tbs questions

[A.T.DAWG]

hi im new to the hobby and am looking to set up my new 75g gallon aquarium soon (but not to soon) and have been looking at tbs to get my rock, but to get "the package" for a 75g it will cost over $800 and i think thats a little steep. if i mix getting live sand, base rock, deco rock ,and coral rock as follow it equals like $470

live sand 74#
base rock 40#
deco rock 10#
coral rock 25#
does this sound like a good mix to everyone?
also should i just not use tbs, ive seen pics of their rock and it looks amazing imho, and the idea of getting a bunch of hitch hickers sounds cool to me. (even though some of them are bad)

any help is much appreciated
andrew

 

[Brazengrrl]

Try http://floridaliverock.com/ they have been great to me and a few friends. The hitchikers are very cool. I have had a pistol shrimp since I have gotten the rock, there were 3 to begin with, but he is the only one left, he is very very cool. And we had a gorrilla crab for a long time, he was about the size of a quarter and never bothered anyone, but we havent seen him lately.
Good luck!

 

[waterfaller1]

My opinion..I would'nt use TBS rock if you gave it to me free. The potential for bad hitchikers and the fact that it is like concrete outweighs any benefit that I see. Not only can you get dozens of mantis,bad hairy crabs, but the dreaded predatory cirolanid isopod..no thanks. :eek2:

 

[mfp4073]

Buy your sand and rock off people who are parting out tanks locally. Might take you a month or more to get all the sand and rock, but you will pay next to nothing for it by the time you are done dealing with shipping and full retail.

 

[orb]

yea-i'd say search tbs and look at what people thought if you really want to go form them. the pics i've seen of their rock looks like bricks. you could diy your rock. get a little LS from someone local, maybe a starter pack from inland aquatics, and some HD sand. you should be able to get started for under a couple hundred. that way you would only have the things YOU wanted in there.

ime, once something is in your tank and you don't want it in there- you are SOL. better watch what's going in there the first time.

 

[rdmpe]

I agree with above, check these out
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=8831787#post8831787
Also, I think Robert has more liverock for sale, ask in this thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1002487

 

[wardworld]

Orb's right about "once it gets into the tank"...I'm fighting the dreaded aiptasia right now - although I must offer a disclaimer that my rock did NOT come from TBS. But once it's in, it's really tough to get out.

 

[boydx6]

tbs

tbs

I just ordered half the size of my tank from TBS and got the rest from board members. I have been happy with the TBS rock. I only got 1 hitchhicker (Gorilla crab) and he doesn't bother anything that I care about.

 

[lifesworksataol]

what is tbs? haha

 

[Aquaman]

Tampa Bay Saltwater

 

[chrisstie]

I ordered from one of our Orlando LFS and got enough stuff for a 55g for ~ $400 and its the most beautiful stuff I've ever seen. Wayyy better than TBS. So people like tbs because of the "life" on it.. life being, what maybe $50 worth of good hitchhikers if you're lucky?

Mine came totally plastered in coralline and I got the rock uncured but it was worth the time it took to do it.. its tongan fusian stuff (not the branch)

if youwant more info on it PM me and i'll let you know where I got it.. we have a lot of good local vendors but i don't want to sound like an ad for anyone in particular

 

[lifesworksataol]

400 for rock - see thats too much for me - iam looking for a better deal :-D i try and do things diy and cheap

 

[chrisstie]

That was for ~70 lbs of rock and ~ 100 lbs of sand too