Gulfview v. TBSaltwater...which has the better rock?

[FrankB1]

I'am going to set up a tank that is 100% aquacultured if possible. Would like to know which rock is more porous and has better shape.

 

[fishfarmer]

My friend bought a package deal from TB saltwater about 60 lbs of mixed rock. It was fairly blocky with regards to shape, but had TREMENDOUS amounts of life on it. They send some of their best rock. Lots of corals and other critters, some good, some bad.

I bought the 30 lb Gulfview coralline rock deal they have. I asked for specific sized and shaped pieces. I got exactly what I wanted, a couple of slab pieces and irregular pieces. My friend saw it and was impressed with the pieces. The life was decent for that type of rock, macroalgaes, corals and critters like brittlestars and snails.

30 lbs of Gulfview took up about the same amount of space as 20 lbs of Fiji. I think the Gulfview was more comparable in shape to the Fiji I've seen.

If I needed to order rock online again I'd go with Gulfview.

 

[jeffsdesigns]

Yeah..but why buy that stuff with tremendous amount of life on it if most of it will probably die off?

I ordered some from TB Saltwater a few years back. It had tons of life on it, but died off from shipping. Blocky and not very porious.

I got several Rock Crabs and a couple Mantis with my order. The hassle of trying to catch them things and dealing with all the bs isn't worth it.

Besides...there are plenty of places online that you can get even BETTER REAL LR for same, if not cheaper prices.

 

[fishfarmer]

My friend didn't loose much life from shipping, some of the cool critters he got with the rock were filter feeding crabs. He only got one mantis. I didn't get any mantis with my rock, but did get a few crabs. We both did get several long spined urchins though. A lot of the life on my rock did die but that was from a heat wave that nuked my tank. What did survive though were most of the corals, macroalgae, sponges, various colored tube worms and tunicates.

The first box of uncured Fiji(20 lbs) I ordered had a dead mantis in the bottom. I hand picked Fiji(40 lbs) the second time around from Paragon Aquatics. I found a rock crab after a few weeks.

I think you take risks either way.

 

[Anonymous]

I've made many purchases from Dale (Gulfview) all with VERY minor die off and only 2 mantis in 300lbs+. His rock has great shapes and you do get what you want. As for TBS, I made 1 purchase and got "bowling Balls" with MANY mantis, rock crabs and pistol shrimp. No fun. IMO Gulfview is light years ahead of TBS.

 

[moonpod1]

I got 30# of the second tier gulfview rock and was truly impressed with the amount of life. There was ONE weird crab, but it hasn't caused any problems in my tank to my knowledge. No mantis, but TONS of macros and sponges etc... Really, no appreciable die off and no effect on water chemistry, but it IS heavier than Fiji and Tonga ie less porous. On the other hand, I've never bought rock more ALIVE than this stuff.

 

[Archmage]

I ordered 60 pounds of TBS rock. There were many shapes. Not all were ball shaped. I created bridges, and arcs with mine. I think it really depends on your luck. Personally, I would go with TBS rock since they were quite nice.

 

[gbundersea]

I received 250 pounds of Gulf-View "base" rock on June 27, 2003. I paid $2.00 per pound, and the quality and life was unbelieveable! I have posted a detailed account of my experience with it, along with pictures. Here are the links:

My detailed post on WetWeb
Pictures on WetWeb
Comments from another fellow who bought Gulf-View rock after reading of my experience

In short, I think Gulf-View's rock, prices, and service cannot be beat. Their seed rock was originally lace rock from the Bahamas, so it's lighter and more porous than other Florida aquacultured rocks, including TBS. It's been down something like 13 years, so the life on it is truly amazing.

Prior to my purchase, Dale answered every question I had. When I placed my order, Dale made several phone calls to me, on his nickel, to coordinate the shipping so that the rock spent the absolute shortest time out of water. He goes above and beyond to make sure all goes well.

I'd contacted TBS too back when I was first shopping for live rock. IMO, their answers were rather abrupt and uninformative. Once they just said to go to their website and buy the "package" for my size tank, to the tune of almost $1200.00. Sorry... I don't think so!

In contrast, Dale gives each customer personal attention. He asks about the tank into which the rock is going, and your preferences as to size, purpose, and quality. He then makes every effort to select rock which meets those specifications, and always seems to add something extra.

Feel free to email me for additional pictures or information.
__________________

Don't miss my Jensalt sump horror story site.

Also see how to cycle a new tank with household ammonia.
__________________

Greg Bunch
http://www.gbundersea.com
Home of the Digital Lens Dock, MXTENDER, Save-A-Lens Kit, and u/w photography

http://www.reefngom.org
Co-founder and fish ID instructor
REEF Field Station of the Northern Gulf of Mexico[/img]

 

[hillbilly]

Dale recomends doing a high salinity dip to get rid
of unwanted hitchickers before placing his rock in
your tank.

 

[ride928]

Another vote for gulf-view. I added 60 lbs of premium coralline about a month ago. The stuff is amazing. Most if not all of the life that came on it is still doing great. Tons of mollusks, dusters, mini stars, macros, etc.

 

[captain insano]

Ride928,

How did you cycle your 60 lbs of rock before you added it to your tank. I am going to be buying 60 lbs from Gulf-view and did not want to add it directly to my sump (as I believe correctly/or incorrectly that it will cause a mini-cycle in my system)

 

[ride928]

Honestly, I didn't cycle it at all. Dale is pretty good at making sure the rock is in transport for the least amount of time. I put the rock directly in my system. During the next week, I tested for ammonia daily without finding a trace. This is the only mail order rock that I think I would trust putting in my tank directly.

 

[Archmage]

I don't think Gulfview ships their LR in water like TBS does.
That by itself means I wouldn't want to get their rock unless that's not the case?