TBS Live Rock? Experiences?
- Thread starter lizri
- Start date
DiverDavid
New member
I established a 180 gallon in February with TBS rock, it has done very well. I have had a few gorilla crabs to get rid of but overall a great experience. Richard is second to none to deal with! You will also find a ton of good hitch hikers, I turned a red light on the tank Monday night and saw no less than 10-12 porcelain crabs. The tank also cycled within a week, NH3 never got above 1 ppm, was around .5 ppm for about 2 weeks.
U'll get amazing rocks w so much life in them and Richard is great to work with, I love the rocks Richard sent me! Wont find these in LFS or online.
Having said that few things to note:
(1) it was a pain having to go to airport freight area for pickup mainly bc I'm in NJ and had to go to Newark airport. It was a nightmare, had to wait very long time. U can choose any airline for freight delivery, I'd select a smaller airline so it's not too busy at their freight terminal. I made the mistake of using United and it was awful.
(2) there are/will be hitchhikers that u have to remove and if u don't have experience doing this like I did, then u're constantly going to have to remove them even months later. I'd even found one gorilla crab a year later!
Overall I'd order again from TBS. You wont get better customer service before or after purchase than from Richard.
Having said that few things to note:
(1) it was a pain having to go to airport freight area for pickup mainly bc I'm in NJ and had to go to Newark airport. It was a nightmare, had to wait very long time. U can choose any airline for freight delivery, I'd select a smaller airline so it's not too busy at their freight terminal. I made the mistake of using United and it was awful.
(2) there are/will be hitchhikers that u have to remove and if u don't have experience doing this like I did, then u're constantly going to have to remove them even months later. I'd even found one gorilla crab a year later!
Overall I'd order again from TBS. You wont get better customer service before or after purchase than from Richard.
scooter31707
New member
The best rock ever. OMG!!
I love mine, only consideration I'd recommend is if you go with The Package, and you should, you may want less rock than recommended for your size tank, of course completely depending on what look you're going for.
The amount of biodiversity and good hitchhikers I have noticed is incredible though, not to mention the benefit of being almost instantly cycled. Loads of pictures in their subforum, check it out!
The amount of biodiversity and good hitchhikers I have noticed is incredible though, not to mention the benefit of being almost instantly cycled. Loads of pictures in their subforum, check it out!
lizri
New member
I didn't realize they were a sponsor! I'll definitely check out their subforum, though just from the replies on this thread I'll probably end up going with them for this build. :celeb1:
That's what I had kind of been thinking, I have a 100 gallon but I definitely don't want the amount of rock that they recommend for that size. I'll probably go with a Package but for a smaller sized tank. That way I can scape the way I want and put the rest in the 'fuge (that's also where, on the off chance I get one, a pistol shrimp could live).
Thanks everyone for your input!
Luckily I live in Raleigh, NC and am only 20 minutes from RDU, so that should be ok. As for hitchhikers, I've got a couple years experience but will definitely brush up on the goods, the bads, and the uglies. Lord knows I haven't seen even close to everything.
That's what I had kind of been thinking, I have a 100 gallon but I definitely don't want the amount of rock that they recommend for that size. I'll probably go with a Package but for a smaller sized tank. That way I can scape the way I want and put the rest in the 'fuge (that's also where, on the off chance I get one, a pistol shrimp could live).
Thanks everyone for your input!
It is pretty solid, IMO. However, I won't use it. It is heavy, dense and does not do as good of a job of denitrification as pacific live rock.
It is mined from a quarry and placed in the ocean for a while to get critters on the outside. Some will live - some that you want and some that you won't. Some will die. The good thing is that since it was in the ocean, the low nutrient environment will nearly guarantee that the rock is phosphate free. After a few years, about all that you will have alive on it is coralline and some sponges, but that will happen regardless of what kind of rock you use.
I like pacific rock better because it was in the ocean the whole time and is more porous and ready for anxoic zones and bacterias. It needs to be cured, which kills all of the nasty stuff. This rock is also phosphate free. It is lighter.
I would use TBS rock with no problem if there was no longer pacific rock. It is still way beyond dead/dry rock.
I wish that they would put the pukani into the ocean for a while. It would be awesome once the organics and phosphates were out of it and it got loaded with life.
It is mined from a quarry and placed in the ocean for a while to get critters on the outside. Some will live - some that you want and some that you won't. Some will die. The good thing is that since it was in the ocean, the low nutrient environment will nearly guarantee that the rock is phosphate free. After a few years, about all that you will have alive on it is coralline and some sponges, but that will happen regardless of what kind of rock you use.
I like pacific rock better because it was in the ocean the whole time and is more porous and ready for anxoic zones and bacterias. It needs to be cured, which kills all of the nasty stuff. This rock is also phosphate free. It is lighter.
I would use TBS rock with no problem if there was no longer pacific rock. It is still way beyond dead/dry rock.
I wish that they would put the pukani into the ocean for a while. It would be awesome once the organics and phosphates were out of it and it got loaded with life.
jda, I think your assessment may have been accurate up until about two years ago. However, I don't think Richard is using any quarried rock anymore. I believe for about two years now all rock he puts in the ocean (and most of what he sells) is either Pukani or Walt Smith 2.0 man made rock. The rock I received one year ago was probably 2/3 pukani, the rest was mostly Walt Smith, with just a couple small pieces which might have been older quarried rock.
PirateLove
New member
I am interested in TBS rock but there is a 100 lb minimum from what someone told me =(
Last edited:
Love it, set up my new tank over the Xmas/New years holidays with it. The good
- amazing fast shipping leads to rock in much better condition than anything else.
- amazing amount of great hitchhikers, ((and anemones, snails, urchins, etc. he sends you) you'll have no clue where all these guys were hiding. I'm still finding cool stuff to this date
-incredibly fast to no cycle
The bad - you will get some gorilla crabs. Just need to stay vigilant with the skewer. You'll think you got them all then one who was super tiny when it came in will show it's face. Think I may have seen one last night who I need to skewer, but then again also saw a new tiny porcelain crab and a tiny peppermint for the first time
- amazing fast shipping leads to rock in much better condition than anything else.
- amazing amount of great hitchhikers, ((and anemones, snails, urchins, etc. he sends you) you'll have no clue where all these guys were hiding. I'm still finding cool stuff to this date
-incredibly fast to no cycle
The bad - you will get some gorilla crabs. Just need to stay vigilant with the skewer. You'll think you got them all then one who was super tiny when it came in will show it's face. Think I may have seen one last night who I need to skewer, but then again also saw a new tiny porcelain crab and a tiny peppermint for the first time
It's not 100 lb minimum of rock that u have to order. U have to pay for a minimum of 100 lbs shipping. Shipping goes by the wieght. So if u order 30 lbs of rock u still have to pay shipping on 100 lbs.
As far as tbs, I have around 150 lbs of it in my 150 that I setup about 1.5 hrs ago. I love the rock & I did have a instant cycle which was nice. Over time a bunch of the tunicates & sponges a have slowly dwindled down to where I only have a few left in a couple shady areas. Im not sure why but the first couple of months I had 100's of porcelain crabs but they all dwindled down to where I have 0 now.
The emerald crabs are all still there. I also had a bunch of baby pistol shrimp that came in the rock but I think the fish ate most of the smaller ones. I'm not sure how many are left but I know the bigger ones are all still alive. There is only one that I see & he is about 2.5" but I know they have a few more in there. I had 12 urchins that came on the rock & they are all still alive. I know I'm forgetting a few but they had a bunch of good hitchikers & most are still in the tank.
I do have a fuge on that system that grows different algea so I'm not sure if it's that or the rock but I have absolutely zero algea in the dt with the tbs. my other tank I started with dry rock & im dealing with hair algea, Dino & cyno at the moment.
If u want a quality live rock straight from the ocean & u don't mind hunting for some pest then I would highly recommend it. If u don't want to have to deal with a few gorilla crabs or maybe a couple other pests then it may not be for u.
Everything I read about it most people only pull out a couple of gorilla crabs. I think I must have been the exception because I pulled out 75 & I still have a few left over 1.5 years later. I also found a Eunice worm on my sandbed a month or so after I set it up. That was the only two pest I had even though it was more gorilla crabs then most get.
As far as cost, around me it would have cost the same amount to buy liverock from the lfs & there isn't a dought in my mind that if I got it from the Lfs I would have been battling algea.
As far as tbs, I have around 150 lbs of it in my 150 that I setup about 1.5 hrs ago. I love the rock & I did have a instant cycle which was nice. Over time a bunch of the tunicates & sponges a have slowly dwindled down to where I only have a few left in a couple shady areas. Im not sure why but the first couple of months I had 100's of porcelain crabs but they all dwindled down to where I have 0 now.
The emerald crabs are all still there. I also had a bunch of baby pistol shrimp that came in the rock but I think the fish ate most of the smaller ones. I'm not sure how many are left but I know the bigger ones are all still alive. There is only one that I see & he is about 2.5" but I know they have a few more in there. I had 12 urchins that came on the rock & they are all still alive. I know I'm forgetting a few but they had a bunch of good hitchikers & most are still in the tank.
I do have a fuge on that system that grows different algea so I'm not sure if it's that or the rock but I have absolutely zero algea in the dt with the tbs. my other tank I started with dry rock & im dealing with hair algea, Dino & cyno at the moment.
If u want a quality live rock straight from the ocean & u don't mind hunting for some pest then I would highly recommend it. If u don't want to have to deal with a few gorilla crabs or maybe a couple other pests then it may not be for u.
Everything I read about it most people only pull out a couple of gorilla crabs. I think I must have been the exception because I pulled out 75 & I still have a few left over 1.5 years later. I also found a Eunice worm on my sandbed a month or so after I set it up. That was the only two pest I had even though it was more gorilla crabs then most get.
As far as cost, around me it would have cost the same amount to buy liverock from the lfs & there isn't a dought in my mind that if I got it from the Lfs I would have been battling algea.
