seabrookian
New member
How long does it normally take for TBS to respond to an order? Not the actual shipping, but the confirmation of order and arrangement of logistics.
Response Time
- Thread starter seabrookian
- Start date
seabrookian
New member
I should have replied to this earlier as the delay was just a miscommunication between TBS and I. I got all of the shipment about a day or so later...and a followup phone call to make sure I was happy. My order was something like 30 lbs of sand and 60 lbs of rock going in a semi-established 180 gallon tank. Tank had sand & LR from an established 55 gallon circulating for two weeks, but no fish.
Packaging was excellent very secure and no leaks...rock was 100% submerged.
The sand had a lot of life in it... lots of little snails and one really big (3" or so) conch looking snail.
Rock was very bright & well coverred with different algaes, sponges & tube worms.
Its been in the tank for a while now. Since it went into a tank that was somewhat established, and I guess the load was not that high (~60 lbs of rock in 180 gallons) so my chemistry never went bad.
The only bad hitch hikers were 3 Gorilla crabs (Silver dollar, 1/2 dollar and dime sized) that were relatively easy to take out... I just watched whenever I saw them on a piece of rock I pulled it out and grabbed the crab. I have seen one isopod (or is it copepod..the bad one that latches on to fish), but I think the eyes were small so it may not be the bad kind....though it moved quick.
The big gorilla crab did eat two of my "good" crab hitch hikers.... I found the remains
. I also had a hermit hitch hiker...but have not seen him since day 2... I'm assuming he did not make it.
Unfortunately the macro all died as did a couple of sponges. I still have several sponges, coralline and microfauna...and several things I can not identify. Every now and then something completely new shows up... some type of round snail type thing this weekend...different sorts of worms and wigglies.
There is one thread in here about "Would you do it again?" and I will. The price (minus shipping) is identical to my LFS, and I have not had that Christmas morning feeling in a long, long time. Its a blast just to see what you have! From the perspective of value, even if quality did not count... the hitchhikers make up for much of the shipping delta. This is a good deal.
Note I thought I did a close inspection of the rock before putting it in the aquarium, yet I did not find the surprisingly large crab. I will buy some more live rock before I put much stock in the tank so the hitchhikers can easily be removed.
Packaging was excellent very secure and no leaks...rock was 100% submerged.
The sand had a lot of life in it... lots of little snails and one really big (3" or so) conch looking snail.
Rock was very bright & well coverred with different algaes, sponges & tube worms.
Its been in the tank for a while now. Since it went into a tank that was somewhat established, and I guess the load was not that high (~60 lbs of rock in 180 gallons) so my chemistry never went bad.
The only bad hitch hikers were 3 Gorilla crabs (Silver dollar, 1/2 dollar and dime sized) that were relatively easy to take out... I just watched whenever I saw them on a piece of rock I pulled it out and grabbed the crab. I have seen one isopod (or is it copepod..the bad one that latches on to fish), but I think the eyes were small so it may not be the bad kind....though it moved quick.
The big gorilla crab did eat two of my "good" crab hitch hikers.... I found the remains
. I also had a hermit hitch hiker...but have not seen him since day 2... I'm assuming he did not make it.Unfortunately the macro all died as did a couple of sponges. I still have several sponges, coralline and microfauna...and several things I can not identify. Every now and then something completely new shows up... some type of round snail type thing this weekend...different sorts of worms and wigglies.
There is one thread in here about "Would you do it again?" and I will. The price (minus shipping) is identical to my LFS, and I have not had that Christmas morning feeling in a long, long time. Its a blast just to see what you have! From the perspective of value, even if quality did not count... the hitchhikers make up for much of the shipping delta. This is a good deal.
Note I thought I did a close inspection of the rock before putting it in the aquarium, yet I did not find the surprisingly large crab. I will buy some more live rock before I put much stock in the tank so the hitchhikers can easily be removed.
<<< Unfortunately the macro all died as did a couple of sponges >>>
Most macroalgaes are pretty sensitive to sudden changes in pH, salinity, and temp. and may rapidly die off if your tank water was significantly different then the TBS shipping water.
<<< Note I thought I did a close inspection of the rock before putting it in the aquarium, yet I did not find the surprisingly large crab. >>>
It's near impossible to spot and remove all the undesirable hitchers and especially crabs as they hide in holes and crevices in the rocks. In fact, I just spotted a large porcelain crab for the very first time in one of my TBS tanks the other night, and that tank has been set up for over 2 years! The little SOB was munching on my pretty blue and orange encrusting sponges.
Most macroalgaes are pretty sensitive to sudden changes in pH, salinity, and temp. and may rapidly die off if your tank water was significantly different then the TBS shipping water.
<<< Note I thought I did a close inspection of the rock before putting it in the aquarium, yet I did not find the surprisingly large crab. >>>
It's near impossible to spot and remove all the undesirable hitchers and especially crabs as they hide in holes and crevices in the rocks. In fact, I just spotted a large porcelain crab for the very first time in one of my TBS tanks the other night, and that tank has been set up for over 2 years! The little SOB was munching on my pretty blue and orange encrusting sponges.
I'm surprised your sponges and Macro algae died. My macro didn't survive because my Tang ate them all LOL. Sponges are still hanging in there even though the flow in my 55 gallon is less than ideal. But I used Richards FAQ on water specs and took some of HowardW's advice to heart and my stuff is thriving very nicely.
