Does anyone have any input on buying LR online?

[patsfan1130]

Well, I setup my FOWLR 110 yesterday & purchased 60lbs of Fiji @7.99 per. I wanted a little more than 100lbs but couldn't allow myself to do it. I've been checking online & there a few places that offer it & seem quite reputable.

$150 for 50lbs is a helluva lot betther than what my LPS gets (They have the market cornered on the stuff but $7.99/lb seems to be the going retail rate anyway).

Back to my question.....Is the quality good with these outfits? How about the size variation? Do you know if they allow you to make special req? ie: large,med or small peices? Do these places...for the most part clean the rock well? fully cure it?

If anyone could share their expericences (if any) I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Mark

[Reefland]

Hey Mark,

I have some experience with premium Aquatics and yes, they do fall within the criteria you are looking for. Fully Cured, will pick sizes if noted on the order and the rock is nice. A few others have ordered from Palmetto Reefs and I think they offer fully cured and will pick sizes too. To answer your question; yes the rock is very nice from reputable online shops, maybe even better than what you are getting locally.

Scott Z.

[Ninong]

Mark,

Some online vendors offer fully cured live rock but others do not. Whenever you see ads for really cheap live rock it is transshipped live rock that is shipped directly to you once it arrives in Los Angeles from the South Pacific. Some people order aquacultured live rock from Florida but that is a different product.

I purchased fully cured live rock from Darren at www.palmettoreefs.com and I was EXTREMELY pleased. Another online vendor who consistently gets good reviews is Dr. Mac of http://www.drmaccorals.com/sys-tmpl/fijirock/ Palmetto Reefs is located in South Carolina and Dr. Mac is located in Maryland. It's always a good idea to order your fully cured live rock from a nearby vendor to reduce shipping costs.

As far as prices and availability are concerned, if you check out the link to Dr. Mac's site you will get a pretty good idea of price ranges. Notice that he offers both transshipped rock (not fully cured) that is shipped directly to you from L.A. and fully cured, hand selected live rock that he cures at his own facility in Maryland. Darren does the same thing. He will select exactly what you want from his own curing vats in South Carolina or he will sell you the cheaper stuff from L.A.

Some people actually prefer to get transshipped live rock directly from L.A. and cure it themselves. Other people (me, for instance) prefer to let someone else deal with the curing and pay a little more for fully cured rock.

There are other online vendors offering fully cured, hand selected live rock but I happen to have experience with Palmetto Reefs and I have ordered other livestock from Dr. Mac, so I feel comfortable recommending them. And both of them are on the East Coast.

[SteveP]

You can also add Joy at Harbor Aquatics to the list. I recently purchased some from there (I was in the area itself) and am very happy with it. I highly recommend giving Joy a call and asking what her rock is like - she is pretty picky about what she'll sell, and the "end of the tank" stuff I got was still far far better than anything I could get locally, at 50% to 75% the price !

Harbor Aquatics

Steve