Who has better live rock tbs or kp aquatics

[fishywishy]

Which has better coralline algae growth and better looking rock in general? I’m not going to get corals for a while so pretty rock is important to me.

 

[fishywishy]

Also the best biodiversity

 

[Solga]

I would say, either choice you make will be a good one.

Edited... For bad information

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Quality-wise, they're probably about the same. I would choose based on the logistics of pickup/delivery. Last I read, TBS will only ship via air freight, which means you have to go to the local airport cargo terminal and pick it up. KP Aquatics will overnight a small amount of live rock to your door, fully submerged in saltwater, which really helps prevent die-off.

I went with KP Aquatics. It's expensive, at around $20/lb. But you really don't need that much to get started. Add the KP rock to some cheap dry rock and you're all set.

The life you find on this rock is really something else. It's the closest thing to the live rock we had back in the old days, in 2006 when I got into the hobby.

 

[RyanN]

TBS does ship via UPS or air freight.....I've been thinking about getting some and they will ship to your local airport via Delta cargo or you can go under their treasure chest section to have a lesser amount of rock shipped via UPS next day air.

 

[WeberKettleGuy]

Quality-wise, they're probably about the same. I would choose based on the logistics of pickup/delivery. Last I read, TBS will only ship via air freight, which means you have to go to the local airport cargo terminal and pick it up. KP Aquatics will overnight a small amount of live rock to your door, fully submerged in saltwater, which really helps prevent die-off.

I went with KP Aquatics. It's expensive, at around $20/lb. But you really don't need that much to get started. Add the KP rock to some cheap dry rock and you're all set.

The life you find on this rock is really something else. It's the closest thing to the live rock we had back in the old days, in 2006 when I got into the hobby.

I'm pretty confident I will go with some KP rock when I get my tank up and running. I did not realize that they would ship direct, Did you have it shipped directly to your home? I'm assuming you did the 15 lbs option? Would you do it again? Main reason I ask is I'm 90 minutes from an airport and not wanting the hassle, but loving the look of their rock and reviews. Thanks!

 

[littlefishy]

KP is from the Atlantic, althought they have several fields. They say they have no Aiptasia, and I had none on mine. I also had no coral or interesting growth on mine, just coraline and orange sponge. TBS is supposed to have a bit more pests like aiptasia, but a much better chance of getting coral and lots of tunicates, sponges, etc.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I'm pretty confident I will go with some KP rock when I get my tank up and running. I did not realize that they would ship direct, Did you have it shipped directly to your home? I'm assuming you did the 15 lbs option? Would you do it again? Main reason I ask is I'm 90 minutes from an airport and not wanting the hassle, but loving the look of their rock and reviews. Thanks!

Yep they'll ship direct. It's actually better than it used to be, they used to ship direct, but only in damp paper towels. So there was some noticeable die-off. They now ship fully submerged in water, so basically everything survives. Lots of crabs, urchins, a few pistol shrimp, and starfish made it on my last order.

I went with the 10lb option. I didn't need much, and I'm glad I didn't go with the 15lb. Their 10lb box was basically enough to fill my 20 gallon long QT tank.

I'd absolutely do it again. I'm thinking about setting up a nano in my office once I'm done painting and re-flooring. If I did, I'd get another 10lb box without any hesitation.

One thing to note is that pests survive too. There were definitely some isopods that I saw darting around the QT. I would definitely QT the rock for a while.

 

[fishface NJ]

I bought from KP twice in the past two years. I am planning on getting another shipment.

 

[ChiCity]

i’d go with australian liverock…
check out @uniquecorals
i think they have some in stock right now….

pacific rock, much better than all
the gorilla crabs that come in on tb/kp

 

[Schulks]

I would definitely QT the rock for a while.

How do you QT your live rock? No light for a couple weeks?

 

[olonmv]

From what I’ve read. TBS is best bought during summer months while KP can be bought year round. KP is in the keys where water stays warm and TBS is further up the coast where temps change with climate.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

How do you QT your live rock? No light for a couple weeks?

I set it up in a 20 gallon and let the rock sit for 2 months or so. I set up a light over it to maintain the coralline and neat macro algae that survived the trip.

 

[Schulks]

I set it up in a 20 gallon and let the rock sit for 2 months or so. I set up a light over it to maintain the coralline and neat macro algae that survived the trip.

So you are only QTing out the fish diseases? I just realized maybe snail eating nudibranch too? What other pests are you worried about? Thanks for your thoughts I have been thinking about adding some live rock to my aquarium. It seems like it could add a lot of life to my rocks but am afraid of the hitchhikers lol

 

[fishywishy]

I set it up in a 20 gallon and let the rock sit for 2 months or so. I set up a light over it to maintain the coralline and neat macro algae that survived the trip.

Cant you just do a hyposalinity dip to get all the pest off?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Which has better coralline algae growth and better looking rock in general? I’m not going to get corals for a while so pretty rock is important to me.

Both are good. Tampa bay has good variety and packages

 

[Sfork]

Quality-wise, they're probably about the same. I would choose based on the logistics of pickup/delivery. Last I read, TBS will only ship via air freight, which means you have to go to the local airport cargo terminal and pick it up. KP Aquatics will overnight a small amount of live rock to your door, fully submerged in saltwater, which really helps prevent die-off.

I went with KP Aquatics. It's expensive, at around $20/lb. But you really don't need that much to get started. Add the KP rock to some cheap dry rock and you're all set.

The life you find on this rock is really something else. It's the closest thing to the live rock we had back in the old days, in 2006 when I got into the hobby.

Oh man I remember getting some tonga live rock the lfs had just opened the box and I took it home. So much life had a crazy thing that would send a snake tongue all around the tank and a mantis shrimp

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

So you are only QTing out the fish diseases? I just realized maybe snail eating nudibranch too? What other pests are you worried about? Thanks for your thoughts I have been thinking about adding some live rock to my aquarium. It seems like it could add a lot of life to my rocks but am afraid of the hitchhikers lol

Fish diseases were my main concern at the time, so I went with 60 days, but that timeframe should be sufficient for most coral pests also (MEN, AEFW, etc). This probably won't be enough time to starve a shrimp or crab, but those are a one-and-done thing; catch them and they're gone. They won't reproduce and destroy a system like coral or fish disease could.

 

[JGT]

KP all the way.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Cant you just do a hyposalinity dip to get all the pest off?

I wouldn't feel safe doing that. My QT/observation period is a minimum of 30 days if I'm buying from a trusted vendor. Otherwise, it's 60 days minimum. I've personally spent thousands on my tank and livestock. I'm not putting something in my tank until I'm absolutely certain that it's not going to destroy all my hard work.

It's all down to your personal risk tolerance though. Lots of people go to the LFS, buy a fish or coral, and put it in their display tank that very same day. If that's more your style, then a hyposalinity dip is probably better than nothing.