Where to find best live rock?

A

amundine

New member
Here in Denver we have a bunch of LFS within a 20 - 30 min drive of each other and I've noticed a wide variety of live rock available. Most LFS here immediately take a wire brush to the LR they get in and strip it down to nothing. I know eventually this will recover, but it seems so brutal and like an over reaction. I've seen stuff that took too long to get here and smells like rotten eggs. There's one place in town though that has amazing rock with all kinds of healthy vibrant life on it too. It's got rock oysters imbedded in it, dwarf cup corals on it, snails, cucumbers, serpent stars, healthy sponges, tunicates, etc.
I'm looking for that kind of vibrancy in some internet stores. Can some of you share some stories and the names of the sites where you got amazing live rock?
 
If you want vibrant life already intact on the LR from the get go, aqua cultured rock is the way to go. For the most part pacific rock is harvested, picked semi clean, allowed to sit out on a beach a decent part of the afternoon, and after travelling half way across the globe usually requires attention and curing, all of which removes a lot of the life from the rock; however you would be surprised how much life can and does return to these rocks.

If you go aqua cultured there are some drawbacks not associated with pacific rock though, primarily unwanted hitchhikers such as gorilla crabs, aiptasia, parasitic isopods, and such. With all that life on and in the rocks there will be things not wanted among the throng of surprise discoveries of the lifeforms tagging along on the rocks (a lot of harmless cool surprises too though).

check out Tampa Bay Saltwater for more info and details about aquacultured rock.

If you decide aquacultured is not for you, look for Kaelini rock for what is probably the best of the pacific rock.
 
The vast majority of "live rock" is real nasty stuff when it lands in the USA .. has sat in the sun for hrs/days and suffered a long boat trip covered in some wet paper/burlap.

Some of the better live rock is aqua cultured and care is taken to keep the rock submerged in water right to your doorstep .. of course your paying the extra cost of shipping water (and depending on where you live that can get real spendy). Other than cost the other downside of this type of rock is the prevalence of unwanted hitchhikers (mantis shrimp, nasty crabs, etc) Do a search for TBS (Tampa bay saltwater) .. one of the better known aquaculture live rock providers.

Hope this helps.
 
Tampa Bay Saltwater is one of the classic referals we give. They're eco-friendly, in that they culture their rock rather than remove it from natural reefs. The life on the rocks is simply amazing. They ship in water rather than simply damp. Check them out.
 
It is always best if you have a LFS that has good looking LR. Buying it there allows you to practice "what you see, is what you get." The only drawback is that it comes at a premium price in most cases. There are several RC sponsors that provide good quality rock. Check out a few then search the Vendor Experience Forum to get purchaser feedback.
 
www.floridaliverock.com , formerly www.gulf-view.com . I got some very nice rock with lots of goodies. The only problem with this type of rock is you get some bad things too. Mantis shrimp, gorilla crabs, and cirolanid isopods are common. So are cup coral, rose coral, clams, many types of macroalgea, sponges, etc. Unlike most places that sell rock, the pictures on this web page are very much representative of what I received.

I'm still finding new stuff on my rock. Including a new cirolanid the other day :rolleyes: . But the baddies are worth dealing with for rock like this IMHO.
 
Livestockusa.org

Livestockusa.org

I just received my Tonga and Marshall Island rock this week, and was quite happy with the results. I ordered Vava'u XXL (80 pound) with a one piece request. The rock was broken in 3 parts, but the amount of life was amazing. It actually had what I believe were 5 sea cucumbers on it that were still moving (but have since died). The Marshall Island rock was smaller pieces (35 pound boxes), but had more life yet than the Vava'u. I just can't wait for the smell to go away! I added it to some cured Kaelini rock I had from the LFS.

They have the rock collected and sent to LA, then to your airport by commercial freight (to save you money). You obviously run the risk of getting a bad box, but other companies have it shipped to them and they either ship it to you uncured from their location or pick thru it themselves.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth.
 
I just got some aquacultured rock from www.sealifeflorida.com and it was teeming with little pistol shrimp and covered in feather dusters. Good customer service and the rock was only 3.50 a pound. I would highly recommend them.
 
I know you have had a couple of referrals for Tampa Bay Saltwater, but from personal experience (all 3 months of it!) the rock is amazing.. Full of life. I got some critters that I personally did not want, but hey ... its really is A-LIVE (the water weight of the boxes shipped is about 25% .. and worth it). My marine biologist friend who does tank setups for a living can not believe it. He calls it my Insta-Reef!! It looks like 3 years old, not just 3 months. Richard from TBS was one of the first and a true supplier/personal helper. Can't talk to him much (he's always out getting the rock and stuff), but from my looking around and reading personal experiences on RC and others, this is the best! ... Good luck with where ever you wind up for the purchase .. it is the most important decision.

Bruce :D
 
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