Our Tbs

[techreef]

I'm really sorry to hear that Jezzeaepi. I'm not so far along with my tank as you are, but I was definitely feeling the same exasperation as you. I found/chopsticked three more small stone crabs this weekend, and two gorillas. Peace is slowly returning to the land, but it is definitely a huge job. I'd be hesitant to get TBS rock on anything larger than a 90G tank, due to all the work of catching bad hitchhikers, which is getting pretty tough already in my tank. I can't imagine doing this in a 175 or larger, where you can't even reach the bottom.

I haven't spotted any more cirolanids, which is great. The tiger gobies are getting used to seeing me now, and no longer run and hide when I look at the tank. My hermits are still doing their best impression of paratroopers when I feed the tank. They literally come storming off the rocks, jumping 1' down to the sand bed to race over to the flakes.

Jezzeaepi, most likely you have, but did you try "all" the various trapping methods to nab your hitchhikers? Here's what i've experienced so far, per species:

Mantis shrimp: Never dumb enough to get trapped. Must either remove their home rock and drive them out with seltzer water, or use the Sears flexible grabber tool to nab them.

Gorillas: The seltzer water works well for them too, but that is really only an option up until you get your LR arranged the way you want. After that, I'm not pulling it all apart to lug out a 45lb. piece of rock to get at a crab. For gorillas, spearing them w/ a chopstick has been the best in-tank method for me. I did catch one using a baited shot glass.

Cirolanid: Got lucky when I spotted him on the front glass. Netted him. Hello, toilet!

Stone crabs: same as gorillas. Man, these little guys are tanks!

Whelks: Mine are near-black in color, with the black/white tatooed look on their "trunk" and foot. I've been pulling these by hand.

 

[jezzeaepi]

I think Ill give the chopstick method a try, but it may be too thick. Is their a type of metal(or other material) that I can make a long skewer out of that will be safe to use in my tank?
The one ro two gorrilas that remain have escaped several assassination attemps, so they know they are on my list. If they see me at all, they retreat to bottom of the biggest rock structure immediatly. My weapon of choice would be something long(so I didnt have to put my hand in the water and alert the crabs of my pressence) and skinny(so they dont see it coming). any suggestions?

I took out one of the big rocks a few months back when I had a 2inch stonecrab wreaking havoc in there, but after a few months the rocks have been restacked, corals placed, etc. Theres no way for me to feasibly do that now.

 

[drk70]

Use a wire coat hanger.

 

[techreef]

i find the wire coat hangers too wobbly in the water to accurately spear anything, esp. if you're aiming for a hole in a rock where the crab may be sitting. I like the wooden chopstick because it doesn't wobble at all, and if you even manage to pin any part of the crab, the chopstick is stiff enough to push around the trapped crab sideways.

as for something longer than a normal chopstick, how about going to a kitchen store and buying some skewers? (man, talk about the name reflecting the intended purpose!!) They would be longer, and depending on the kind you find, may be thick enough to not instantly break on the rock or be wobbly like a wire hanger.

 

[Tobman]

I am just jumping in here. I went back through this thread a bit, but it is overwhelming. Great thread, thanks for creating it. Sorry if I am asking questions that are already answerered.

I am setting up a 65 gallong tank and am considering the TBS Package. From what I can tell, those of you that have TBS live rock, love it.

Quesions:

How does the rock compare to other live rock in terms of the density of the rock and its ability to create caves and holes for critters to hide in. Some others (not TBSers) have criticized the rock and said it is too dense, and that I'm better off getting something like Marshall Island rock, that has a more open architecture. This not only allows more homes, but also allows for better water circulation through the rock. What do you all think?

As far as I can tell, TBS is one of the few suppliers that I have found that keep the rock in salt water all the way to your home. And the pictures show and incredible array of life. Seems like a huge selling point.

Also, what is the difference between Gulf vs Florida rock from TBS. Sounds like they are very different. Pros and cons?

 

[Tobman]

Bump.

 

[650-IS350]

TBS rock is HEAVY, ( period ). It's been a couple of months now and even after thinking I have rid the tank of pest crabs, I still end up seeing baby one's. I actually just speared on the other night... about the size of a dime ( but it had tons of eggs under the belly ????? ) that size crab already breeding.... I am truely SOL........ hope my six line starts killing em' little bastards and my groups of pistols too...

overall TBS rock is good, I still have tons of sponges and tunicates growing and multiplying too. and that is with tap water turned to DI. The RO/DI unit is not installed yet. Low PSI.

 

[techreef]

I agree w/ delsol. It is nowhere near as porous as other rock I've seen, although my smaller pieces of rock are close, with a bunch of holes in them. I have a large, flat rock that creates an overhang in the middle of my tank, and one night I came home to see a 4 second, constant stream of stone dust raining down out of a hole-in-construction in the big flat rock. i swear it looked like a drill bit spitting out wood dust, it was so constant. So i guess if you keep your tank up long enough, the TBS rock will naturally become more porous due to the crazy fauna that comes with it.

The life is incredible. but on the other side of the coin, the life is incredible. My shipments had quite a few bad hitchhikers. But this too will pass (with diligent hunting! haha) and I'll be left with a very cool, diverse tank. It's up to you. If you think you'll have the work ethic/patience to hunt baddies for a while, go for the TBS package.

 

[drk70]

IMO it is all personal preference. You either like it or you don't. The density of the rock to me is meaningless. Yes it may be heavier but my rock has tons of holes through it and how you aquascape it has more to do with the circulation. Remember you can always break pieces off if you have to.

How they ship and what life comes on the rock and stays alive is what interested me the most. Yes you can and most likely will get some unwanted guests but all you can do it do your best to get them out before you put the rock in. I still have a few gorilla crabs (almost 1-1/2 years later) but I will get them eventually.

I can't help you much with the difference between gulf and keys rock because I have gulf rock and have never seen the keys rock in person. The only thing I will say is that keys rock seems to have more green leafy stuff on it then gulf rock.

BTW, most of the stuff that was on my rock is still alive and my tank is close to 18 months old.

 

[phil519]

Irregardless of the rock you choose - as dennis mentioned - it's important to have the appropriate circulation in the tank. For a 65 gallon - a single tunze would be more than sufficient, or a pair of seios could work in a pinch too. This doesn't count in the return pump if you plan on having an overflow.

As for my exp with tbs - yes there are a lot of hitchers - but I found quite a few to be neat and interesting. The one critter that was just nasty though was the cirolanid isopod - though this guy could conceivably hitch on any rock. To me these are far worse than having any of the overblown mantis shrimp that everyone talks about. For the record I caught 5 mantis (within 48 hrs) and sold them to local enthusiasts. I think I had maybe 3 isopods - but none of them appeared to have latched onto any of my fish.

Interestingly enough I also had some nassarius snails hitch in, cerith snail hitch in, tons of pods and bristle worms, and a ton of mini stars (i had a few porecelain crabs and one big red serpent hitch). One thing that was really neat was after unloading the sand you'd find so many mini-stars in the bag- it's important not to toss it without carefully checking.

Also - the good folks of TBS are known to throw in random items in addition to you order when the second half arrives. I'm positive the count on my snails and hermits far exceeded the allotment I was supposed to get. They also have plenty of extra shells for the hermits to grow into.

As for the critters stuck on the rocks - my favorite are the brain-like corals...they glow beautifully with the actinic lights. I have only a few tunicates left and most of the turkey shell wing mussels are still about.

I guess for me personally - the experience is great. The tank is a lot more stable than anything I tried a decade ago using the "state of the art" wet dry system...lol.

edit: forgot to mention - all of my xanthid crabs are gone. Captured by yours truly...a few were sent to meet the mantis - most were just captured.

 

[HBtank]

Wow, TBS seems like a nigthmarish headache, I couldn't handle it just for a few semi-attractive hitchiker freebies..

Just me

 

[smcnally]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8160150#post8160150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HBtank
Wow, TBS seems like a nigthmarish headache, I couldn't handle it just for a few semi-attractive hitchiker freebies..

Just me

How do you figure? The only bad hitchhikers I got was 2 gorilla crabs. My rock came with beautiful sponges (Blue, Orange, Yellow, Red, White, and Black) as well as Turkey Wing Molusks (which are good), and corals. All the corals (Hidden Cup, Radiens Star, and Rose Brain) are all still alive and thriving after 2 years and most of the sponges are still doing well. It was well worth it to me, and IMO it is very beatiful rock. You take the chance of getting troublesome hitchers with ANYTHING you buy for your tank. One coral purchase or trade can infest your tank with acro eating flatworms, montipora eating nudis, or redbugs. You can also wind up with any of these issues purchasing Fiji or Marshal Island rock from your LFS. I know a LFS in my area sells Fiji rock that is infested with Aiptasia. This hobby is a gamble...Your success in this hobby is dependant on not just skill, but also luck.

 

[phil519]

I think the TBS experience is excellent and far exceeded the expectations I had.

But that's JUST ME. :strooper:

 

[HBtank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8160535#post8160535 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smcnally
How do you figure? The only bad hitchhikers I got was 2 gorilla crabs. My rock came with beautiful sponges (Blue, Orange, Yellow, Red, White, and Black) as well as Turkey Wing Molusks (which are good), and corals. All the corals (Hidden Cup, Radiens Star, and Rose Brain) are all still alive and thriving after 2 years and most of the sponges are still doing well. It was well worth it to me, and IMO it is very beatiful rock. You take the chance of getting troublesome hitchers with ANYTHING you buy for your tank. One coral purchase or trade can infest your tank with acro eating flatworms, montipora eating nudis, or redbugs. You can also wind up with any of these issues purchasing Fiji or Marshal Island rock from your LFS. I know a LFS in my area sells Fiji rock that is infested with Aiptasia. This hobby is a gamble...Your success in this hobby is dependant on not just skill, but also luck.

I read the whole thread. I stick by what I said.

I am glad your experience was good.

 

[smcnally]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8162434#post8162434 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HBtank
I read the whole thread. I stick by what I said.

I am glad your experience was good.

I here what your saying, but I'm not sure you really heard what I'm saying. I was trying to explain that you can get bad hitch-hikers ony any rock you buy. To each his own...I like the rock, but decided not to do my whole tank with it.

 

[Safir]

HBtank - you are entitled to your opinion, Aquacultured rock isn't for everybody, but a majority of TBS customers think that the diversity and beauty of the product is worth the risk.

Personally, i only had about 10-12 bad hitchikers - I also had 6-8 (breeding) porcelain crabs - not only do those cost $$ at the LFS, but the ones that came in on my rock were better looking than anything i've seen for sale elsewhere.

But please remember, you do stand a chance of getting the same and even worse hitchikers on any rock, they are just more likely to die either in transit or in the first few weeks in your tank because of distance and shipping practices used. BUT just as much good, desirable stuff is going to die as bad stuff.

 

[scott30si]

snails

 

[krajacich]

I haven't posted on here in a while (school, moving, and a new job are keeping me busy)...but I love my TBS rock. I've had mine for almost two years now. I never had a mantis make it into the tank. I had a few gorillas (and probably still have a few gorillas). But I got a very cool pistol shrimp and a TON of porcelain crabs. The serpent stars are amazing to watch.

I'm with Dennis on the density of the rock. It doesn't matter to me in the least. My rock has tons of interesting shapes and lots of holes. The majority of the corals that came on the rock are still alive and thriving. And the aquarium was pretty from day one- Poof, instant aquarium

My rock survived a plane ride from Florida to Montana. And then a year and a half later, a nine hour car ride when I moved across Montana, without losing the life that is unique to the rock TBS sells.

You can buy dead rock and seed it, which will most likely reduce the bad hitchhikers. But as soon as you add your first fish or first coral, you can add unwanted creatures to your tank. Dealing with hitchhikers is just part of having a tank.

 

[Radioheed]

Wow this thread is a monster!

Wow this thread is a monster!

Someone was kind enough to PM me this thread after making my own TBS thread. Wanted to first say that I LOVE THIS ROCK! Especially since it helps to protect the reefs around the world! Richard really hooked me up! To all the people that complain in this thread about bad Hitchers...you might want to find another hobby, cause in this hobby chit happens.

I have learned so much from my first few skims of this monster thread. I am currently on the hunt for a mantis and a few gorillas, going to try the seltzer tonight, as the traps are 0-2.

Also to make the thread even more of a monster, I thought I would share my pics:

Right side (I know the powerhead looks terrible, but until I get a wavemaker attachment, this is the least disturbing spot I can find):

Left side:

Middle rock:

Hitchikers so far (I see something new everytime I look):
10-15 Featherdusters
Serpent Star
1 Unknown snail
1 Unknown Limpet
2-3 Porcelain crabs
At least 1 mantis shrimp
2-3 gorilla crabs
Spag worms (and other worms)
1 unknown black shrimp looking thing
few barnacles (which are pretty cool to watch)
And obviously the coral and macro


QUESTIONS: I am using phyto's every other day, should I be feeding anything else? I really want to keep my tube coral alive so any tips on that would be great (Feeding, flow, placement etc.)

Anyone else have a bunch of cup coral? I don't understand these things, sometimes they open during the day, sometimes not. melev's site says most will die off, any info about them would be great.

How you doin?

 

[krajacich]

Yay pictures!

I love your macroalgae.

I still have cup corals on my rock. They didn't all survive but a bunch did. Initially I was dosing DT's but I have since switched to a combination of Reef Chili & Cyclopeeze, both are powdered so it's just easier for me.

Even skimming this thread is an accomplishment! It's massive It's split tons of times and we had a couple before "Our TBS." I'm not sure if you've looked at the previous ones: Name that thing on my TBS rock (Part 1 & 2).

Good luck mantis hunting!