Unhappy with LR order

[damick11]

I ordered 30lbs LR a month ago from Prem Aquatics due to the recommendations of most ppl here. When I got the order, I was disappointed at the immediate appearance of what I received, plus it wasn't what I had asked for. It was VERY drab (even more so than LFS) and mostly white. I also expected much more life on the uncured pieces I ordered, but none was to be found (no plants, no hitchhikers). I was hoping (or giving benefit of the doubt) that time in the aquarium would help, but even after a month and seeding with another LR from LFS, The dead base rock I started out with is doing as well as LR I ordered which leads me to believe there was very little life to begin with.

Here is what I ordered by phone:
Three pieces 10lbs each of Fiji(cured- I wanted uncured, but it wasn't available), Marshall(uncured), and Kaelini(uncured). I wanted these specific sizes and no rubble, and the guy on the phone said that was no problem.

In addition to the appearance issues, I got a 10lb piece of Kaelini, a 7lb piece of Fiji, a 8lb piece of Marshall. The remaining 5lbs was rubble.

Coraline did not even start to developer until I added the new rock from LFS(only a week or so ago), then after only a few days it began to see it seed on the other rocks.

I am very disappointed indeed!

 

[manderx]

i don't work for PA in any way, but....

that's very typical of mail order rock. most of the coralline is dead, and the rocks are scrubbed before transshipped. cured rock these days usually has more apparent life because it's had time to recover from transshipping and it's usually cured in better conditions that most people's tanks. the 'rubble' was probably a nice rock that got busted in shipping.

the coralline growth is purely coincidental with the new rock purchase. 1 week would not be long enough for the new coralline to adjust to your tank, send out spores, then have those spores land on something and grow into something big enough to see.

 

[damick11]

That was what I thought and why I gave it time. But like I said, my dead base rock is getting coralline at an equal rate as the MO LR. The LFS piece is nice piece and is even starting to grow things on it.

Oh, and also to add was how it was packed. No insulation at all. The rocks were simply wrapped in paper and put in a CARDBOARD BOX. It was soaked thru when it arrived. The box didn't seem to be weakend too bad though, but still- I at least expected it to be insulated (possible saved some life if it were). The delivery guy wasn't too thrilled about the wet box either. LOL

I don't believe the rubble was from a busted piece, but I suppose anything is possible- even though the box didn't show any signs of abuse. It still wasn't what I asked for. I asked for 3 10lb pieces, not 10,7,8,5 lb pieces. I wouldn't be holding on to that if it wasn't something I specifically asked for and was told that it was no problem.

 

[officerricv]

what do you think of the marshall, i have 60 lbs being cured as we speak, It is more expensive then lfs. Maybe i should cancel. they say it is real nice rock

 

[R33f3r]

I would call them because that is very lousy shipping procedure. As for the rocks, that is the gamble you take when buying online.

 

[damick11]

officerricv: I like the shape of Marshall, and it's an excellent space for my mithrax crabs. Lots of nooks and crannies for him to hide, but still in view of the observer. My yellowtail damsel even likes to squeeze in between it sometimes.

R33f3r: I knew ordering MO was a bit of a risk, but I felt a little at ease placing the order by all the recommendations here. That plus how they taunt you on their website on how great their rock is. Since I had a negative experience, I just thought I'd share so that everyone else knew.

 

[R33f3r]

I know how you feel. I bought some TBS rocks about 8 months ago and I thought I was going to get what everyone says here as "The best looking rock", what I got where cannonballs with a few sponges and some macro algae. The only online rock dealer I trust is Dr. Mac.

 

[jasonfrey]

Hi,

I'm very sorry to hear you are unhappy with your rock purchase. I wish you would of contacted us first about the problem. We are always willing work with our customers.

You didn't leave your name, so i couldn't look up your order to see what shipping method you choose. Ground, 2-day, overnight etc, but that can make a big difference on the rock. The weather can impact the rock as well.

The rock we carry is from the best suppliers we can find, we import a total of about 3000 pounds of rock a week, so we know about rock and our volume means we get the best picks of the rock. That said, it's still Mother Natures rock, and she varies from week to week. We make no bones about FIji rock, it's still called a premium rock but looks like base rock to us and we even mention that on our website. It's over mined and collected. It's just a cheap rock alternative now, if there was not a deman for FIji, we would just prefer drop it and only sell the Tonga and Marshall.

On the coralline, we have noticed a big drop in coralline coverage and that is part collection, part weather and part shipping time from Pacific Island to USA. Airlines are not moving freight as fast these days. Coraline coverage is important to the new hobbyist, but we try to stress not to pick your rocks because of coralline coverage, you can grow coralline, you can't change the shape of yoru rock, so we look for rocks with the best shape and charactor, that is why we like Tonga and Marshall, very unique rock. FIji is more brick like these days.

ON curing the packing, we do not scrub our rock and never have, we cure naturally in large pools with a big skimmer and ozone. So we do not remove the coralline or any plants etc. SO they should naturally come back after they recoop. Got to remember shipping from a warm pacific island to LA, then to Ind, curing 2 weeks in a pool and then shipping again is pretty stressful on the rock, but it's strong and will bounce back.

ON the packing, we do not use a regular cardboard box, that is a double wall thickness carboard that is wax coated. It's what the rock ships to us in and it's the same box that everyone else uses. FOr additional fee we can use a livestock box that we pack fish in and that can help, but most of the damage done to rock is it hitting itself when the shippers toss around the box, so even cushioned on the outside can still get rubble.

As to the rubble, we never will or have included rubble in a rock order. We put in only nice sellable pieces, but they can get broke in shipping. That is why we sell rubble separate, when we get in a 50 pound box from the Island, we have at least 10 pounds of rubble. That's why we have thousands of pound of rubble and we sell it for 1.49 a pound which is half what we pay for the rock, so we actually loose money on rubble, because we do not want to pass it onto the customers like rock suppliers do to the pet store.

We try to get you the size selection you ask for, but please remember, this is natural live rock, not a drygood item that we can pick and choose, no two pieces are the same.

Hope that clears things up and answered everyones concerns.

thanks

 

[damick11]

It was by 2nd day, and my name is Daniel Amick- delivered on Feb 26 (I called it in on the 20th). I was advised of a 7.00 box charge, so I assumed that was what I paid for. I never recieved an invoice to break it down, so I'm not 100% sure on that though.( I recieved an email confirmation of shipping, but no invoice)

Again, I asked specifically on the sizes by phone, and I was told it was no problem. If it was, and I couldn't get the sizes I asked for, then I should have been told upfront or called when it couldn't be done. I even asked what is done in cases where you find a 9lb piece if you just throw in a lb of rubble, and I was advised that each piece will be 10lb or slightly over.

I know in time it will develop into nice rocks, but so will dead base rock. I ordered what I thought was already nice rock, but was very much dissapointed. I could have saved myself a lot of money by buying more base rock and seeding it. I do not feel I recieved what I paid for.

 

[jasonfrey]

Hi Daniel,

I checked your invoice and it did say 3 rocks, 10 pounds each, i'm surprised we told you could get that weight for sure, i'm sorry about that. Usually we can get pretty close, but it's not an exact science as you can imagine.

Do you have any room for more rock in your tank? What do you think about us getting you some nice small pices of rock, we'll pick through and find some with good coraline coverage and you can put in a few places in your reef to seed the tank, jump start the coralline etc. Could get you 10 pounds and ship airborne ground so you get it in 2 days.

If that sounds okay, email me at sales@premiumaquatics.com

thanks

 

[damick11]

Thanks!!! Now thats what I call customer service (and I totally did not expect that!!!)

Sending the email now...

 

[willieboy240]

now thats customer service. good going jason

 

[damick11]

Recieved the replacement rocks yesterday, and they were absolutely wonderful! Excellent colors! Packaging was also top notch this time.

Thanks for making this right.

Dan

 

[RicksReefs]

and now you see why PA comes with
a 5 star rating by the people here on RC. :thumbsup:

 

[damick11]

Yep.

 

[DJPB]

PA is the best of the best, you gotta love em'!