How do I ship LR?

[saltyj]

A friend of a friend broke down his SW tank and is getting rid of the LR. She says that he was gonna throw it away, so she is gonna get him to ship it to me free. (plus shipping) He lives in NY and I am in FL. My question is... how should he package it and what kind of price tag am I looking at for shipping. I am not sure how many lbs it is, but she is calling tomorrow to find out. Should he overnight it or not and how long should I cure it when it gets here? I am sure there will be a lot of die off. right??

 

[lemonshark]

It all depends on where are the rocks now. If the tank no longer exist, where are the LR now? If they are just sitting around exposed to air you will definitely have die off. If they placed the rocks on buckets filled with prepared water, then you won’t have much die off.
How to ship, well this is a matter of deciding on how much life you are willing to sacrifice. One way is to buy at the LPS plastic bags, the largest bags you can get. Place a rock inside each bag and fill it up with enough water to keep rock wet. Another way is to wet newspaper sheets and rapping the rocks. IMO I don’t like that method.
After wrapping or bagging the racks, get a foam box, either those that you get when you go to the beach or similar to this one (http://mrboxonline.com/foam_shipping_boxes.html):

 

[aliciak]

How much LR are you talking about?

 

[saltyj]

Alecia,
I am not sure how much yet.
Lemon,
I was hoping I could get away with shipping it in a rubbermaid container with wet newspaper. I have the time to recure it if I have to. Is this a good idea?

 

[lemonshark]

Yes it is. Make sure the weight from the rubber container won't add too much $$ to the cost of shipping. That's why distributors use foam... it's lighter. Rubber containers are good because they are resistant to shocks. Foam is good because it keeps either cold or heat (using heating bags) insolated inside the box.
The most economical way is by wrapping the rocks with newspaper and using a foam container or in your case a rubber container.
Draw arrows pointing to the side of the box that has the top of the container. Write “THIS SIDE UP” and hope they don’t do like that chocolate milk drink.

 

[aliciak]

The styrofoam is a better idea than the rubbermaid, because the styrofoam will control the temperature much better. In rubbermaid, the temp of the FedX truck can get really hot and it will definitely cook everything on your live rock. Styrofoam doesn't weigh much, and you can get a styrofoam box pretty cheap. You don't want all the LR to be cooked and dead when you get it, because otherwise what is the point of getting it from NY when you can just get it locally.

 

[flydan]

Hey,
If there is a lot of it, it may be cheaper to drive up and get it. Ha
You might be able to pick up some other stuff they are getting rid of too!
Sorry, just throwing in my .02
Dan'l

 

[saltyj]

dan,
thanks for the .02 but I am to darn lazy for that!! LOL I would rather pay the $ to ship it. I figure if it is 100# and it is $200 to ship it. I am still saving money because LR is $6.99 here and that works out to $700. Still a steal!!!!!

 

[tlk]

be sure to check with your shipper to find out if they have any weight limits per box. You may have to break down and ship in two or three boxes if its enough rock......

 

[lemonshark]

Try to find out who charges less for shipping. Between UPS, DHL or regulars post offices mail.
Next day, second day, priority mail, etc. As long you have the rocks well packed they will withstand a couple of days in the dark. Corralling algae will be the top survivor since they can even be out of water and under the sun the entire day and won’t die.
When I go to the beach to collect base rock, some live rocks are exposed to air because of the low tide. Plants, corralling and other organisms that are attached to the rock survive.
The unfortunate ones (if attached to the rock) will be corals, mushrooms, sponges, and others.
Good luck!

 

[flydan]

Hey,
I just want to make sure it doesn't get thrown away. What a waste. It's not something that should be wasted like that. Our world reef system is in deep doo-doo and a resource like that should not be wasted. If nothing else he could bring it to an lfs, for store credit if it's a good one.
Dan'l