY THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SHIP, YOU CAN PUT FRAGILE STICKERS ALL OVER IT AND THEY WILL STILL TOSS IT AROUND LIKE A SOCCER BALL.Just got my order of 40 pounds of live rock.
The rock itself looks in good condition but there was a lot more breakage than I expected. I selected the rock in person and in doing so I selected only large whole size pieces and only had one small 2-3 inch piece to round out the weight. When the package arrived the amount of breakage has resulted in 20+ small size pieces which I will likely have to epoxy or glue together as I build the scape.
I believe the primary issue was too much rock was jammed into one box. There would have been a lot less breakage if two boxes were used or if the box was just stuffed with less. Some of the breakage was likely due to shipping but some look like the breaking happened during packaging to get everything to fit. If I had to do it again I would have gotten 5-10 pounds less of rock since the 20+ small pieces are not as easy to work with so it would have been better to get less so I could work with mostly large pieces.
Given the price paid, I am definitely disappointed in the packing / large amount of breakage but will work with what was shipped since not much choice. I have received live rock orders from two Florida based suppliers before and had zero issues with breakage. Those rocks were not as porous or delicate, but I do believe the amount of breakage here could have been reduced materially if packed more carefully.
Picture of rocks in a temporary container. Second picture shows the box the rocks were shipped in. It was packed to the brim. Way too densely packed unfortunately since looks like some of the larger pieces were broken down to get things to fit. I was not pleased to see smaller sized pieces layered throughout as I was unpacking.
BEAUTIFUL ROCK NONETHELESS!Just got my order of 40 pounds of live rock.
The rock itself looks in good condition but there was a lot more breakage than I expected. I selected the rock in person and in doing so I selected only large whole size pieces and only had one small 2-3 inch piece to round out the weight. When the package arrived the amount of breakage has resulted in 20+ small size pieces which I will likely have to epoxy or glue together as I build the scape.
I believe the primary issue was too much rock was jammed into one box. There would have been a lot less breakage if two boxes were used or if the box was just stuffed with less. Some of the breakage was likely due to shipping but some look like the breaking happened during packaging to get everything to fit. If I had to do it again I would have gotten 5-10 pounds less of rock since the 20+ small pieces are not as easy to work with so it would have been better to get less so I could work with mostly large pieces.
Given the price paid, I am definitely disappointed in the packing / large amount of breakage but will work with what was shipped since not much choice. I have received live rock orders from two Florida based suppliers before and had zero issues with breakage. Those rocks were not as porous or delicate, but I do believe the amount of breakage here could have been reduced materially if packed more carefully.
Picture of rocks in a temporary container. Second picture shows the box the rocks were shipped in. It was packed to the brim. Way too densely packed unfortunately since looks like some of the larger pieces were broken down to get things to fit. I was not pleased to see smaller sized pieces layered throughout as I was unpacking.
Well I’m sorry to hear this! I realize fed ex can be rough with the boxes for sure!Just got my order of 40 pounds of live rock.
The rock itself looks in good condition but there was a lot more breakage than I expected. I selected the rock in person and in doing so I selected only large whole size pieces and only had one small 2-3 inch piece to round out the weight. When the package arrived the amount of breakage has resulted in 20+ small size pieces which I will likely have to epoxy or glue together as I build the scape.
I believe the primary issue was too much rock was jammed into one box. There would have been a lot less breakage if two boxes were used or if the box was just stuffed with less. Some of the breakage was likely due to shipping but some look like the breaking happened during packaging to get everything to fit. If I had to do it again I would have gotten 5-10 pounds less of rock since the 20+ small pieces are not as easy to work with so it would have been better to get less so I could work with mostly large pieces.
Given the price paid, I am definitely disappointed in the packing / large amount of breakage but will work with what was shipped since not much choice. I have received live rock orders from two Florida based suppliers before and had zero issues with breakage. Those rocks were not as porous or delicate, but I do believe the amount of breakage here could have been reduced materially if packed more carefully.
Picture of rocks in a temporary container. Second picture shows the box the rocks were shipped in. It was packed to the brim. Way too densely packed unfortunately since looks like some of the larger pieces were broken down to get things to fit. I was not pleased to see smaller sized pieces layered throughout as I was unpacking.
Thanks! Appreciate that! In hindsight, I could have packed the rock super loose in two boxes and added $100 to the cost of shipping but I honestly thought it would ship fine. Not all fed ex drivers treat packages the same and I will work with this customer to make sure he’s taken care of.
Customer has been using epoxy and working on the rock to make nice formations. He seems to have it under control. I think it’s always a good practice to secure the rock when making new structures. The last personal tank I built had a couple boxes of branch rock glued one by one on the base of the tank to form a thistle patch for the fish. Was so cool!
Thanks again so much! You did an amazing job with the structure! I also appreciate your patience and kind words about me which means the world.I redid my aquascape with Eric’s Australian live rock. This is the second anniversary of my first tank. After two years I wanted to start over and hopefully make less mistakes this time around.
I am transitioning to a SPS dominant tank, which means I left most of my non-SPS coral behind. I used the reset to introduce a copperband who had been in medicated quarantine for a few weeks.
A few things to note:
1. Process took 10 hours over the course of two days. I expoxy’d the large pieces first day, cured overnight, then added the aquascape to my RedSea 525 the next day.
2. Aquascape consists of 5 larger structures built with expory/superglue. Then 3-5 inch pieces are layered throughout without glue. Any portion of the aquascape can be easily rearranged or pulled out for maintenance.
3. Aquascape built from 36 pounds of Australian live rock. Several of the larger pieces are sitting on top of 3/4” pieces of flat Marco rock to give the aquascape more elevation.
4. The rockscape is lower than my prior Marco rock aquascape since (1) I had less rock to work with (budget issue), (2) I wanted to limit time spent aquascaping in the open air, and (3) it was challenging to aquascape underwater in the large plastic bins I used. To compensate for the lower aquascape, I moved my MP40s down a few inches.
5. I used 3.5 sticks of the DD aquarium epoxy. This is absolutely terrible epoxy since it starts dissolving as soon as it hits the water, takes very long to cure, and does not form a strong bond after 18 hours. I had to epoxy some connections 3-4 times since the bodnsnkept falling apart. I ended up having to reinforce most of the joints with superglue. Next time I would buy the Tunze epoxy which even is double the price but sets within minutes, pollutes the water a lot less, and has a solid end bond. The 3.5 sticks of DD epoxy (huge headache) was equivalent to 1 stick of Tunze epoxy (smooth process). The water got very polluted after the initial round of epoxy so I ended up doing a water change. When I cleaned up the black plastic bins later, small specs of expoxy settled all over the bottom (and some wall areas) of the bin. Needless to say I do not recommend the DD epoxy!
6. I also used ten 2 oz tubes of superglue. I would have liked to use more but ran out.
7. I ended up with only 4 pounds 3 ounces of small rubble—far less than what I expected. Most of the breakage experienced during shipping was fixed with epoxy and superglue. . I put the rubble into my sump and will attach a few small pieces to the aquascape once I refresh my superglue supply.
8. Eric was very responsive and fair about the packing/rubble issue. You cannot find a better live rock seller to work with. I would order again without any hesitation whatsoever.
Major advantages of the Australian live rock:
1. Incredibly beautiful rock! My wife and kids love the new look!
2. Super high porosity since it largely consists of dead coral skeleton rather than rock mined from land. Rock is very light so it is much less cumbersome to move in/out of tank and to re-adjust in-tank.
3. Structure of rocks makes it very easy to jigsaw together into stable structures. In the aquascape shown, I only have 6-7 major joints made with expoxy/superglue. Most of the pieces are stacked and/or jigsawed. You cannot jigsaw stable structures with Marco rock which means you have to rely heavily in epoxy/glue/mortar when using dry rock.
4. The coral skeleton structure allows you to add frag plugs to the structure without superglue. Half of the frags in the aquascape were simply jammed into one of the numerous small openings available. This allows for easy movement of frags around the tank. I tried multiple times to drill holes into my old Marco rock and gave up since it took forever and was difficult to do without breaking the rock itself.
Below are pictures of the end result! I could not be happier.
Yes, there was some ammonia smell when I added the rock to the tank. I believe this was exacerbated by the water in the temporary bins getting polluted with the DD epoxy. After setting up the aquascape in the tank there was a noticeable ammonia smell during which time the skimmer went wild. After 2 hours or so the smell went away. I also ended up doing a round of DYI coral snow and then added Microbe Life Special Blend to the tank. The next day the tank smells and looks great!
Dangged Eric!
Thanks man! It’s all good and with some elbow grease, slingfox got it done and with nice style points too! In all honesty, I could have called him to see if he was cool with an extra box instead of just one full box. Probably would have shipped much cleaner. After 30 plus years I’m still learning!Awesome rock for sure. I've spoken to Eric on the telephone a few times and he's legit. Try to find Australian Live Rock anywhere else...
I'd almost expect some breakage the rock is so lightweight. Slingfox, you couldn't have rented a car and driven it home yourself? Not finding fault but just thinking out loud.
Best post!Dangged Eric!
I was reading @slingfox posts over the last week or whatever and now tonight I come on here and am wondering how much money you paid him to write the best piece of advertising one could hope for?
Ok, That nonsense out of the way, NICE work @slingfox and great write up on your experience with Australian Live rock and our good friend Eric who I also have dealt with and enjoyed and have tried to put in some kind words for, but I don't have to do that any more, you covered it pretty well and completely.
This live rock, well Eric didn't make it, he just imports the stuff and it is a bit pricey (is there tarriff on this stuff?) but it is simple to work with, glue and shape into live rock aquarium substrate platforms, ready to rock!
Glad you are still bringing this in for our hobby. It makes people and their reefing families happy and healthy and thriving.Great game day action!
Yeah, I flew into SoCal for Labor Day weekend so has the opportunity to select the rock in person. Unfortunately I flew out to the East coast afterwards for work and was reluctant to lug the rocks around with me. Bad planning I know!Awesome rock for sure. I've spoken to Eric on the telephone a few times and he's legit. Try to find Australian Live Rock anywhere else...
I'd almost expect some breakage the rock is so lightweight. Slingfox, you couldn't have rented a car and driven it home yourself? Not finding fault but just thinking out loud.
