Live Rock from online vendor

[moevilla]

Need a recommendation for the best online vendor to purchase live rock. Not boat rock that has been sitting for weeks, but rather rock that has been collected and shipped/delivered within a couple of days. Anyone know a good vendor? How about LivestockUSA? Anyone try them before?

[chimmike]

south pacific rock that has been collected/shipped/delivered within a couple of days? good luck.

otherwise: www.tampabaysaltwater.com ;)

[moevilla]

Thanks, Mike! So far I have found one vendor with whom I've talked with and I've also talked in person with one of there referrals. They are a transhipper out of LA who claims they can do this in 3-4 days from fiji to my front door. So, far things look promising, but we'll see. Does everyone have the same herd-like assumptions that this is impossible? I have found a few transhippers, and now I'm trying to locate a poc that has a cites permit in either fiji or Vanuatu. Does anyone else have any helpful contributions?

[chimmike]

you might really be impressed with tampabaysaltwater if you haven't checked out the website. They farm the live rock themselves.

good luck in your venture!

[Nwest]

I second Tampabaysaltwater.com He goes out and collects all the rocks himself. check out the site or even check out the forum on here.

[moevilla]

I have looked into tampabaysaltwater.com. Have had it in my tank in the past. Nice stuff. Just not a big fan of the look of florida live rock and the density/weight/porosity. But thanks for mentioning them as they would make a good source for a lot of people I'm sure.

[troyman]

or the gorilla crabs and mantis that go with it

[chimmike]

I'm actually interested in this as I was looking at the spendy stuff from liveaquaria.

[moevilla]

If I'm not mistaken, their premium fiji live rock is approximately $4.00/lbs not including shipping which would probably end up pricing the rock at $7-8/lbs. Same price as buying locally at xyz fish store for me. If I'm going to spend that much per lbs, it better be quality live rock hence my search for a repuatable vendor I can deal direct with. I'd rather purchase rock direct or more direct and pay roughly the same amount per lbs. for arguably better quality.

[chimmike]

I've seen good reports on liveaquaria's good rock here, but I'm interested to see what you come up with.

[lolgranny]

I got some from DR. Mac and it looks excellent, lots of live critters / sponges... ect when i got it. Very good rock in my eyes.

[bnumair]

quick concern: whats the guarentee this vendor is really getting rock from fiji and then shipping to u? or might be saying that and shipping it out of california or florida.
i would love to see the pics when u do get this rock in. i am very interested.
keep us posted.

[eric@tampa]

+1 on PacificEast live rock sent just the right pieces for me and looked great,no rubble,great packing.

[moevilla]

bnumair, there is no guarantee. However, I did speak to the referance that was provided to me. It ended up being Leroy over at GARF. He had nothing but positive things to say about the vendor. Told me that the vendor had supplied GARF for years with corals and such. So, my comfort level in trusting this vendor's claims is about as strong as GARF's credibility in the marketplace.

[Chris27]

Find a good LFS, I have one here that does have those contacts that moevilla was talking about, their collection and shipping practices allow for South Pacific rock to be delivered in just a few days - it can get expensive - but it looks great - and the bio-diversity is amazing.

With the amount of money rock can cost, be selective, choose the type of rock you like best. For me, that's Marshall Island and Tonga, sure it was expensive up front, but I was able to hand pick it from tanks at the LFS so that I could get the look I wanted - I didn't have to take my chances with a box-o-rock from an on-line vendor.