Live Rock Questions

[yellow ace]

I am about to order/buy alot of lr. I have a 46-gallon and was told 90lbs. would be appropriet(sp). On this website they are selling lr for roughly $4 a pound. Is this a good deal? (or just not outrageous?) They are having free shipping, os that is a plus. :thinking: I would buy from a store, but there is only one sw store near me and they don't have 90lbs of lr for sale.
Would it be smart to buy from this website? I have bought fish here before and everything is live and gorgeous. If it is smart to buy from this website, should I buy all 90lbs at the same time? They do charge a fee for gas prices, but it is nothing like a normal shipping charge.

 

[pbienkiewi]

46 gal tank with 90lbs of live rock.. All rock is diffrent. Some is more dense that other. I would statr with 40 - 50lbs of rock first off. Then get other pieces as needed.
I have big pieces that are lighter than some smaller pieces.

 

[vi3tb0i]

Originally Posted by Yellow Ace
I am about to order/buy alot of lr. I have a 46-gallon and was told 90lbs. would be appropriet(sp). On this website they are selling lr for roughly $4 a pound. Is this a good deal? (or just not outrageous?) They are having free shipping, os that is a plus. :thinking: I would buy from a store, but there is only one sw store near me and they don't have 90lbs of lr for sale.
Would it be smart to buy from this website? I have bought fish here before and everything is live and gorgeous. If it is smart to buy from this website, should I buy all 90lbs at the same time? They do charge a fee for gas prices, but it is nothing like a normal shipping charge.
yea that sounds like a great deal

 

[beth]

I'm not sure I'd buy that much rock....are you going to set up a reef tank down the line?
The prices here are good, especially with the free shipping.

 

[jonny bolt]

Its not that good of a deal. My friend got 45 pounds of premium fiji LR for $148.49 (TOTAL, shipped 2nd day air) from a different site. They say "free shipping" here, but nothing is free lol. It's Marketing 101.....shipping cost is already added into total cost.
I agree, for a 46 gallon tank, starting out with about 45 pounds would be a great start.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Jonny Bolt
Its not that good of a deal. My friend got 45 pounds of premium fiji LR for $148.49 (TOTAL, shipped 2nd day air) from a different site. They say "free shipping" here, but nothing is free lol. It's Marketing 101.....shipping cost is already added into total cost.
I agree, for a 46 gallon tank, starting out with about 45 pounds would be a great start.
2nd day? That wasn't a good deal at all.... I'd never go 2nd day on live rock. The rock is already going through hell. No reason to prolong the agony.
This webpage has always treated me well. I'd recommend buying from them!
I agree though. Start with 50lbs or so and go from there.

 

[jonny bolt]

You have to cure it anyway. You want to pay 110 dollars for overnight shipping? (supposed "free shipping")
Why be a sucker and pay an extra 50 bux for the same thing?
There is no such thing as "free shipping". The local dirtbag furniture stores even try to pull that on consumers. Bob's exposed that scam.
Marketing is marketing. And a sucker is a sucker.

 

[hot883]

Yes, if you are going reef you might need that much. To get started though , go with the 45-50 lbs. because as stated above it's all different pourousness (is that a word) or density. I paid $9 a lb. for cured around here, great hitch hikers, coraline etc. etc. but was able to put in tank same day (minutes away from LFS) so that helped. I slowly added more as I got extra cash.
If it's ordered on line then you will need to cure it again UNLESS it's going to be put in a new tank that is NOT cycled yet.

 

[meisacao]

I paid $4 per pound at a local fish store for great live rock. Great hitchhikers and like was said earlier, buying it locally allows you to put it direclty into a tank. It's a good price if you can't find any at a lfs, but if you don't need the entire 90lbs I would go local and see what the price would be since you can use the rock right away.

 

[jonny bolt]

$4 per pound locally, nice. Now thats a deal lol. I dont think I could get it for less than 6 or 7 bux a pound around here. Its mostly 8/9 dollars a pound Terrible!

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Jonny Bolt
You have to cure it anyway. You want to pay 110 dollars for overnight shipping? (supposed "free shipping")
Why be a sucker and pay an extra 50 bux for the same thing?
There is no such thing as "free shipping". The local dirtbag furniture stores even try to pull that on consumers. Bob's exposed that scam.
Marketing is marketing. And a sucker is a sucker.
I paid for "drop" shipping actually... the quicker you get the rock back in the water, the faster you can save many of the micro-fauna that makes the rock "live" to begin with.
For every hour the rock is out of water you lose things. I don't believe in skimping a few bucks ($50 is not really that much in this hobby now is it...) for the basis of my biological filtration in my tank.

 

[jonny bolt]

Again, you have to cure it anyway. My rock was 2-nighted and did just fine. Micro-fauna retreat to the deepest darkest pits, cracks, and holes, and can sustain life long enough to be shipped. And no, I'm not willing to fall for marketing schemes such as "free shipping". As a smart consumer, I would not pay $200 for something when I can get the very same product for $53 less. And beyond that, the overnight shipping where we get our live rock is only $1.59 a pound, so opting for that would still bring a cheaper price than the "free shipping deal" they advertise here. Actually, it would've been $159.84 for overnight, as opposed to $199.99 here. So thats still $40.15 less for the same thing. $40 I could use for a bucket of salt. It's 89.99 for 45 pounds of premium fiji live rock where I get my stuff, so going by their price, that would mean you paid $110 for overnight shipping. Wow. I know I would feel dooped if that happened to me.

 

[nm reef]

In response to the origional question......40-50 lbs of decent quality LR to start a system would be good.....even if its uncured. Thats a great way to establish a new system.....actually initiates the cycle and cures the LR at the same time. Then......maybe hand select some pieces locally to fill in to suit your needs.
In response to the "marketing major".....or whatever you claim to be.....I have purchased 3 different 45-50 lb boxes of LR from this site and have no complaints. The price (with shipping) is competitive with most other on-line vendors and the quality was good enough for me. If you have a better deal well then more power to you but those of us that prefer to support this site which provides this forum free of charge could care less about your supposed intelligence and marketing savy!!!!!
So....politely....take your crap elsewhere and do us all a favor.

....gotta love the old everybody has one but some folks stink more notion huh........

 

[jonny bolt]

Oh here we go, I knew someone would start to get personal.
First of all, I understand that some people are "loyal" to one site or another. But dont start getting mouthy because I posted trying to help someone find a cheaper deal. I like this site, but I also like paying less for the same merchandise. I'm sorry if your a slave to this site, and hate it when people mention cheaper prices. Obviously the prices here are not competitive as you claim, because there are much better deals out there.
I've seen you "loyal" represenatives get cocky, and personally attack others on here in the past for mentioning lower prices, or talking about something you dont like....it's almost as if you work for this place. A rogue Moderator going to bully a member for being sensible. Stifle any talk of lower prices. Thats real good policy.
And I will continue to post here thank you, maybe you need to relax and go lay down for awhile. Inviting people to leave whenever they try to help someone LMAO. As soon as people mention something other than this board, you immediately appear with your attacks. You're a riot. I think you need to take your crap elsewhere.
Are you going to ban me now oh powerful Moderator? Bully people around. "The Gestapo".

 

[yellow ace]

ok, well I didn't want to start a fight,

I just wanted a few tips. I think I'll go with ordering 45-50 lbs. off this site and then hand pick from there. :joy:

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by NM reef
If you have a better deal well then more power to you but those of us that prefer to support this site which provides this forum free of charge could care less about your supposed intelligence and marketing savy!!!!!

Agreed. What I think the "marketing Major" missed was the fact that he's quoting prices for 45lbs. while the original post is aking about 90lbs..
This webpage is VERY competitive on prices, and this web forum is worth a couple of pounds of gold bullion to the amateur hobbyist like myself.
Furthermore, I don't care how deep in the rocks things crawl. Sitting in a warehouse or truck for an extra day is no bueno... so Ya, $50 overnight shipping is worth it!

 

[jonny bolt]

Ummmm, the question was what amount would be good to start with. Most would, have agreed, that 90# was alot to start with. Then someone quoted a price from here, 200 bux, for 45 pounds. Which is alot of money to pay for that amount.
Obviously, I should've realized who I was dealing with the moment I was attacked for actually having a college education. Only a fool would try to use something like that against someone lol. But as far as marketing and college goes, it's simple math that 45-50 pounds of fiji live rock shipped overnight for $158 is a far better deal than the $199 asked here for the very same product. Yeah, dont need to go to college to realize that. I also failed to remember that this board is very cult-like, and the very moment you mention cheaper prices somewhere else, or even try to post a helpful link to something outside "the cult", you're immediately attacked and censored. Ooops my bad. I apologize for being educated, and for not wanting to pay 200 dollars for something I can get for 158.
Sorry for being part of the reason your thread was hijacked 'ace. I apologize.

 

[unleashed]

4.00 a lb for nice LR is a descent price to include shipping is even better.I have paid as much as 8.00 per lb for premium from my LFS anda little as 1.50 pr lb same store.the only thing I would suggest and I dont think this will get any arguements is to cure this rock fully before adding it to your main tank.most suppliers also suggest the same thing.90 lbs depending on each rocks dencity might seam to be alot but if you found you have to much you could also sell it to other local fish keepers.none the less you get what you want at a reasoable price.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Jonny Bolt
. I also failed to remember that this board is very cult-like, and the very moment you mention cheaper prices somewhere else, or even try to post a helpful link to something outside "the cult", you're immediately attacked and censored. Ooops my bad. I apologize for being educated, and for not wanting to pay 200 dollars for something I can get for 158.
So we are talking about a $40 difference (I missed your post where you made corrections for overnight shipping on 45lbs until I just reread the thread).
That I can live with... I also apologize for the "marketing" comment. It wasn't meant to be a personal attack but rather an attack against your argument. We're basically arguing over $40.. That's fine, as long as we boil it down to establish that's what it comes down too.
Personally, I'll support this company for that kind of mark-up. In the overall scheme of things $40 in this hobby is not much.
I also understand the Moderators behavior. I'm sure you do too. This forum is a service that Saltwaterfish.com provides. They certainly don't have too. (in fact the drs. at the site you get your live rock from don't have an active forum.. They have a nice site, but CS is better here, imho. Also, don't believe the "hand picked" nonsense on their live rock... they refunded half of my order price because I adamantly complained about the condition of the live rock they sent me, as well as the fact that my rock had obvious cut marks where the rocked had been sawed. I cycled my tank with several different species of live rock from a couple of different sites.) Why would they allow you to advertise for competitors on this forum?
I am truly sorry you feel oppressed here. I've always been fond of the community.

 

[jonny bolt]

No need to apologize, but I appreciate your respectful response very much. I know we both do not intend to disturb this thread or the board in general.
I only mentioned the cheaper alternative as help. I truely understand the support for the site. But 40 dollars over time in this hobby can add up. For instance I used to pay 60/70 dollars for a bucket of salt. Now I pay 40. Every 3 or 4 months, the savings add up substantially. It's a simple formula for me...I'd hate to see this board go, but I make purchases where there is substantial savings. And thats not to say I dont buy here...if its cheaper here, I get it here.
Anyhow, I think 45 pounds of live rock for a 46g is a great start. If you find that it does not "fill" the tank to your liking, you can always add more, sometimes without buying a whole 'nother box. Thats what I did.