LFS LR vs Mail order LR

[aetaylor]

Hello!

OK, this may be a loaded question, but im finding myself being torn between the two. What are the pros and cons of LFS LR vs LR ordered over the net (Tampabay SW, LR.com,ect).
Thanks!

[shag26272]

LFS liverock will be cured if its in there tanks a while if you mail order it the longer it is in shipping the more stuff will die on it which doesnt really hurt anything except you will have a longer cycle my LFS was selling cured LR for 3.99 so i bought all of it but most places charge about 7 or 8 bucks where online you can get it for about 3 something a pound

[ReeferAl]

If you can get good quality LR at a fair price locally then go for it. IME, the LFS have bare, dead looking rock at an inflated price ($7-8/lb). I can get much better quality for cheaper MO. Your LFS may be better though.
Allen

[sssquake]

small tanks go with lfs, because you can handpick the rocks you want.

larger tanks, go with online. Because it will be too expensive to hand pick all in your lfs.

[Cearbhaill]

I look into the live rock vats at every LFS I walk into.
I see wet rocks. They might be live with bacteria, but I see no life otherwise.

Conversely- the aquacultured live rock I have purchased online (both TBS and FloridaLiveRock.com) is covered and crawling with life- sponges, corals, micro stars, pods of all sort, crabs, mantis shrimp (!), feather dusters, algae of all kinds, bivalves, limpets, snails, tunicates, worms and who knows what else.

Some online rocks are fresher than others. Some might require weeks of curing, and some is so fresh that it will hardly even show a cycle. That will depend on the collection and shipping timetables.

It all depends on what you are looking for...

[firefish2020]

We keep 3 tanks of LR each under PCs and it is live. IMO it's a lot better to use store bought if you can afford it at times its impractical as it is $8 Lb or so. However you can pick it by hand, dont have to wory about shipments being late, and dont have to guess if its going to be cured or not. My advice, shop around IM sure there are others out there that keep good quality LR.

[Don_Gnomio]

al though they both have their pros and cons i would have t ogo with lfs b/c you can pick out the peices you want!

[tomterreefic]

Originally posted by firefish2020
We keep 3 tanks of LR each under PCs and it is live. IMO it's a lot better to use store bought if you can afford it at times its impractical as it is $8 Lb or so. However you can pick it by hand, dont have to wory about shipments being late, and dont have to guess if its going to be cured or not. My advice, shop around IM sure there are others out there that keep good quality LR.

Ditto.
I search every LFS in my little town. Usually only one has good looking rock ( always the same one) and usually it's Fiji. But, if one of the other stores 'accidentally' gets a good shipment, I'm picking through it. Also, the stores sometimes get rocks from a reefer's tank, like me, if they are constantly culling the rocks in search of the 'perfect aquascape'. All the stores in town know me and don't mind me digging around in their tanks. It's worth the extra dollars to me, to know what I'm buying.

[Larry Waughon]

I prefer Rock from my LFS so I can hand pick shapes and sizes.My LFS sells for between $5 to $6 Which is not bad.

[Neptune's Nemesis]

LFS you can pick out all your pieces which is great but at the time I wanted different types of rock then most places carry (not a figi fan) so I ordered from liveaquaria.com and I love the rock I got. Even though the only things I got as hitchers were various pods, worms, and algaes, I am quite happy because that way I am not trying to catch unwanted pest. No offense to TBS but everyone with their rock seems to be catching bad things all the time off of it.

[stelow]

Welcome to RC aetaylor. There is an abundant of live rock locally where I live to pick from. That is why I would not need to order online. Also like some have already stated, this way you can really see what you are getting. In my area prices are any where from 3.99 to 6.99 a pound. steve