Long-Term Assessment

[tmcchicago]

I am trying to make a final decision on whether to use TBS rock for my new 120g reef tank. Right now I am leaning toward it. I have been reading this forum for a while and have seen all of the back and forth on bad hitchhikers, etc. Most of the postings I have been seeing are by people who have received their TBS rock in the last six months. What I do not recall seeing are postings by people who have had TBS rock in their tanks for a year or more. I would really like to hear how people feel about the rock a year or two out and, even better, see pics of their tanks. Is there anyone out there who reads this forum and fits the description who would like to share?

 

[Untamed12]

I'll still be here a year from now....but you'll have to wait until then. So far, I'm happy....but it has only been 3 months.

 

[moumda]

I've had TBS for 3 years now and I wouldn't do it again. I've spent hours catching 7 mantis shrimp (it took going BB to get the last one). I've still got a gorilla crab I can't catch. I set up another tank with tonga rock and I've had no problems. JME.

 

[voodude]

I'm a few months myself also, but for the quality of the rock and all of the inhabitants that you get, I do not know how you can beat it ... I have had the same issues with mantis, gorillas (but got the Octo!!) and still would not change it. Besides ... I'm honing my spear-fishing techniques (not that they have worked yet). If anyone watched me, they would fall over laughing:lmao: so some things aren't so bad when you look at the whole picture. People have told me that it would take years to get a tank to look like mine does in only a few short months. :mixed:

 

[figuerres]

Re: Long-Term Assessment

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10116385#post10116385 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tmcchicago
I am trying to make a final decision on whether to use TBS rock for my new 120g reef tank. Right now I am leaning toward it. I have been reading this forum for a while and have seen all of the back and forth on bad hitchhikers, etc. Most of the postings I have been seeing are by people who have received their TBS rock in the last six months. What I do not recall seeing are postings by people who have had TBS rock in their tanks for a year or more. I would really like to hear how people feel about the rock a year or two out and, even better, see pics of their tanks. Is there anyone out there who reads this forum and fits the description who would like to share?

we are around...

I started with TBS about 5-6 years back....

some good, some bad, it's real ...

I have had my ups and downs, none the fault of the TBS rock.
hurricanes, apt. moves, not taking the time to keep up the system as I should etc...

if you want a good mix of life and are ready to deal with the things that might be in/on the rock and work past the break-in period then go for it.

even with just the sand and base rock you will see dozens of things that will help build a good reef system.

 

[bobt2]

i have 3 tbs tanks now all 11/2 to 2 1/2 yrs old. i can send you pics direct. i love the life. some comes and goes like sponges but i still think it's better than the junk i see in my lfs! bob

 

[tmcchicago]

Thanks for the responses so far. At this point, I am still leaning toward going with TBS. I have about four weeks to go before the tank arrives though, so I will welcome any additional responses.

 

[docklink]

I'm going on 3yrs with my TBS package. Over all, it has been good and I would do it again if I were starting a new tank. As with figuerres, its a mix of good and bad (more good than bad). What difficulties I've had I blame mostly on my own care (or inconsistancy) of the tank. The instant diversity of life that comes on the rock is well worth it, though some will not survive even with the best of care.
I am still amazed at what has survived (assorted sponges, worms, feather dusters, small crabs {see note below} and, until this week, a mantis that I had left in the tank - see mantis tank ) Most of the corals are history (though I do have a tube coral that revives every now and then. All the clams and bivalves are gone. I still have one serpent star and the tiger tail cuc that came with the package. The mantis eventually did away with the peppermint shrimp as well as the clean-up crew which is the reason for it's recent eviction.
Ill try to post current picts later.

Note: It's been my observation that too much concern has been placed on gorilla crabs. It's not that there aren't hairy crabs that should be evicted, I've removed some that were decidedly nasty. But I still have some in the tank that have never grown larger than a nickle and not been of any problem to any of the inhabitants.

HTH - Jeff

 

[bobt2]

jeff is right on with the gorilla 'myth'. i never saw any damage from them altho i catch them when i can. altho most of the clams are gone, most of my corals are doing well and the brain corals have grown. in my 2 1/2 yr tank i even have a filter feeding cuke still going. i do feed the tanks and have not let up with maintence. i even have bought a generator just in case. the sand that comes with the package is so full of life its got to be seen to believe

 

[bues0022]

I'm in a similar boat as the OP...on the fence with TBS. I like the idea of short-term high biodiversity, but unsure whether I am paying for things that will die in short order. Docklink - why did nost of your corals die? Lack of light? were they filterfeeders and you didn't supplement with phyto? I don't really mind chasing down bad hitchhikers because of the awesome diversity, but if it won't survive then what's the point? I'm going to tag along and see if more long-term people can post (pics please! new - now)

 

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10160149#post10160149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bues0022
I'm in a similar boat as the OP...on the fence with TBS. I like the idea of short-term high biodiversity, but unsure whether I am paying for things that will die in short order. Docklink - why did nost of your corals die? Lack of light? were they filterfeeders and you didn't supplement with phyto? I don't really mind chasing down bad hitchhikers because of the awesome diversity, but if it won't survive then what's the point? I'm going to tag along and see if more long-term people can post (pics please! new - now)

one of the possible issues with the gulf tube corals may be that they are sensitive to phosphates.

at least that's a theroy that has been given by some folks.

I am starting to think that while all corals are afected by phos some -- like the ones found on tbs rock. are more prone to suffer than some other corals.

I have seen some things in my tank over time that are making me agree with this idea.

so they may be the "canary in the coal mine" telling us of phosphtes.

many things on the tbs rock can live on.... I think it's mostly our level of care that determines what makes it in many cases.

for example duing the first year I had tbs rock I had many tunicates clams and other stuff that did very well, then I got busy and had the 2001 hurricanes take out power and things declined after that...

I think there is a lot we can learn from gulf rock about how to better manage our reef tanks.

 

[docklink]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10160149#post10160149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bues0022
Docklink - why did nost of your corals die? Lack of light? were they filterfeeders and you didn't supplement with phyto? I don't really mind chasing down bad hitchhikers because of the awesome diversity, but if it won't survive then what's the point?

It's a live and learn process, at least for me. I had a number of different personal issues impinge on the time and resources I could devote to the tank. The frequency of water changes, supplimentation (DT's, cyclopeze, Kalk, etc.), quality of light (I let my bulbs get too old before changing them out).

For the first year and half, the tank survived quite well with only the loss of some of the more delicate organisms (some tunicates, some of the tube corals and star coral and, despite careful attention to them, my Xmas worms.) Everything else grew or at least maintained. Then my daughter entered High school with its exponential expansion of activities; she developed some complicated health issues that have required a great deal of time and resources; my business under went some changes that have required more time and resources, etc., etc. The point is, the aquarium, regardless of my interest, took a much lower position on the list of priorities. Yet, despite my abuse ;-) it survives and with some of the life that came with the TBS.
I still feel the money spent on the TBS rock gave me a much nicer start in a reef aquarium than I ever would have had with the LR I could have gotten at the LFS. Given a proper level of care (something I haven't been able to provide consistantly) I think much more would have survived in the long run. Without a crystal ball, its hard to say how your experience would turn out. HTH

 

[wooglin]

My tank is about 4 years old TBS, and I have a ton of life still going that came with the original shipment. Lots of corals, worms, about 20 serpent stars, cuke, sponges all over, pistol shrimp, lots and lots of unidentified things, etc.

As for the bad stuff, none of it ever caused any problems, the the gorillas, not the mantis ( i now have a dedicated mantis tank, they are really cool animals in a 24 gallon cube with some TBS rock and plenty of sand.

 

[bues0022]

I go back a forth on the TBS package. At times it seems really great (though expensive) because of the biodiversity. Othertimes I feel like I'd be spending so much time getting rid of bad things and only eventually have most things die off (defeating the purpose) Your comments are much appreciated.

 

[wooglin]

I will be honest, getting rid of pests is for the most part in the head of the Reef Keeper. I got rid of Gorilla crabs when it was easy, and they were moved to my 24.

 

[bues0022]

When is the easy time to get rid of Gorilla crabs? When they are first introduced into the tank?

 

[wooglin]

When they are on a piece of rock on the top that is easily removed, etc. I never made it a priority to remove them, I just took them out when they were easily collected. They really were not hurting anything. All that were eventually removed became food for my Mantis.

 

[Eldouble]

My brother in law decided not to use TBS because of the mantis 'problems'. He spent a bit more on his rock and it looked just as good as TBS, but no life at all. Then a few months later he bought some coral attached to a rock at the LFS here that also will not buy TBS and guess what he got.... a MANTIS. So no matter where you buy your rocks, you can always end up with a hitch hicker.

 

[landlord]

We are still here.... well me at least. As for the TBS rocks.... I originally got them in November of 2003, there are some posts way back in the archive. I had them for the three years and loved them to death. Hitchhikers provided me with much entertainment in their capture, which probably wasn't necessary. I cannot say that they ever killed a fish or uprooted a coral. I did more damage tweaking on the mantis shrimps then they did "clicking" on barnacles. I can say that a lot of the original life (corals, sponges, etc) did indeed die off. I was a beginner.... what can I say. IMO you really do not see a lot of sponge rearing experts out there, or masters of rearing star corals out of the box. Let's face it, even in the water where this rock comes from not even the almighty can always keep them alive (red tides killing the brain corals, hurricanes displacing the rocks, sediment build up, blah blah blah) Again a lot of these packages probably are sold to people like me and many others who are, or were, starting out there first reef tank. I found that by the time things started to die off it really no longer mattered because I had purchased so many new things that took over you really couldn't tell. If you browse around at the forums for tanks in excess of three years old, do you really even see the rock anymore??? Again I would say no, you see all the goodies that people have purchased, nutured, fragged, etc. In the end after three or four years even base rock will look pretty damn good, but I can say that I enjoyed those first months because I always had something to amaze me when I stared at the glass. Plus it's always fun posting in the forums when you caught your first mantis. Even better when the mantis shrimp cracks your ex-girlfriends fingernail... but I digress.

Sadly I had to part with the TBS rock. It was purchased by a member of the Orlando Reef Caretakers Association, (Hope I got that right), when I separated from my girlfriend of 10 years and moved from Florida to the Northern Kentucky / Cincinnati metro area.

On the bright side I will be ordering again, just won't be able to drive down to Tampa to pick it out in person like I did the first time. Let's hope that Richard can air freight to Cincinnati (not a Southwest Hub)......

Kurt

 

[jmait769]

Here are some recent pics of my tank. You can see a ton more by clicking my red house. I would highly recommend TBS and will buy more when I purchase a larger tank (in the planning stage!). Agree with all that Jeff, Bobt, wooglin and Kurt noted. I think the greatest thing about my TBS purchase was that I had an instant reef. Richard does a great job sending out the package in two parts and really helps with the initial setup. On the side shot you can see my Condy, a Donkey Dung Cucumber at the bottom and the gorgonian which all came with my package over a year ago. I put some xenia in the tank and they are trying to take over!

One year ago!

HTH

Jay