I just received Part 2 of my Package from Tampa Bay Saltwater this past Friday night, May 2nd, and I couldn't be happier with my experience. Richard is the bomb!
This is my first experience reefing, and I'd been researching since November. My system was set up and I was ready to order rock and sand. I'd read everything I could find about live rock, and I frankly couldn't understand why most of it was called 'live'. Maybe that speaks to my newness to the hobby, or maybe I'm just a literal person, but TBS was the only place I found that offered truly "live" rock and sand.
My system: Upstairs/downstairs; display up, with equipment in basement.
65g display, Sunlight tek 6x39w retro T5 HO DIY lights, Koralia 3 ph, 100g sump, 20g refuge, ASM G2 skimmer, reeflo barracuda return pump, automated water change system, water storage 55g barrels each for RO/DI fw and sw mix
Equipment room (excuse my camera, it's a cheap Kodak)
Display tank, with Part 1 installed from TBS
I ordered a 45g Package ( I had some dead Marco Rock on hand I was going to use in addition to the TBS) from Richard at TBS on Sat Apr 19, in the evening, and had my order in the back of my SUV on Monday Apr 21, at 2:15 in the pm! Couldn't believe it. Richard is superb.
Being brand new at this, I stayed in almost daily email contact with Richard. I tested twice daily for ammonia as he suggests, and I never had a spike... never went above 0.025. Never had to do a water change.
On Friday morning, May 2nd, I emailed Richard to report my ammonia results and to ask when to plan for Part 2. He replied immediately and asked "how about tomorrow?" Huh?! TOMORROW?! Uh, YES! He emailed me the flight details, and that evening, Friday, at 10:15 I had five more TBS boxes in the back of my SUV!
I got going early Sat morning to get Part 2 installed. The box that said "Open First" contained all the critters; my cuc. Enclosed were directions about acclimating the different creatures. Good things to know. Included in the cuc, in the Package price;
blue leg hermits, 1 serpent star, 2 sea cukes, snails, peppermint shrimp. Okay, there's WAY too many bags!
So here's the really FUN and exciting part, and I couldn't believe how generous Richard is! He is a rare person, truly.
2 decorator crabs, 2 condy anemone, 1 neon green rock anemone, 1 stony coral (brain?), 1 slipper/rock lobster, 2 tree sponges, 1 curly sponge, 2 gorgonian trees, 2 fish; blenny type, 1 large snail...don't know the type. To say I was blown away would be the understatement of the year. I actually cried a bit because I couldn't believe it!
I can't recommend TBS highly enough. Richard is a joy to work with. He answers emails promptly, and obviously ships at a moment's notice. The rock was extremely fresh; he suggests smelling the sponges on the rock and removing anything that smells off... my rocks and sponges smelled as though they had just been pulled from the ocean. Just good and clean.
The packaging was great; triple heavy plastic bags inside styrofoam containers inside heavy cardboard boxes. He shipped my boxes via Southwest Airlines, and they were great, too. They loaded my car, and from my arrival at their facility to pulling away was maybe 10 minutes of my time. Freight for Part 1 from TBS to Cleveland, Ohio was $159, and Part 2 freight was $119.
Some may say this is an expensive way to buy rock; in Cleveland typical LFS "cured" LR goes for appr $8.99lb. "Live Sand" is dry in bags; nothing Live about it! Imo TBS is an extremely economical way to outfit a tank with really alive things. My tank already looks like a reef one would see in the ocean. I can't wait to see what the months will bring! Here's a FTS of my tank today... and ammonia this evening was less than 0.025!
Crazy decorator crab
rock/slipper lobster
rock anemone
purple gorgonian.. since moved up to a rock!
coral & orange curly sponge/ shrimp peeking out from coral
Look how alive this rock is!
Richard, if you read this. THANK YOU!!
This is my first experience reefing, and I'd been researching since November. My system was set up and I was ready to order rock and sand. I'd read everything I could find about live rock, and I frankly couldn't understand why most of it was called 'live'. Maybe that speaks to my newness to the hobby, or maybe I'm just a literal person, but TBS was the only place I found that offered truly "live" rock and sand.
My system: Upstairs/downstairs; display up, with equipment in basement.
65g display, Sunlight tek 6x39w retro T5 HO DIY lights, Koralia 3 ph, 100g sump, 20g refuge, ASM G2 skimmer, reeflo barracuda return pump, automated water change system, water storage 55g barrels each for RO/DI fw and sw mix
Equipment room (excuse my camera, it's a cheap Kodak)
Display tank, with Part 1 installed from TBS
I ordered a 45g Package ( I had some dead Marco Rock on hand I was going to use in addition to the TBS) from Richard at TBS on Sat Apr 19, in the evening, and had my order in the back of my SUV on Monday Apr 21, at 2:15 in the pm! Couldn't believe it. Richard is superb.
Being brand new at this, I stayed in almost daily email contact with Richard. I tested twice daily for ammonia as he suggests, and I never had a spike... never went above 0.025. Never had to do a water change.
On Friday morning, May 2nd, I emailed Richard to report my ammonia results and to ask when to plan for Part 2. He replied immediately and asked "how about tomorrow?" Huh?! TOMORROW?! Uh, YES! He emailed me the flight details, and that evening, Friday, at 10:15 I had five more TBS boxes in the back of my SUV!
I got going early Sat morning to get Part 2 installed. The box that said "Open First" contained all the critters; my cuc. Enclosed were directions about acclimating the different creatures. Good things to know. Included in the cuc, in the Package price;
blue leg hermits, 1 serpent star, 2 sea cukes, snails, peppermint shrimp. Okay, there's WAY too many bags!
So here's the really FUN and exciting part, and I couldn't believe how generous Richard is! He is a rare person, truly.
2 decorator crabs, 2 condy anemone, 1 neon green rock anemone, 1 stony coral (brain?), 1 slipper/rock lobster, 2 tree sponges, 1 curly sponge, 2 gorgonian trees, 2 fish; blenny type, 1 large snail...don't know the type. To say I was blown away would be the understatement of the year. I actually cried a bit because I couldn't believe it!
I can't recommend TBS highly enough. Richard is a joy to work with. He answers emails promptly, and obviously ships at a moment's notice. The rock was extremely fresh; he suggests smelling the sponges on the rock and removing anything that smells off... my rocks and sponges smelled as though they had just been pulled from the ocean. Just good and clean.
The packaging was great; triple heavy plastic bags inside styrofoam containers inside heavy cardboard boxes. He shipped my boxes via Southwest Airlines, and they were great, too. They loaded my car, and from my arrival at their facility to pulling away was maybe 10 minutes of my time. Freight for Part 1 from TBS to Cleveland, Ohio was $159, and Part 2 freight was $119.
Some may say this is an expensive way to buy rock; in Cleveland typical LFS "cured" LR goes for appr $8.99lb. "Live Sand" is dry in bags; nothing Live about it! Imo TBS is an extremely economical way to outfit a tank with really alive things. My tank already looks like a reef one would see in the ocean. I can't wait to see what the months will bring! Here's a FTS of my tank today... and ammonia this evening was less than 0.025!
Crazy decorator crab
rock/slipper lobster
rock anemone
purple gorgonian.. since moved up to a rock!
coral & orange curly sponge/ shrimp peeking out from coral
Look how alive this rock is!
Richard, if you read this. THANK YOU!!
