Is this the exciting future of Live Rock? Must See!!!

[Swope2bc]

My truck decided to start going off this morning at 2:30 am....alarm went off...and I have a loud one...out of bed...deactivate alarm and tried to go back to sleep as had to get up at 5am to go dive today....then at 4:30 am...it goes off again..GOT TO FIX THIS.......I give up....up at at 'em early.



off to the boat ramp...where CuzzA met me, as he had just been certified to dive last weekend.



All shiny new equipment loaded on the boat and off we go...beautiful morning







heading out to the site...









Now this is only his third dive after taking classes in small crystal clear springs...getting suited up..







Looking all confident and spiffy in that new equipment





and over the side he went. Pretty good for a first open water dive in the deep blue gulf...well not so blue as today after two weeks of relentless rains...he hit the bottom to find one foot of viability...MAYBE....



swam around a while..did not get lost...and then decided..he had enough fun for the day....so was my turn to go down...was less than one foot of viability...terrible..SOON AS I PICK UP A ROCK zero VIS....but endeavor to persevere ......lol







amazing rock today after a two tank dive











got to hand it to CuzzA....takes a lot of courage to jump into the gulf with conditions like that for your first open water dive...many more to come!



Tons of rock in stock...ready for your tank!



Richard TBS

www.tbsaltwater.com :spin1::spin1::spin1:

The Rock looks amazing even in the pics Richard! I can't wait to crack open those boxes on Monday!!!

Whoever placed there orders is in for a treat. I've never seen such narly looking sponges and tunicates. Incredible.

CuzzA, if the great pics didn't get me excited, which they did, this comment sure has!! I am so glad I chose to go with TBS rock! And I don't even have it yet lol!

Looks like I ordered at the right time. Can't wait to see this stuff in person.

You and me both Wills!

 

[CuzzA]

CuzzA,

Congrats on your certification and a great first OW dive!

Well done and welcome to a whole new world - ocean diving is much different then spring diving as you just found out. Ocean you get to deal with currents, depth, and the occasional predatory fish, not to mention fishing lines sometimes - good to see you had a blade on you. In future dives may want to practice handling your blade so you get a feel for using it for when you'll really need it. How was the current and what depth did you go?

Mark

Thank you sir. Yes, I picked the blade up the day before just in case and I did practice reaching for it with both hands as it was attached to my chest strap. I didn't deploy it, but will next time. I was too busy trying to be conscience of swiming into the current and trying to see where the hell I was going. I kept thinking to myself, "Man, I really don't feel like doing a 100 yard surface swim back to the boat." Lol. Fortunately the current was quite easy to manage and I was able to stay within close proximity to the boat despite only being at a depth of 20 feet yet still unable to see the bottom of the boat. Richards site is actually a great place for me to practice a lot of techniques and skills and become more familiar with my equipment before I move on to more challenging deep dives and activities like spearfishing. I will say this, it's an eerie feeling knowing you are in such a huge open space but can't see past a foot. Doesn't make for an enjoyable dive, but the experince is good as I want to be able to handle any situation.

More dives to come and with some clear water, some good video too.

Thanks again.

 

[toothybugs]

Whoever placed there orders is in for a treat. I've never seen such narly looking sponges and tunicates. Incredible.

It's been a long, long while (if ever) since I was hoping the weekend would hurry up and get over with already Tuesday is gonna rock!

 

[billsreef]

What's scary in the zero vis.... is when that huge Jew Fish starts barking! :eek1:

Even scarier is when something unseen grabs your fin :eek2:

CuzzA,

Pick up a pair of EMT shears. They work far better than a knife for cutting line under water And keep diving, that gear is too new and shiny looking

 

[Devaji108]

It's been a long, long while (if ever) since I was hoping the weekend would hurry up and get over with already Tuesday is gonna rock!

haha you must be excited )

Even scarier is when something unseen grabs your fin :eek2:

CuzzA,

Pick up a pair of EMT shears. They work far better than a knife for cutting line under water And keep diving, that gear is too new and shiny looking

^yesssss

congrats cuzza!!

 

[Hitch08]

I just confirmed delivery for Tuesday. So excited! I'll post pixs.

:dance: :dance: :dance:

 

[CuzzA]

Even scarier is when something unseen grabs your fin :eek2:

CuzzA,

Pick up a pair of EMT shears. They work far better than a knife for cutting line under water And keep diving, that gear is too new and shiny looking

Yeah, unseen things grabbing you is no good and I'll be sure to get that shiny new equipment scuffed up real fast. I've just been sitting around dreaming of clear water. Lol

Thanks for the tip. EMT shears for sure. My dive shop is heavy into technical deco and cave diving primarily with rebreathers and the owner has been diving for 30 years so I feel pretty good about the training and advice I'm getting. I just need to remember they're also a business that "SELLS" gear too. But they've turned me away from spending money on certain things so that is always a good sign of a good business. I've been in a couple other dive shops and they're just champing at the bit to ring something up.

 

[Wills612]

The Eagle has landed!

The Eagle has landed!

So after swapping emails with Richard this past week (which were responded to very timely), I placed an order for 20lbs of rock. He shipped it out Friday, with a est. arrival time somewhere near 11pm. Richard told me that Saturday morning pick up was fine aswell, which I was happy to hear as 11pm is past my bed time. So, this morning I cruised out to the air port with no delays and had the rock home in no time.



The rock was shipped in 4-5 heavy duty bags, fully submerged.



I opened the bags and immediately smelled..and smelled again, nothing, zero odor.



Onto the life on the rock that everyone is ranting and raving about (with good reason). The sponges are the first thing I noticed, followed by the bivalves.




Fishing Line?



Red mithrax crab (found 2 so far)



Trochus Snail?




I found 6-7 big bad Gorilla Crabs :eek1:, probably at least a few more.



My wife had a lot of fun digging through the grunge at the bottom of the bag finding crabs, brittle stars and other goodies. Im very happy with the rock and would not hesitate to pull the trigger on this stuff again. The price worked out to 8$ per lb after shipping, which would have been less had I ordered more rock.

Thanks again, Richard.

 

[Aframomum]

Very nice and thanks for sharing with us Wills612 - I bet your wife had as much fun as you looking for all the extra critters. Got a fuge for those gorillas? Is that the 2.0 rock or a mix of old/new? I saw some nice branch shapes in there as well - have fun with the aquascaping now!

Mark

 

[CuzzA]

Nice rock. Post pics of it in the tank.

Fishing line. Yes

Trochus Snail. I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they originate from the Indo Pacific. Possibly a limpet.

 

[dkeller_nc]

CuzzA - Congratualtions on your certification. There's no doubt you did some tough diving for both your certification and first open-water trip. I did something similar for my cert. - diving in a rock quarry that had 100 foot visibility, but was in the low 70's. Non-diving people have a hard time grasping just how cold that is when you're immersed in it for 30 minutes to an hour. My coldest dive was in 56 degree water temperatures (same quarry, on a "thanksgiving" dive). I'll never do it again - despite a 5 mil wetsuit, hood, gloves and insulated booties I froze my arse off.

My first "real" dive, however, was in the Cayman islands. I highly recommend coughing up the dough to do Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and especially Little Cayman. Absolutely crystal clear water, 84 degrees, near zero current, and 100 yards off the beach (so no bumpy hour-long boat ride) and some of the most pristine reefs to be found in the Carribean.

 

[CuzzA]

Thank you dkeller! I agree. I imagine most new divers want pristine and perfect conditions starting out, but the more I've thought about it I want to do the challenging dives in the presence of those with great experience to enhance my skills so that I'm prepared for any situation. Especially working in currents, low vis and cold temperatures. Spearfishing is something I want to master and I think that will help with a lot of skills as you have to manage so much equipment; working big fish, floating bags, managing lines, entanglements and of course sharks. If I learn to do all of these skills under less favorable conditions I believe it will only make me that much better when something does happen regardless of the situation.

I've been spending a lot of time researching many boards, especially accidents and incidents forums. Definitely learning what NOT to do. Like this little gem incident I found on a spearfishing board. Don't go making this sound. :eek2:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zgclsxKrydI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[saf1]

So after swapping emails with Richard this past week (which were responded to very timely), I placed an order for 20lbs of rock. He shipped it out Friday, with a est. arrival time somewhere near 11pm. Richard told me that Saturday morning pick up was fine aswell, which I was happy to hear as 11pm is past my bed time. So, this morning I cruised out to the air port with no delays and had the rock home in no time.

I noticed you picked that up at SMF, was it easy to find? I've not picked up freight there before thus me asking. Thanks for sharing, it looks good.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Yikes! Those guys were idiots, I'm thinking the equivalent is walking up to a polar bear in the arctic and smacking it in the face. The other idiocy is open-circuit scuba diving at 57 meters (187 feet); the recreational limit used to be 120 feet, and it's since been moved to 100 feet, and for good reason.

BTW - the number one most important piece of "equipment" for a recreational diver is a membership in the Divers Alert Network (DAN). For $35 per year you get $100,000 in dive accident medical insurance. Even if you were diving in Florida where multiple decompression medical facilities are close at hand, a chamber ride can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. And if you're diving in many popular Caribbean dive spots and suffer decompression sickness, you'll have to be flown to the nearest hyperbaric medical facility on a special, low-altitude flight with medical personnel and oxygen support. Just one of those flights can run $25,000. For the $35 membership dues, you get peace of mind that you won't have to pay a penny in the event of an accident.

Best medical insurance I've ever heard of.

 

[dkeller_nc]

If you want to try "big boy" diving, give wreck diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic off the NC coast a try, but only after getting 20 dives or more under your belt, and taking a wreck-diving course.

The reason the diving is tough is that the wrecks are typically deep (around 100 feet), there's usually a stiff current, the water's colder though not excessively so, and the visibility is highly variable. Add to those features that the dive sites are a couple of hour boat ride from the dock, and the seas can go from a foot or less when you submerge to 6 feet when you come back up, and it definitely has a different feel than diving in the sunny Caribbean!

 

[Wills612]

Very nice and thanks for sharing with us Wills612 - I bet your wife had as much fun as you looking for all the extra critters. Got a fuge for those gorillas? Is that the 2.0 rock or a mix of old/new? I saw some nice branch shapes in there as well - have fun with the aquascaping now!

Mark

Yes the bad boys went in the Fuge. Im not sure which version the rock is.

I noticed you picked that up at SMF, was it easy to find? I've not picked up freight there before thus me asking. Thanks for sharing, it looks good.

It wasn't to bad. The cargo pick up is on the west side of the airport on the new A terminal side.

Here you go CuzzA (iPhones)

 

[Devaji108]

loving the aqua scape. did you epoxy it together?

 

[saf1]

Thanks Wills. I know whereabouts it is now so thanks for the pointer. I've passed by it a few times flying out of there recently.

Tank looks nice.

 

[Wills612]

loving the aqua scape. did you epoxy it together?

Thanks. No epoxy yet. The white lifeless rock is Vita rock, with some random dry stuff scattered about aswell. It hasn't really been scared yet, just sat in there. I still have to move some stuff around. I purchased the TBS rock as high quality seed rock.

 

[TillerysTank]

Awesome product. Hope i can get my hands on some soon

liverock,
not sure if this is the best way to contact you but i have been reading one of you most recent threads and it all looks outstanding.

I am doing my first ever saltwater tank. it will be a 180gall 72x24x24 in tank with a separate refug and sump.

I like the idea of the package but the price tag is,well, lets say i had to pause a moment. Ha. I completely understand it though. this really is a premium and environmentally safe product. It is safe to say it is out of my budget though with all the other start up purchases.

I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for someone in my position who was interested in you product. just purchase the rock itself? Or should i just go with some cured rock i can find locally and "fluff" the tank with yours?

any Tips or recommendations would be great Thanks and congrats on such an outstanding product.

Corey