Need help deciding which LR to choose...

[jayster]

Hello,

I'm about to start a 75 gallon FOWLR,wondering which rock to buy Timor or the Tonga.Would 75lbs. be good enough?Also can you recommend a substrate that will be good for me to use,will live sand be the good choice?Thanks in advance for your help.

[jasonfrey]

Hi,

For substrate, we have a really wide selection, so I would browse the substrate section. Everyone tends to have different tastes, but I personally think Tropic Eden Mini flakes is the coolest stuff around.

On Rock, Timpora is the best quality rock right now. So it would be a great choice. Tonga is very good too, although larger pieces, but for a 75gal, you probably want a decent amount of bigger pieces.

I think 75lbs is just right, you can add more for personal taste/looks, but 75lbs will be enough for biological support.

[jayster]

Thanks for the advice.I'm about to order the rock and sand but I just want to know if you are able to match competitors free shipping?

[jasonfrey]

Hi,

We can price match on some drygood offers, but we can't on livestock because of the various quality levels of rock, corals, fish etc. So it's impossible for us to know what the other places are selling.

[jayster]

Will I be able to get away with ground shipping?Zip code is 08820.Thanks.

[jasonfrey]

Hi,

Yes, you are in a 2 day ground zone, so you have 99% odds of making 2 days using ground.

[jayster]

Thanks a lot jason.

[jayster]

Hello Jason,

Thanks for the advice on the Tropic Eden mini flakes,it's pretty cool.I just received the Timora rock yesterday,there's a couple of really nice pieces the rest is okay.There doesn't seem to be a lot of life form right now,is this normal at this point?Is there anything else I need to do?Thanks,I appreciate any advice you can give me.

[jasonfrey]

HI,

OFten newly shipped rock can be a little dull and void, it's pretty rough on shipping, especially during winter months. You should start to see regrowth pretty fast though, within a couple of weeks.

[jayster]

The water has a little bit of a foul smell,is it normal at this stage?Do I need to do a full water change?Sorry for all the questions I'm a little new at this.

[jasonfrey]

Hi,

If you got uncured, it will get pretty smelly. If you got cured, you might get some smell, but shouldn't be too much and should go away pretty fast. Uncured probably will smell for a few days.

I would watch your ammonia levels, if they are not too high, i would wait on the water change, but if they are really spiking, i would do a 25% water change. Then after it's fully cured, do another water change to remove the nitrates.

[snorvich]

On a related note . . . are you able to cherry pick pieces of live rock for me? I don't mind paying more for this.

[jasonfrey]

Yes, we can pick out pieces for you. Just give us some rough notes on what you want and our livestock guys are pretty good on finding the pieces for you.

[snorvich]

Ok, I will send the sizes to you at sales@premiumaquatics.com it may be about a week. Thanks Jason