those who received dr macs kaelini

[wasp9166]

was it shipped in water? if not how did it turn out? was there alot of die off? tia

[DJ88©]

LR isn't shipped in water usually. Very costly to send water. Heavy stuff. ;)

I haven't ever seen it sent that way at least.

You will get some die off no matter what.

[Aneille]

I got it. It was shipped in wet/damp newspaper. I got the partially cured stuff and it cycled in about 2 weeks. So not that bad.

EDIT: Oh and the pieces of kaileni were very nice and irregular shaped like I had asked for.

[Zoom]

110 LBS it was half cured half partially cured i was surprised it never cycled never had a ammonia spike it was wrapped in wet news paper.
I got it from DR mac.

[angiras]

so - even if you pay for cured live rock - it isnt really cured when it reaches you because it has shipped out of water.

-Ben

[wasp9166]

m i thought tbs sent it in water, anyways , yes i know youd pay for the extra weight but ........how was the die off for you guys? acceptable ? any hitchikers? his kaelini looks decent and he has a good price , im leaning his way..........so many topics on lr but i wanted to specifically ask thos that received from him if they were happy and would do it again

[NeuroLarry]

I got fully cured marshall Island rock from premiuaquatics and it was very nice. Great shapes no rubble, kind of bland lookiing at first but started to liven up quickly. Never really had much of an ammonia spike despite throwing in 3 shrimp.

[Ewan]

I bought kaelini last year 2 months before I moved. I gave it time to cure with a dedicated SRD skimmer (with a mag9.5) and a mag2 for circulation. It was shipped in wet newspaper. There was one 30# piece in the lot (about the size of my computer :) .. I had to break a small piece off to get it in my 29gal) and some other smaller, albeit good-sized pieces.

I cured it for about 4 months, as I had a delay with getting my tank drilled. (BIG delay). By the time I was ready to setup the new reef, the rock was very well cycled. I had a normal diatom cycle that lasted 3 days, and a HA cycle that lasted about a month. Ever since then, the rock has been spotless. Very nice color, density, and excellent shapes for building a reef. You can see my rockwork shortly after setup in my gallery.

The kaelini was a treat to myself after battling red turf for 3 years straight. The red-turf rock now has it's own tank in the kitchen. Rotten stuff.

E.

[threeputt101]

i got 120lbs of kaelini from dr mac for my 90g and i'm getting ready to order another 270-300lbs for my new tank. dr mac will go out of his way to make sure you get what you want. the service level and product he provided me deserves my future business.

[wasp9166]

hey threeputt, i see you used 120lbs on a 90 gal tank, is it overcrowded? cuz i thought 90lbs would do me for my 120 since the kaelini is so pouros what ya think?

[EricM]

I got 125 lbs cured Kaelini from Dr. Mac about a year ago. He wrapped it in wet newpaper inside of styrofoam boxes.... I drove the two hours to his place and picked it up. Next to no cycle. Great pieces of rock, just told him I had a 125 gal, and he picked a good mix of sizes for me.

I have also ordered from TBS, and they do ship completely under water. I had it shipped air freight on Southwest Airlines, which means TBS packs it in the morning, puts it on a flight, you go to the airport and pick it up and you have in your tank before dinner. I put 50 lbs of this into my established tank w/fish and corals, and had no cycle.

I'd do either way again. Though the TBS did have two mantis shrimp in it...... but the corals that were on it made up for that.

[gkrane]

i ordered 200# of kaeini from dr.mac. it was partially cyred and the cycle lasted about 2 weeks. great color and lots of life. i would definitely buy it again.

[bjolly]

hi Eric--where is Dr. Mac's located? by picking up, did you avoid all freight/shipping charges? I'm in Baltimore, would definitely be interested in this possibility.

[rdnyva]

I ordered 75# of fully cured Kaelini from Dr Mac about 6 weeks ago. I told him what I wanted and he made sure I got it. I'm very satisfied and would order again. I live in Virginia, 40 miles from BWI. I met his driver at the airport and picked it up. The 3.99 a pound for fully cured Kaelini was all I paid, no shipping charges so it was worth it. I estimate it was out of water for only a few hours before it was in my tank and there was only a minor cycle because I filled sin with 6 pds of uncured rock from an LFS. It was shipped in styrofaom and newspaper. The rock is gorgeous, very pleased with it.

[rdnyva]

I ordered 75# of fully cured Kaelini from Dr Mac about 6 weeks ago. I told him what I wanted and he made sure I got it. I'm very satisfied and would order again. I live in Virginia, 40 miles from BWI. I met his driver at the airport and picked it up. The 3.99 a pound for fully cured Kaelini was all I paid, no shipping charges so it was worth it. I estimate it was out of water for only a few hours before it was in my tank and there was only a minor cycle because I filled sin with 6 pds of uncured rock from an LFS. It was shipped in styrofaom and newspaper. The rock is gorgeous, very pleased with it.

[sw8]

I agree! Dr.Mac is the best in the business.He is quick to answer questions and is top notch as far as customer service.I wish this guy many years of great business!A model of what an online vendor should be.

[Zoom]

Here is the rock from Dr.M in my son's BB two month old 90g tank.:eek2: :eek1: :eek1: :eek2:

[kwyjibo]

I went to a WAMAS meeting to pick up my rock(saved on shipping).
Dr. Mac makes frequent appearances at meetings.
It was wrapped in newspaper inside a styrofoam box that was inside a cardboard box.
I think I got about 90 something pounds for my 75 gallon, but I didnt bother verifying the weight.
He even gave me these HUGE chunks that were cutting up my hand as I tried not to drop the rock in the tank and crack the bottom.

Personally, I cant wait until he opens up his retail shop in MD.

[kmk2307]

Zoom,
Can you post some more, more detailed photos?

Others,
Can you post photos?

Thanks!
Kevin

[burton14e7]

what ya guys think dr mac vs gulf view??

[kmk2307]

I think I would prefer any Kaelini / Pacific rock more than Gulf View.

Kevin

[sesegal99]

I just ordered 180 lbs of Kaelini from Dr. Mac tonight. I am meeting him tomorrow to pick it up. I'll take pictures (close ups) to show you guys. He said he has a couple pieces that are ablot 75-80 lbs each. How cool would that be....too bad I don't think I could get it in my tank or I would have taken one.

[funstarfish]

tag, im thinking of ordering the 90lb uncured box that ships out of LA. anyone done this? im in portland and its a new tank so i have plenty of time to cylce the uncured rock. pics would be great

Matt

[ibew323]

cant you just get rock from your lfs??

[funstarfish]

sure, i can get some from my lfs that is mostly white and 6.99 lb, or i can get some quality stuff for 3.35 shipped to my nearest airport. with you being in florida maybe you have better rock at your lfs, but here my option of buying online is much more attractive

Matt

[Ron]

sesegal99,

let me know how this turns out. i need to get rock for my new 90 gallon and i would be willing to drive a couple of hours to save the shipping costs.

ron

[sesegal99]

Got it and it is awesome!!!!!!!! I met Dr Mac 2.5 hours away, the rock has all kinds of life and colors on it. I believe it was only out of the water for maybe 4-5 hours (tops) before it went into my tank. I'll try to upload photos I took. I'll be ordering more from him soon.

[burton14e7]

I was thinkn about getting the stuff shipped from LA too, i live in orange county so i might just go pick it up in LA if i can. If any body has gotten the stuff from LA let me know how it is. If it's just mediocre i'll get it from Dr. Mac and have it shipped

[R33f3r]

I bought 90 pounds of kaelini back in July of 2003 and it was awesome. The shapes and colors were spectacular! he will hand pick you what you want and he sends it in wet newspaper within a styrofoam box. I have some pictures of it below.

I have orange, purple, maroon and puke-green coralline colors.

http://ossr.phpwebhosting.com/reef/new4.jpg

http://ossr.phpwebhosting.com/reef/good3.jpg

http://ossr.phpwebhosting.com/reef/good2.jpg

[kmk2307]

Nice R33f3r!

Were there any other types of hitchikers on the rock? Did it take long to cure?

Thanks!
Kevin

[Ron]

Sounds like a lot of happy customers. I will keep this in mind when it's time to buy LR for my new 90 this spring. Especially if I can save on the shipping by just taking a couple hour drive.

Ron
:strooper:

[prop-frags]

All this is music to my ears! Dr. Mac is shipping me 45 lbs of hand-picked pieces tomorrow that I worked with him to pick out for my tank. I have bought tons of stuff from him, live sand, ricordias, softies, and most recent a valentines package of SPS. Everything has been just fabulous. He is my first choice for livestock. Period.

[kmk2307]

mclva123,

If you can, will you please post pictures of what you get?

Thanks!
Kevin

[burton14e7]

whens he movin his operations to kalifornia :) :)

[R33f3r]

Originally posted by kmk2307
Nice R33f3r!

Were there any other types of hitchikers on the rock? Did it take long to cure?

Thanks!
Kevin

I mainly got sponges, pods, worms, some clams, a few snails, and featherdusters galore. It took about 4 weeks to cure since I had some dieoff from the sponges.