Live rock, aquacultured or natural?

[dwl]

Hi all,
I just got my first tank, 24X24X18"tall, 40 gallons or so?

I am waiting on my lights, skimmer, pump, etc. right now, and am of course very eager to get things started.

I have some questions about the LR to put into this thing.
I have seen TBSaltwater's site, and am very curious and interested in their "package" that they offer.

Most every time I see LR from various locations in the LFS's I am not all too impressed at what they want anywhere from $7.00 to $20.00 per pound.

Has anyone had any experiences, either good or bad, with TBSaltwater?

I guess I should not just ask about them, but they are about the only one that I have seen, so, any opinions about aquacultured LR, and the companies that provided it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
David

 

[Nano Chris]

I have heard TBS has great lr, you can get base rock and seed it with lr, would be much cheaper, with aquacultured lr they take man made rocks and seed it with lr.

 

[bues0022]

I originally started thinking about setting up a reef tank because of tbsaltwer.com. If you go under sponser forums they have a whole forum just for tbs. Ask the people there, everyone seems to love it.

 

[dwl]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Thanks for pointing me to the sponsor forum. It did not occur to me to check there. Like you said, everything seems to be very positive in there too.

I was thinking about getting a reef tank (maybe a nano), when I stumbled across their web site, and I think that is what pushed me over the edge.

Next I found myself looking at the LFS... minding my own business... the next thing I know, I have a tank, stand, and canopy on my truck and I am on my way home. Sheesh! no self control I guess.

This is probably not the right place to ask, but will a Coralife Pro 150W DE 10K with 2 65W PC actinics be fine for pretty much anything I want to put into the tank?

Will an ASM G1X in a 15G sump with a Mag 12 for return and maybe a separate 10G refugium be OK?

Will I need more circulation in the tank, or will the returns split into the back corners be sufficient? The tank's inside dimensions are 23" long X 18" wide X 18" tall.

Thanks,
David

 

[badfish]

I did not like the TBS I bought a few years ago. The rocks I received were mostly boulders. That makes it hard for aquascaping. You could chisel the rock to for some cool shapes if you wanted. The rock is real dense to. That is not good for filtering the water.
Hitch hikers is also a problem. Some are good and some are bad. I liked the porcelain crabs and hated the gorilla crabs. The rock looks nice but a lot of it will die off.
This is my opinion. Hope it helps.

 

[dwl]

Badfish,
Thanks for honest input, I appreciate it.
Did you keep the TBS rock? If so, is it OK now after a couple of years, or is it subpar?
Funny you mention the hitch hikers, I am waffling on that too. On the one hand, I would look forward to some, but I don think I want to deal with a mantis, the gorilla crabs seem to be very common with the TBS product. How difficult are the gorilla crabs to capture and dispose of?

 

[Konadog]

dwl,
[welcome]

Where in So. Cal. do you live? If your in the LA area, just drive over to ReeferMadness and hand pick all your rock! It doesn't get any better than that in this area!

Next thing, look into joining one of the local clubs. You can find all kinds of deals on equipment, coral, LR, etc... that way.

 

[dwl]

Konadog,
I am in Mission Viejo. Not too close to LA.
Where is ReeferMadness? What kind of prices? Is it worth the drive?

Thanks.

 

[Konadog]

Reefer Madness is a sponsor of RC. Check there website ( http://www.reefermadness.us/ ) and RC forum (Reefer Madness forum ). They are located in Torrance, and there even open this Saturday! and have LR!!!

Yes, they are well worth the drive.

 

[Konadog]

Sorry, not open this Saturday, it was last Saturday. Just check the forum for Saturday dates.

 

[smacdone]

There are some pictures of some good rock that i got for $2.50 per pound. PM me for more info