Who Has the Best Value for Live Rock?

Reefer Matt

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I have a 125 gallon tank coming soon, and I want to put in around 140 lbs of live rock. Who has the best value in the US as far as total cost with shipping?
 
The best price I could find recently was Gulf live rock. Mine shipped wet but not submerged and I did have some die off but I expected it and just left the rock in container of water with flow for a week or so. I think all the live rock vendors here are good. I don't have an airport nearby that I care to drive to and GLR was the only one I could find that shipped UPS so I new it wasn't shipped in water but I'm ok with that. I think it ended up around $11 a lb shipped.
 
The best price I could find recently was Gulf live rock. Mine shipped wet but not submerged and I did have some die off but I expected it and just left the rock in container of water with flow for a week or so. I think all the live rock vendors here are good. I don't have an airport nearby that I care to drive to and GLR was the only one I could find that shipped UPS so I new it wasn't shipped in water but I'm ok with that. I think it ended up around $11 a lb shipped.
Thanks! I see they are out of stock on a lot right now but have some variations available. And that makes sense since this is the off season. I might have to wait or look locally as well.
 
What companies are you asking about? I like TBS rock a lot.
 
Tankstop has Aussie and Fiji Pukani live rock for a little more than what you’d pay for gulf rock. It’s not gonna be as “alive” as gulf rock as it’s cured for a few weeks, but mine still came with lots of coraline, sponges, macroalgae, ball anemones, and other weird creatures.
 
What companies are you asking about? I like TBS rock a lot.
I haven’t bought live rock in 8 years so I don’t know who the go to’s are now. Since I need a lot of it, I didn’t know if there are bulk deals out there as well.
 
Maybe I need to reevaluate. I didn’t realize live rock goes for over $20 a pound now plus shipping! 😱

Think I’ll add some rock from a few of my tanks and supplement with dry rock. I see they have cool shelves and base rock now. Maybe I’ll do a custom scape this time instead of plopping rocks on each other.
 
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I know it seems expensive, but it alleviates a LOT of pain points and is well worth it IMO.
It’s like fast forwarding a year of sitting and watching your tank mature. If you consider the electricity, water, and time costs of sitting through the “ugly stage”, the live rock really isn’t a bad deal.
 
I also like gulf live rock. I tried something an author suggested (can't remember which book) and had a lot of fun last year adding some gulf live rock rubble to a 2.5 gallon tank. With an sponge filter and a small light. Nothing but the rock. I was amazed, shocked and just entranced by all the stuff I saw in that tank over the year and half. Snails. An urchin that suddenly showed up (I'm sure it was just tiny when I got it and eventually grew the urchin grew and one day I saw it and was amazed). I've had several urchins emerge from gulf live rock. Tubeworms. Turkey clams. Crabs. Some weird palm sized thing that looked like a giant tan amoeba that popped out every week or two to cruise the glass. Macro algae. I just feed some phyto a few times a week. Sometimes nori when the urchin was there. The walls are crawling with pods. Some really weird tiny clam thing with small red siphons coming out of it. It was super fun microtank. Still going actually (picture is from today).



IMG_2350.jpeg
 
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I have a 125 gallon tank coming soon, and I want to put in around 140 lbs of live rock. Who has the best value in the US as far as total cost with shipping?

There is no best really. Save that for sports batting averages and statistics. Hobbyist just share our biased opinions like mine here.

KP and TBS have a very well and established hobbyist base that provide great feedback on quality. You can't go wrong with either. Both ship fully submerged in water so this is one of premium price points. If you are located such that pick up is a possibility that may save you on freight but you would need to reach out to either and get details.

With regards to best about the best you can do, no pun intended, is compare price per pound and go from there. There is some other live rock out there such as Australian and Fiji but you will pay a higher premium. Again all you need to do is search, note the price per pound, and Bob's your Uncle.
 
I also like gulf live rock. I tried something an author suggested (can't remember which book) and had a lot of fun last year adding some gulf live rock rubble to a 2.5 gallon tank. With an sponge filter and a small light. Nothing but the rock. I was amazed, shocked and just entranced by all the stuff I saw in that tank over the year and half. Snails. An urchin that suddenly showed up (I'm sure it was just tiny when I got it and eventually grew the urchin grew and one day I saw it and was amazed). I've had several urchins emerge from gulf live rock. Tubeworms. Turkey clams. Crabs. Some weird palm sized thing that looked like a giant tan amoeba that popped out every week or two to cruise the glass. Macro algae. I just feed some phyto a few times a week. Sometimes nori when the urchin was there. The walls are crawling with pods. Some really weird tiny clam thing with small red siphons coming out of it. It was super fun microtank. Still going actually (picture is from today).



IMG_2350.jpeg
This is the way
 
Maybe I need to reevaluate. I didn’t realize live rock goes for over $20 a pound now plus shipping! 😱

Think I’ll add some rock from a few of my tanks and supplement with dry rock. I see they have cool shelves and base rock now. Maybe I’ll do a custom scape this time instead of plopping rocks on each other.
@Matt L
Not $20 per pound. Less than $10 including transportation.

Airline bulk freight cost $100 for first 100 pounds then $0.50 per pound after 100 pounds.

I just went to GLR website and smaller packages are out of stock. Here is the price for 150 pounds. Add $125 transportation cost and total price is less than $10 per pound.

150 lbs Premo Deco live rock​

https://gulfliverock.com/price-list/ols/products/150-lbs-premo-deco-live-rock
$1,199.00
 
Thanks everyone. I decided to go with pukani dead rock and some live rock from my existing tank. I know about the curing requirements for the dead rock.
 
I don’t know if this helps but best value I ever found was a random guy who used to run a saltwater aquaculture. For $20 I got around 30lbs. I had to cure and seed it myself but maybe find someone local? Easier said than done though.
 
Starting with live rock makes a world of difference! TBS is $9 a lb (plus shipping) but it is so worth it. They ship it submerged in water. I started my 240 with 100lbs and I never saw any ammonia. I added a few fish a week later. Again no ammonia. Instant cycle. Plus there is no substitute for the biodiversity that comes on the rock, from the microscopic to the large hitchhikers. I am actually picking up another 40lbs today.

TBS
 
I also like gulf live rock. I tried something an author suggested (can't remember which book) and had a lot of fun last year adding some gulf live rock rubble to a 2.5 gallon tank. With an sponge filter and a small light. Nothing but the rock. I was amazed, shocked and just entranced by all the stuff I saw in that tank over the year and half. Snails. An urchin that suddenly showed up (I'm sure it was just tiny when I got it and eventually grew the urchin grew and one day I saw it and was amazed). I've had several urchins emerge from gulf live rock. Tubeworms. Turkey clams. Crabs. Some weird palm sized thing that looked like a giant tan amoeba that popped out every week or two to cruise the glass. Macro algae. I just feed some phyto a few times a week. Sometimes nori when the urchin was there. The walls are crawling with pods. Some really weird tiny clam thing with small red siphons coming out of it. It was super fun microtank. Still going actually (picture is from today).



IMG_2350.jpeg
That's awesome!!
 
A dude on Facebook in NJ that sells out of his garage. Better than the ocean
 

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