Real Live Rock

monkeyCmonkeyDo

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Never even heard if it sorry. When i 1st started i bought LR from a lfs for $8lb. It was just cycled flordia rubble rock but it worked minus the gorillia crabs. Lol.
D
 

Timfish

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I haven't been able to any live rock from Walt Smith in years. I've been pretty happy with GulfLiveRock.com but ALWAYS get it shipped air freight to minimize dieoff and also am pretty aggressive in removing anything that looks like it might be dying the when it arrives and the fisrt week or so especially the clams which I'll try to check daily. I also always find some Blushing Star corals (the coral under the gorgonian) and occasionally a Rose coral, both are illegal to collect from the wild and can only be acquired if they incidentally happen to be on maricultured live rock.
 

malacoda

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Does anyone still use Walt Smith?
I order some from TBS in 2016 for my 24g. And then again straight from Fiji in 2019 via livestockusa.org for my 65g.

TBS came in water of course, so no curing needed. The rock from Fiji was shipped in wet newspaper so did need curing.

Having used Walt Smith, Caribsea Life Rock and Real Reef Rock, I prefer the Walt Smith.

It is denser that the other two, but I prefer the color and overall nook-and-cranny texture better than the others. Of course, the fact that it's available as aqua-cultured with life on it versus just dry was also a key factor in my choosing to use it.
 

Rtaylor

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I’ve had good experiences with LiveRockNreef.com for aquacultured live rock. It looks like pricing might be better at Gulf Live Rock. Some of my hitchhikers :)
 

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Wen

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There’s not enough quality live rock farmers available currently. KP is who I’d buy from at the moment, but I’m excited for TBS to be shipping this fall.

New TBS owners @RockShark, @LiveRockLyon + TBS founder @liverock + new warehouse + 50k lbs walt smith rock + 3 million lbs on site = more live rock for us!

Woohoo!
 
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JCM

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There’s not enough quality live rock farmers available currently. KP is who I’d buy from at the moment, but I’m excited for TBS to be shipping this fall.

New TBS owners @RockShark, @LiveRockLyon + TBS founder @liverock + new warehouse + 50k lbs walt smith rock + 3 million lbs on site = more live rock for us!

Woohoo!

I was planning on buying from KP but they're still sold out. Gulf is a good option, but I'd definitely consider overnight shipping next time.
 
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JCM

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It's been 3 days with the rock and unfortunately we haven't seen a pod, worm, starfish, or anything else alive/moving at all. Clams are still alive and part of the gorgonian is ok. Ammonia is still .25-.5

I got an email from KP that they had some back in stock. I ordered 15 lbs shipped overnight in water.
 
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reefinatl

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It's been 3 days with the rock and unfortunately we haven't seen a pod, worm, starfish, or anything else alive/moving at all. Clams are still alive and part of the gorgonian is ok. My disappointment mounts each day. Ammonia is still .25-.5

I got an email from KP that they had some back in stock. I ordered 15 lbs shipped overnight in water.
There is almost zero chance a gorgonian and clams survived but no pods or stars did or worms did. It just takes time for things to come around. I had 2 wennerae mantis survive 2ppm. The stuff you are after on live rock is not delicate.

Nothing wrong with getting more from KP overnighted but I'd bet in another week or two you will start seeing life in there either way.
 
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JCM

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There is almost zero chance a gorgonian and clams survived but no pods or stars did or worms did. It just takes time for things to come around. I had 2 wennerae mantis survive 2ppm. The stuff you are after on live rock is not delicate.

Nothing wrong with getting more from KP overnighted but I'd bet in another week or two you will start seeing life in there either way.

I dont disagree with you, I think it's strange I've seen no activity while the clams are holding on. I check with a flashlight every 30 minutes haha.

I would've ordered the KP rock either way. I need more rock and the more diversity the better.
 

reefinatl

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I dont disagree with you, I think it's strange I've seen no activity while the clams are holding on. I check with a flashlight every 30 minutes haha.

I would've ordered the KP rock either way. I need more rock and the more diversity the better.
Go for it. I'd wait another week for the ammonia to settle out entirely and then get KP overnighter in water. You are essentially doing a roll-your-own TBS "package" style ramp up at that point.
 
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Go for it. I'd wait another week for the ammonia to settle out entirely and then get KP overnighter in water. You are essentially doing a roll-your-own TBS "package" style ramp up at that point.

I'll definitely keep the KP rock in a separate tub until the ammonia calms down.
 

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