Garf? still around? bad reviews?

[toothybugs]

I found GARF shortly after I set up my first salt reef about a decade ago. The Grunge was incredible - silted the crap outta my tank, but it cleared up and my system took off. After a hiatus, I set up a smaller system but ordered Grunge again. Not quite as impressive, but still seemed to have enough in it to be worth my time. The third time around, and most recent, I was genuinely disappointed. The website just got harder to use afterward and I moved on.

I spoke with Leroy a couple times when he was starting to go downhill. His intelligence and passion was evident, and hearing more in this thread about everything he did for us makes me a little sad that I wasn't there for those advents. I just glued up a bunch of frags with super glue over the weekend - I owe Leroy for that, it seems. Watching GARF age and fade feels kinda like watching your dog not be able to run up the stairs anymore.

I'll miss 'em.

 

[BrianD]

The website was always unnavigable to me.

It was classically bad, almost as bad as the train wreck that Fenner's was.

I like these "old time" threads. I wonder how many people are left out there who have heard of Aqualink or the old usenet Compuserv forums.

 

[jason2459]

I didn't realize he had passed. That's really sad news. How long ago? I've always wanted to get some of that grunge and was thinking about it recently again. :sad2:

When I first got a tank setup I was thinking of setting it up with their plenum system. I ended up going with a much more modern approach with an under gravel filter ala PaulB. :beachbum:

 

[Greybeard]

I wonder how many people are left out there who have heard of Aqualink or the old usenet Compuserv forums.

Yup. Dialed up Compuserv from my Apple ][, spent many long hours browsing rec.aquaria.

 

[GaG8tor]

I remember GARF when I first got into the hobby. I've been out of it about 8 years but just got back into it by rescuing a tank from a neighbor. Only been about a month now and started another tank this weekend. I just visited the GARF website for a look back into the past.

 

[CStrickland]

I'm too green for most of the good old days stuff, and I'm not a big fan of grunges. But I always thought it was so cool how they shared their recipe for diy rock. Most people nowadays would've patented that, kept it secret, and tried to get rich off it (while also selling 2" gsp frags for $50 on Craigslist). That recipe gave me enough info and confidence to make the rock for my first tank. If I had though my only option was $9 a pound live rock I probs never would've tried reefing in the first place.

That type of info sharing is the best part of the hobby, and GARF set a wonderful example of it that I hope to continue now that they are out of the game.

 

[HeadleesSon]

Hi everyone. I have not been on here for months, but wanted to see if this forum had made it easier to put pictures up (still do not understand). It is very nice to hear that some of you remember my father fondly.
I am sorry to hear that some feel GARF's products are getting a bad name. Leroy was the genius behind everything. His wife Sally Jo really had a challenge to save any of the foundation and keep it alive. She is handicapped (steel frame holding her spine) and is working alone. I do know that the GARF grunge is still ultra-premium. I know it is basically the same idea as live sand/seed rock, but the process of getting the blend spanned decades. Leroy took samples from every tank he had access to across the world for the bacteria and micro-organisms to be very diverse. He also crushed live rock from every region that supplied ocean rock. The mixture Sally Jo sells is still the same. I do hope some people keep supporting GARF through purchases and recommending Grunge. She has a very hard life trying to run the business with a steel cage in her back. At the very least perhaps understanding her situation may help any disappointment you may feel about the outdated web page and limited variety of products.

 

[homer1475]

Wow seems some exciting times are ahead at GARF! Great news as I personally think Grunge is an awesome product.

I recently started a new tank with all dry rock and dry sand. I really need some biodiversity in my sandbed as its pretty much dead right now, so just ordered some grunge in. Glad someone took it over and is continuing LeRoy's work. :thumbsup:

 

[j_mazzy]

Hi everyone. I have not been on here for months, but wanted to see if this forum had made it easier to put pictures up (still do not understand). It is very nice to hear that some of you remember my father fondly.
I am sorry to hear that some feel GARF's products are getting a bad name. Leroy was the genius behind everything. His wife Sally Jo really had a challenge to save any of the foundation and keep it alive. She is handicapped (steel frame holding her spine) and is working alone. I do know that the GARF grunge is still ultra-premium. I know it is basically the same idea as live sand/seed rock, but the process of getting the blend spanned decades. Leroy took samples from every tank he had access to across the world for the bacteria and micro-organisms to be very diverse. He also crushed live rock from every region that supplied ocean rock. The mixture Sally Jo sells is still the same. I do hope some people keep supporting GARF through purchases and recommending Grunge. She has a very hard life trying to run the business with a steel cage in her back. At the very least perhaps understanding her situation may help any disappointment you may feel about the outdated web page and limited variety of products.

Thank you for posting young headlee. I read reviews of grunge with plastic, doghair, and other nasties and it is what prompted me to ask around. What involvement have you had recently in the reef world? Have you finished your father's memorium tank?