[Ninong]

Originally Posted by mrok12

The flight information makes perfect since to me. I also wonder if the Fiji live sand is actually that live. I know that rock start the die off process really quick. I wonder if teh same is true for that sand. Are you usinf Tonga Ava, Tonga branch, or tonga shelf for your tank?

I ordered 150 pounds of the Ava and branch when I set my tnk up. Was the best thing I copuld have done to promote diversity, I cured it all in the tank!

You have to order the Fiji live sand in advance because they collect it after you place your order and then ship it out right away to keep it as fresh as possible. But... I still think it would have arrived at Walt Smith's L.A. facility on a Sunday and then stayed there waiting for the live rock to arrive from Tonga the following Thursday.

Right now I'm planning on getting two 88-lb boxes of Kaelini (Tonga) and one 65-lb box of Buna Spiney Branch. Does anybody know where this Buna Spiney Branch comes from? Tonga? Fiji? Buna? -- I couldn't find out where Buna is online, just that a WWII battle was fought at "Buna, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea." (P.S. added 7/7 -- I found out that the Buna Branch rock comes from Fiji and is named after Walt Smith's other daughter.)

At first I was thinking of getting regular red Tonga Branch but someone told me that the Buna was nice and a lot lighter than the regular Tonga branch. But I would still like to know where this Buna comes from before placing my order?

[scubadude]

This rock is amazing! The porosity is unmatched to any rock I have ever seen...I think that it promotes more life with the porosity. Walt Smith actually carries quite a few varieties of live rock its only the ones that are really discussed that are popular, I actually like a mixture of different kinds and do not throw away the idea of fiji rock Ninong everyone is so used to the concept of the standard fiji or the premium fiji. But that is not all there is...My favorite is the Fiji Plant rock which basically this rock comes in and they dont spend any time cleaning it and yes it will muck up your skimmer in a heartbeat but the life on it is unparallel to any other I have seen.....I love using this type of rock in my LR vats to seed base rocks with...I believe Joy from harbor aquatics also orders fiji plant rock and her rock is very highly acclaimed. Im not saying I suggest you buy some fiji plant rock Ninong because from the sounds of it you are definately gunshy of smell and curing....but to me spending alot of money on LS and/or kits from IPSF can be gone about in a different approach but there is give and take obviously. FWIW Buna rock comes out of Fiji its just named after one of Walts daughters like the kaelini rock.

Rocky

[Ninong]

Rocky,

Thanks for posting the picture of the Buna spiney branch.

Right now I think I'm leaning towards forgetting about the Fiji live sand since I already have too much regular dead sand anyway. Besides, the live sand costs almost as much as the live rock.

You're right, I don't want to deal with plant rock because I'm trying to avoid doing this in the garage. I would have to take my Lifereef skimmer out of the cabinet and then figure out a way to hook it up to a curing vat of some sort that I don't even have yet.

I definitely want Kaelini as the main rock in the tank and then the next question is what sort of branch rock do I get to go with it for diversity. I like both the regular Tonga branch and the new Buna spiney branch. The Buna spiney branch is probably a lot lighter than the regular Tonga branch, right?

Then my decision might rest on which combination of rock guarantees the freshest delivery. If the Fiji plane arrives on Sundays (as stated on Walt's site) and the Tonga plane arrives on Thursdays, either the Fiji rock sits for 4 days waiting for the Tonga to arrive or the Tonga sits for 3 days waiting on the Fiji to arrive. If all of the rock arrives in L.A. on the same plane at the same time, it seems like it would be fresher when I get it.

So maybe I should ask the guy who is ordering my live rock to find out about this for me when he places the order. Or I could just tell him to order either regular Tonga branch or Buna branch but make sure to get whichever one arrives the freshest.

[Ninong]

I don't think I have ever seen Tonga Ava?

The only Tongan rock I am familar with is Kaelini and Tonga Branch.



P.S. -- Mike, I can't figure out what happened to your post? I may have accidentally deleted it when I replied??? It was there a minute ago and now it's gone.

P.P.S. -- OK, now I see it. It's on a different page!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by mrok12

I ordered 150 pounds of the Ava and branch when I set my tnk up. Was the best thing I copuld have done to promote diversity, I cured it all in the tank!

Is this your previous tank or your brand new tank?

Anyway, did you have much of a problem with the rock stinking up your house?

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Rocky,
The Buna spiney branch is probably a lot lighter than the regular Tonga branch, right?

So maybe I should ask the guy who is ordering my live rock to find out about this for me when he places the order. Or I could just tell him to order either regular Tonga branch or Buna branch but make sure to get whichever one arrives the freshest.

LOL yeah i think the buna is lighter than the tonga branch...definately go with the freshest stuff.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by scubadude

LOL yeah i think the buna is lighter than the tonga branch...definately go with the freshest stuff.

Does that mean I should just tell the guy who is ordering it to make up my mind for me when he places the order and get whichever he thinks will arrive freshest?

[mrok12]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Does that mean I should just tell the guy who is ordering it to make up my mind for me when he places the order and get whichever he thinks will arrive freshest?

The Buna rock looks amazing.. I am totally rethinkiong my aquascape now. I orderd some fiji plant rock for a friend and scuba is so correct that this is some of the better rock for life. I have never ordered the Buna Branch but I am thinking about it noiw!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by mrok12

The Buna rock looks amazing.. I am totally rethinkiong my aquascape now. I orderd some fiji plant rock for a friend and scuba is so correct that this is some of the better rock for life. I have never ordered the Buna Branch but I am thinking about it noiw!

Well, all this thinking is giving me a headache! I think I'll wait until I talk to the Dude who is ordering my live rock and let him think for a change.

[organicreefer]

88+88=+65= about 240 pounds or so?-thats too much rock for youre tank imo..id order about 150 if i were you..so long as you can make sure you get big peices, thats plenty.if youre save youre money for something else.

ihave probably about 140 pounds in my 120 at best..but i prefer an open aquascape..2 pounds a gallon is gonna fill youre tank up to the brim with a rock wall..again -just trying to help.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by organicreefer

88+88=+65= about 240 pounds or so?-thats too much rock for youre tank imo..id order about 150 if i were you..so long as you can make sure you get big peices, thats plenty.if youre save youre money for something else.

ihave probably about 140 pounds in my 120 at best..but i prefer an open aquascape..2 pounds a gallon is gonna fill youre tank up to the brim with a rock wall..again -just trying to help.

Yes, I agree that it may be too much. I'm just not sure that one eighty-something pound box of Kaelini plus one sixty-something pound box of branch will be enough. I'm still thinking about it which is why I have a headache.

I'm beginning to think that I probably need somewhere in the vicinity of 190 lbs. total.

[mrok12]

This is rock in my current tank. It is all cured of course and will be going into the new 180 but I will still need about 50-80 pounds more. MArshall Island Rock is also nice and repotedly lighter than Fiji. I really like that Buna Rock though. I may just have to get some of it now for my tank. I can cure it in the basement. The rock I cured in the tank did small for about a week!

[mrok12]

Originally Posted by mrok12

This is rock in my current tank. It is all cured of course and will be going into the new 180 but I will still need about 50-80 pounds more. MArshall Island Rock is also nice and repotedly lighter than Fiji. I really like that Buna Rock though. I may just have to get some of it now for my tank. I can cure it in the basement. The rock I cured in the tank did small for about a week!

It was worth the stench though!

Also we ran the 2-20 amps today and are completing the 2-15 amp circuits for the tank tommorow! after that I can start filling that sucker up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mrok12]

Originally Posted by mrok12

It was worth the stench though!

Also we ran the 2-20 amps today and are completing the 2-15 amp circuits for the tank tommorow! after that I can start filling that sucker up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am using a custom sump that is 24L*23H*22 wide for the refugium and a 30 gallon cube to put the skimmer in and the cryptic rocks that are in my current sump. I am so eager to get this baby up. I am waiting on the surge tank riight now from teh acrylic place and then the circulation will be ready too.

Mag3600 spit on two returns, 3 Tunze 6060 and an 8 gallon surge tank! Should be able to finally keep table tops!

[Ninong]

Mike,

Good luck with your setup!

You'll probably beat me to the punch because I have to wait for my live rock to get here and I'm not sure if it will arrive next week or the following week. I'll probably find out about that Monday or Tuesday.

[stang69]

Can I throw a suggestion in here on LR?


Ya might wanna look into Namoli rock also. I recieved mine when I set up my tank and ewwwwww it was nasty but worth the time and smell. Rocky did you find a supplier for it? If not let me know and I will get ya a contact. Anyways the namoli I got had a few very large pieces in it and very few smaller ones. I relly like the shapes and small crevises in it.


Hope this didnt mess with your head.



BTW Tank looks great so far glad to see you are finally feeling better and getting that thing up



Jeff

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by stang69

Can I throw a suggestion in here on LR?


Ya might wanna look into Namoli rock also. I recieved mine when I set up my tank and ewwwwww it was nasty but worth the time and smell. Rocky did you find a supplier for it?


Jeff

Hey Jeff

Yeah that comes from Walt Smith too....and I wasnt as impressed with it as I am the Kaelini or Buna spiney....Maybe I got a bad batch though?!

Ninong you could always order 2 boxes of kaelini....the nice thing about kaelini is they are generally really big pieces so it would also make your scapeing much easier.

Rocky

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by stang69

Can I throw a suggestion in here on LR?


Ya might wanna look into Namoli rock also. I recieved mine when I set up my tank and ewwwwww it was nasty but worth the time and smell. Rocky did you find a supplier for it? If not let me know and I will get ya a contact. Anyways the namoli I got had a few very large pieces in it and very few smaller ones. I relly like the shapes and small crevises in it.


Hope this didnt mess with your head.



BTW Tank looks great so far glad to see you are finally feeling better and getting that thing up



Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Thanks!

And thanks for the suggestions about my live rock choices. If Namoli stinks a lot, then it's out of the question because I'm planning on cycling the rock in the tank in my room.

I may even skip the Buna and confine my selection to rock from Tonga, e.g., Kaelini and Tonga Branch, so that it all arrives in L.A. on the same plane. I'm trying to get the freshest possible rock to avoid any unnecessary die-off that might build up if the rock sits around for a few days waiting for my order to be completed. I read somewhere that the plane from Tonga arrives on Thursdays and the plane from Fiji arrives on Sundays.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by scubadude

Ninong you could always order 2 boxes of kaelini....the nice thing about kaelini is they are generally really big pieces so it would also make your scapeing much easier.

Rocky

Rocky,

Yeah, I could do that. But I would rather order two boxes of Kaelini plus one small box of Tonga Branch.

I have to talk to the guy who is ordering this stuff for me because he thinks the Tonga Branch only comes in 38 kg (70.4 lb) boxes and I think it comes in that size plus a smaller size, or at least it used to.

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Rocky,

Yeah, I could do that. But I would rather order two boxes of Kaelini plus one small box of Tonga Branch.

I have to talk to the guy who is ordering this stuff for me because he thinks the Tonga Branch only comes in 38 kg (70.4 lb) boxes and I think it comes in that size plus a smaller size, or at least it used to.

Well im sitting here w/the ordering list from Pacific Aqua Farms (Walt Smith) in front of me right now and all it says 70.4lbs however I do know that when ordering dry rock (base) that I can get smaller boxes (Like 44lb or 60lb boxes) but see the problem herein is I believe all the dry rock is in fiji even if it is from tonga, im led to believe that is only w/ the dry rock not live rock, but since the buna is from fiji (tonga branch from tonga though) maybe you can get smaller boxes especially if your guy that orders it for you trys to finesse his sales rep at Pacific Aqua Farms into doing it for him I do believe packaging the LR is very much so like an assembly line im sure and to throw a loop into it is not very effecient for them.