Ok, well, I just thought I'd post my $.02 about Tampa Bay Saltwater...
I called this past Friday to place an order for "the package" for a 100 gallon tank. They shipped it out Saturday morning on a direct Tampa->Boston flight. I called the airline cargo # provided and they gave me a scare because they said the boxes weren't on the manifest so they weren't sure if the packages were on the flight they were supposed to be on.
Luckily, they were, and the shipping folks at Delta's cargo facility at Logan even took the time to call me to tell me it had arrived. Total time from boxing to unboxing was roughly 8 hours.
Anyway, I'm very happy with everything so far. Since I haven't done this before and I'm not really sure how to tell what is alive/dead, I'm nervous that I didn't take off much dead stuff from the rock. Of course, it looks to me like much of the stuff on the rock is alive.
The coolest thing I've found so far is a goby of some sort! I couldn't believe it after I got everything in the tank and I saw that little dude buzzing around. I don't know what kind of goby it is but I'm pretty sure it is a goby (a blenny perhaps? I think goby). Of course there were a bunch of other things on the rock, macro-algea, bi-valves, tons of sponges, and a bunch of corals and whatnot that I'm not experienced enough to identify.
Anyway, I hope everything makes it through the cycle ok and I'm looking forward to getting the next batch which is supposed to contain "the good stuff" in terms of rocks and also the clean-up crew.
Very, very cool. I hear clicking so I'm pretty sure there is a mantis in there somewhere but I'm going to try to deal with him after the cycle.
When I called they were very helpful and seemed to be primarily concerned with whether or not I was ready/prepared for the shipment, which I think goes to show that they care about you as a customer and take pride in their work.
Highly recommend them. I'll post again after I get the 2nd shipment.
I called this past Friday to place an order for "the package" for a 100 gallon tank. They shipped it out Saturday morning on a direct Tampa->Boston flight. I called the airline cargo # provided and they gave me a scare because they said the boxes weren't on the manifest so they weren't sure if the packages were on the flight they were supposed to be on.
Luckily, they were, and the shipping folks at Delta's cargo facility at Logan even took the time to call me to tell me it had arrived. Total time from boxing to unboxing was roughly 8 hours.
Anyway, I'm very happy with everything so far. Since I haven't done this before and I'm not really sure how to tell what is alive/dead, I'm nervous that I didn't take off much dead stuff from the rock. Of course, it looks to me like much of the stuff on the rock is alive.
The coolest thing I've found so far is a goby of some sort! I couldn't believe it after I got everything in the tank and I saw that little dude buzzing around. I don't know what kind of goby it is but I'm pretty sure it is a goby (a blenny perhaps? I think goby). Of course there were a bunch of other things on the rock, macro-algea, bi-valves, tons of sponges, and a bunch of corals and whatnot that I'm not experienced enough to identify.
Anyway, I hope everything makes it through the cycle ok and I'm looking forward to getting the next batch which is supposed to contain "the good stuff" in terms of rocks and also the clean-up crew.
Very, very cool. I hear clicking so I'm pretty sure there is a mantis in there somewhere but I'm going to try to deal with him after the cycle.
When I called they were very helpful and seemed to be primarily concerned with whether or not I was ready/prepared for the shipment, which I think goes to show that they care about you as a customer and take pride in their work.
Highly recommend them. I'll post again after I get the 2nd shipment.
