Man am I disappointed in premium aquatics.....

garydm

Reefing newb
Well I odered some Bali alor expecting this
https://www.livingreefs.com/my-bali-rock-arrived-today-t20461.html
and neded up with this plain rock with coraline only on one piece the size of a quarter
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mabye I was expecting to much.....I paid $135 plus shipping all I wanted was a little color but more white rock
 
I know this sounds weird, but honestly - you're better off with the stuff you got.

Why?

Because even though the stuff in the link "looks" better, you can bet your butt it's got some nasty hitch hikers on it. Rock has hitch hikers - thats a fact of reefing. And cured rock like that is going to be loaded with hitch hikers. Some good - some bad. Yeah, we all like the good stuff. It add biodiversity to our systems. But you get one mantis or one zoa spider in that crap and your tank is set up for a nuclear meltdown. You could be dumping all kinds of nuisance algae in your tank as well. Bad critters can be killed - it's a major pain in the ass, but you can do it. Try beating bryopsis or hair algae that you got on live rock. You'll want to quit the hobby after fighting that crap for 6 months.

I'd take STERILE - WHITE - rocks ANY DAY over something fully cured -- but you have no idea whats lurking inside it.

Just be patient. Your rocks will color up and you'll have coraline growing all over the place in a few months. Trust me, you are better off. Don';t be sad. It'll all be alive and it'll all be purple in a few months.

Look at it this way:
If that rock came in completely sterile and you had to add every single critter that was in the tank - wouldn't you rather KNOW whats in the tank because YOU put it in there - instead of taking a risk and NOT knowing what kind of nasties are lurking in the tiny corners and crevices of the rock?

Give it time. I think you actually got BETTER rock than the other guy. At least it's clean!!
 
i would call them and talk to them ablut it it looks like you got sent the wrong rock

I wouldn't. I'd keep it and be patient. Patience is the best thing you can do for yourself in this hobby. It'll color up.

You could call and bitch - maybe get some money back?

But I would MUCH rather have the rock you got. I really would. I know you think I'm nuts or I'm just being a jerk, but trust me - you don't realize how much it SUCKS ASS to have a bad hitch hiker or nuisance algae in your tank until you have been through it. Then realize YOU put it in there...... it's enough to make ya wanna just quit and sell it all.

I've actually decided that when I set up a big display (sometime in the far off future) I'll buy dry rock and boil the living snot out of all it for about 2hrs. I want WHITE and CLEAN rocks in my tank. It will color up all by itself in good time. I won't have any nasty buggers in the tank either.
 
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yes i agreee but if they sent him the wrong rock they prob owe him the difference in price that i some king of branching rock. i my self would want what i ordered
 
I'm actually looking forward to ordering some rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Ya you get some bad hitchikers but you get CRAZY life on that rock from what I've seen.
 
I agree about the wrong order. But I'd just call and ask for $$ back. I wouldn't go hunting for live rock full of critters. No way!!

I'm actually looking forward to ordering some rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Ya you get some bad hitchikers but you get CRAZY life on that rock from what I've seen.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thats the LAST thing I'd do. Seams almost everybody who orders maricultured/aquacultured rock from the ocean ends up with a mantis and some zoa spiders. F**K THAT!!

You guys want biodiversity? You want pods and GOOD critters?

Go make friends with a local reefer who has a nice tank and buy some sand or a few piece of rock from their tank. There's your biodiversity.
 
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i would when i get lr rock i want the critters or i would just buy dry base rock i dont know every body has different views but i would want what i paid for most defentialy
 
i would when i get lr rock i want the critters or i would just buy dry base rock i dont know every body has different views but i would want what i paid for most defentialy

There ya go. Maybe they DID ship the wrong rock? Maybe he got base rock instead of the stuff he ordered?

So call and ask for money back.

But don't go looking for more live rock just to add color and take the risk of nasties.....

I think he got lucky.
 
Well I got all my rock locally. I bought some pretty basic stuff and one absolutely gorgeous rock from a shops display tank. Dang rock cost me 60 bucks I figured that one rock would seed all the rest. To a point it has however the one great looking rock had aiptsia on it. Never saw it to begin with now i kill 4 or 5 a week every week. I bought peppermint shrimps, never have seen them since I put them in. I dont think they made it. Not really sure, anyway I still have to kill the aiptsia manually. I think next tank I will do more like RC make my own or buy dead stuff and just get all the good critters from indo-pacific sea farms. here is there link in case you are interested : : : : Indo-Pacific Sea Farms : : : : :twocents:
 
Anybody read any of my posts regarding the asterina stars? Damn things eat coraline. I got them on live rock. It's taken hundreds of hours of manual removal to put a dent in the population. I stand in front of my tank and stalk these stupid things for hours at a time. Yes, I said I spend HOURS standing in front of my tank with a turkey baster in my hand. Standing there looking for pest star fish and sucking them out one at a time. I've probably sucked out 5000 of them from 1/8" across to 1" across. Probably blown 300 gallons of water down the drain - one turkey baster at a time..............

Yay for me - I got biodiversity!!! :grumble: Oh, and I got almost no coraline on my rocks. Ain't that nice? :pooh:

I have not added any rock to my system in over 18 months. Never saw a single one of these stars until about 6 months ago. They just popped up outta nowhere. Just goes to show you how long a pest can hibernate or live "under the radar" in your tank before they grow to plague proportions.

I also picked up an aiptasia on a piece of live rock. Again, this was a piece of rock that had been in my system for over 18 months. Never seen one before until that day, over 18 months AFTER I put it in my tank. I yanked that rock out of the tank as fast as I could, sliced the anenome foot off the rock with an exacto knife and then got my cordless drill and a masonry drill bit. Drilled a 3/8" diameter hole right down into that rock about an inch deep. Drilled right where the anenomes foot was attached. Cut, scrapped and hacked all around the top of the hole with an exacto knife until I had created a nice marble sized crater. Filled that entire hole with super glue until it was full to the top and let it cure. It took about 1/2oz of glue to fill the hole and crater.

Never seen another aiptasia in my tanks. :Cheers:

Can you imagine how easily that little SOB could have ruined my tank? If I hadn't spotted it and cut it out, it could have turned into 10,000 little aiptasia' and I'd be boiling rock like Biff did to get rid of majanoes.

Biodiversity is great. Coraline on fresh rock is great. Getting what you paid for it also great.

Reef pests ain't so great. :pooh:

Take the plain white rocks and consider yourself BLESSED!! :Cheers:
 
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Well I went out and bought a 10 gallon tank to hold the rock in so I could get rid of the bad stuff before it got nto my tank.....so I was expecting the bad stuff and the color and the surprise of other life forms or corol or anything else I would get...... well I may call them and not be a ass about it just state my disappointment on what arrive and see where it gets me.....I cant get this locally so Im not totally bummed out but ya know
 
I can see where Rc's comin from.But wheres the challenge in having sterile rock? :D
Aiptasia aint that hard to get rid of,as long as catch em quick and play around.
Mantis shrimp are actually cool and smart.You've NOT had a challange until you've tryed to catch one out of a reef tank:shock:
And another thing to think about.Your still taking the chance of adding a coral predator every time you add a new coral to the tank.Weather it's a zoanthid eating spider,nudi,flatworms and red bugs.The chance is there every time you add something new to the tank.
 
looks like nice rock to me but when you order stuff online like live rock or corals or anything live you never know what your gonna get. i buy dry goods online and live stuff at local fish store cause i wanna see what i'm buying. Here in st.louis area we have 12 saltwater pet stores within half hour drive.
 
I have a ton of asterinas and I've been fishing them out as well. The back glass and overflow is pretty much wiped of coralline. All my rock came from established tanks. Ya just never know what you're getting.
 
wow i would be angree, i can care less if its fully cured i like starting fresh with the white rock a lil longer in setting up but better over all to me... but i would be SUPER ANGRY of the selection of branching rocks! i hate that branching rock no offense anyone but its just not great for setting coral on and makin a great rock set up. just my opinion! call them an scream!:frustrat:
 
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