Rock Arrived.

[SFreefer]

My rock arrived yesterday via South West air cargo.

I was very excited to see this new premium cured fiji that I had ordered. I must say I was pleased with the shapes but the color is completely lacking. There is little to no coraline algae on any of the rocks. They are mostly just white-brown rock that appear to have had no light for quite a while.

I ordered 30 lbs of Premium's Nano rock in December and was very impressed with the quality of the rock. It had lots of color and a fair amount of hitchhikers. This new rock has no hitchhikers that I have spotted at all.

Sorry to post a complaint, but I must say I was hoping for something a bit better than this considering the website says: "you'll see macro algae plants, small corals, and even on the right bottom, you'll notice a small colony of green zooanthids" and in the next paragraph "It has very dark purples and some orange coraline algae growths."

I called to inform them about the lack of color and they said that the rock was not sold as "coraline" rock but that it had enough life to be called "live rock".

I've always appreciated the excellent customer service that Premium Aquatics offers but next time I buy rock I guess I will have to pick it out in person.
Rob

 

[WIKI2ECHO]

LIVE ROCK'

LIVE ROCK'

Beautiful sizes and shapes if I might say so.......coraline won't take that long.

Good Luck!
Bill

 

[SFreefer]

Yes, I am hoping that it grows in quickly. I have 30 LBS of rock from another tank that is 3 years old. I'm hoping it can seed the rest of the new rock quickly. I have always had really good experiences with PA and hope to continue to in the future.

 

[bobbittle]

I brought home 10 pounds for my nano tank last year and it had absolutely no coraline on it at all.

2 weeks later was a different story. Orange, pink, purple, red, green.....all different shades of coraline had popped up. Gorgeous rock.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Hi,

I'm very sorry you are disappointed in your live rock purchase. We do strive to have the best live rock possible. Unfortunately Fiji rock quality varies from batch to batch and Fiji rock is not imported with the same care and speed that Tonga & Marshall have.

All of our rock goes immediately into 1 of 3 600gallon pools with a commercial sized skimmer and very strong water flow. We have metal halides on each pool. So the rock is kept in the best condition until we sell it. We can't control how the rock is collected or time it sits in transit though and that is where the loss of coralline comes from.

We are careful when we select pieces and our main objective is finding nice size and good looking pieces. We understand it's nice to get a rock full of coralline and color but a nice colorful rock that is shaped like a brick isnt' good for your tank, so we look more for shape and size then color and plant life. You can grow these, but you can't change the shape of your rocks.

I hope this explanation helps. We try and describe our rock fully on the internet and we encourage people to call or email to ask about the quality of the rock before they buy since it varies. In my opinion though, the Fiji rock looks 10 times better right now with shapes and sizes then it did a few months ago. So I personally would much rather have it a little sparse on color and get the cool shapes. If you look at our marshall rock, you'll notice the Fiji right now looks pretty similar without as much color, but a lot less expensive.

thanks

 

[SFreefer]

Thanks for the reply Jeremy. I do appreciate all your hard work over there at Premium Aquatics. I did call though when I ordered the rock and was not informed that the rock was as bleached out as it is. I asked for Marshall Island orginally and some Kaelini but was told they weren't very good at the time and that the Fiji was much better.

Anyhow, I am not totally disappointed. As I said, I do really like the shapes and sizes. I will continue to do business with you in the future as well. You guys still have some of the best customer service available.

Rob

 

[Jeremy B.]

Rob,

Please let me know next time you order and we'll try and make it up to you.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[mike6021]

Shape is key...

Shape is key...

That rock will look great in 3+ months. The first piece looks great, nice and nobby(?).

Hitchhikers are overated and the color will appear.

(though I can understand your email...live rock is always (sort of) a cornerstone purchase for your tank)