Tampa Bay Package

[csanchez77]

Hey guys (and gals)

Ive been out of the hobby for too long. Just bought a condo in New Orleans and planning (again) for my next tank at the end of this year.

My ideas are a 75g from all-glass (with built-in return) on a DIY stand w/DIY canopy and my old 20g aquarium as the sump (and possibly refg.). Thinking of 10k MH with PC or VHO actinic supplement (I like VHO better but already have the PC setup).

Im thinking of doing the Tampa Bay "Package" in the 75g. The supplementing down the road with some caribean livestock (peppermint shrimp, condy's, royal grammas, neon gobies and a feature fish that I have not yet selected)

I have read endless satisfaction stories about their products. Are there any disappointments I should know. What about alternatives?

Thanks,

Chris

[csanchez77]

I dont smell bad do I?

[adamgrandprix]

I don't smell anything. :D
Your set-up sounds good... should be able to handle lots of different corals with that set-up... what are you planning on having for corals?

sorry- i don't have any experience with the Tampa Bay packages though... is that the aquacultured live rock? If so, I've heard from some friends who've had it that it is good looking/nice rock, but may not be as good as a live-filter as real live rock because it isn't as porous (less surface area = less filtration).

[Winged Ocean]

Hi, if u are talking about who I think u are, that is where I got my rock and sand from..I LOVE their sand and will use it for all my future tanks. Their rock is great except for the crabs. Get rid of them and all is well. BUT the sand, I highly recommend. Its fully loaded and as real as scooping it from the ocean floor yourself.
Good Luck

[csanchez77]

What is wrong with their crabs?

Are you talking about the blue legs or hitchikers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Did anyone have any problems with Mantis shrimp or predator crabs...anything to warrant me carbonating some water to chase off the little critters one rock at a time?

Thanks Again,

Chris

[raven1969]

i had 3 crabs on my florida aqucultered rock that i couldnt catch for 3 months and during that time they ate over 200 hermits and 150 snails until i finally caught them. you have to check and dip this rock to make sure you get all hitchhiker crabs off. it will save you a lot of grief later, the rock looks good though, i mixed half fiji and half tampa bay.

[TexAg_96]

OK, I normally avoid the Tampa Bay Saltwater threads, but I figured I'd pitch in on this one.

1) The hairy brown crabs. There were LOTS of them, in varying sizes, ranging from 1/4" to 1-1/4" across the shell (not the legs). I speared many of them with forks. There were also lots of porcelain crabs ( about a dozen). Those got to live :) However, they reached the end of their life cycle after a few years.

2) Mantis shrimp. To be exact, 7 of them, ranging in size from 1 inch (he was a pain to catch) to about 4 inches. I spent months trying to catch them all. And they're not the pretty ones either. I had to devise my own ingenious trap, as all the other methods I'd heard about didn't work worth a crap.

3) The sand. I didn't like it. It's too large grain (not as large as crushed coral), and it also has a lot of black in it. Very salt and peppery.

4) The rock shapes really bit. And the rocks themselves were excruciatingly heavy. There was a lot of life on the rocks (I would recommend removing all the oysters, as aquascaping around them is a royal pain, plus the fact that if one dies, that's a lot of rotting biomass). Lots of feather dusters (but don't worry, as the peppermints make pretty short work of them), and I got a hitchiker urchin. Traded him in as he was a bulldozer.

5) The corals on the rock are all gulf corals (dwarf cup and some other stony coral are pretty much the most common), and not really that attractive. I wish it had ricordia stuck to it . . . . .

My .02 cents is to go with fiji rock and a bag or two of caribsea. I still have my TBS rock (and the pistol shrimps that I haven't been able to find), and it makes OK baserock in my 180. I also think that their recomendations of lbs of rock/gallon is way inflated.

Good luck.

[csanchez77]

TexAg_96: Sorry you had bad issues with the rock:(. The majority of the people who discuss the rock seem to be pleased. And I believe the reason their recommendation are so inflated is because the rock is so dense.

I think I am still going to give it a shot for this next tank. Keeping in mind the experience you had with the critters (exactly what I feared), I will investigate ways of destroying the hitchhikers. Before I place any rock into the tank. This should greatly reduce the amount of trapping I have to do. Thanks very much for your .02!

My ultiumate goal for this tank is to somewhat create a gulf/caribean biotope. While I want to set the tank up for some coral growth, I wont be attempting anything delicate such as SPS, atleast in this setup. Im just going to go for button polyp colonies, shrooms and some gorgonias/whips. When the tank is well established, and I have done more research on the issue, I might also try some codys. I actually like the rock because it is dense and it allows for more open space for the fish to swim.

But back to the main issue at had, where can I get information on a solution for dipping the rock. My understaning is basicially, pull a batch of the aquarium water (salinity, temp and pH) and add carbonated water to it (maintaining salinity, temp and pH) to remove all the Oxygen. Is this right. How long does the rock stay in?

Thanks,

Chris

[adamgrandprix]

It is my opinion that the density of the rock has a definite impact on the de-nitrification properties of it. If you are purchasing a specific weight of rock to be used as a live filter for nitrite/nitrate... then you will need to purchase much more by weight of the more dense rock to achieve the same results as with less dense rock.

If you have a DSB that will be the primary filtration then this doesn't really matter I suppose, but it is something to be aware of.

[SPC]

Posted by raven1969:
i had 3 crabs on my florida aqucultered rock that i couldnt catch for 3 months and during that time they ate over 200 hermits and 150 snails until i finally caught them.

-You might want to investigate other possibilities for your snail and hermit deaths as I can't believe this could happen with the small crabs we get on rock.

-Chris, keep in mind that the Fla rock might have some hard corals on it. If this is the case you may want to make sure that you are set up for them, light etc... I have a 180 Caribbean biotope and and am very pleased with TBS rock.
Steve

[csanchez77]

Thanks Steve.

How long has your tank been setup and can I get some info on your tank setup? Also, can you give some pictures? Just looking for ideas.

My idea at the moment is 2 175W 10k MH's, supplemented with Actinics in a 75gallon with sump and refug in a 20 gallon. I was going to setup part of the tank with low-moderate and the other part moderate-high.

[raven1969]

i actually ended up tearing down the tank it was a 40 and moving it into a 75 and i found the last crab that i could not spear, he a tunnel under a big live rock and outside his hole i would find dozens of hermit shells, i would watch him come out grab a hermit and then go back under rock and then later on he would throw the shells out, he moved up to snails after he knocked out most of the hermits, i beleive he started out at about 2 inches eating hermits, then when i pulled him out he was around 3 and half inches and he had furry looking legs and was kind of brownish colored, the other crab was red with red eyes not as big , but i witnessed him grab hermits and bring them in his hole too, i speared him, but since i got them out and moved to new tank., never had a problem again. i should have taken a pic, but man he cost me some money.

[raven1969]

one more thing i want say about the tb rock is it is full of life, and actually it has the most diverse amount of different corraline growing on it in my tank, the fiji is mostly purple, i have 3 or 4 shades of different corralline on the florida rock, i do like it alot.

[csanchez77]

So consensus is remove the crabs (and mantis) that come with the live rock before introducing it to the tank.

What is the best way to do so?

[raven1969]

one way is to mix up some really high salinty water like 1.030 or higher and give them a dip and most hitchhikers will come out, or do the club soda thing, i am sure more people wil have different ways, but i have used the high salinity water on my rock when i switched tanks and got pretty much everything to run out, any better ideas anybody please post them.

[BrianH]

Another alternative for Florida aquacultured rock is from Gulf-View.com. Dale, the owner suggests that you dip the rock in water with a SG of 1.031 for 30 to 60 seconds for a mantis preventative. He can't guarantee that it will work but I've also heard this suggestion from others. Give him a call if you have any other questions as he seems happy to talk to his customers personally.

[raven1969]

actually thats where my rock came from, and dale is really nice and easy to deal with

[SPC]

Posted by cshanchez77:
How long has your tank been setup and can I get some info on your tank setup? Also, can you give some pictures? Just looking for ideas.

-My tank has been up for about a year, feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.
Steve

[LIReefer]

csanchez77:

Check out my post - I just set up a 72 gal bow with the TBS package. I'm very pleased with the results so far.


http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90469

[kstagg]

I purchased "The Package" about 4 years ago and have loved it ever since. However, on this site, you will be beligned, and possibly called ignorant or even stupid for making this purchase. Just keep in mind that many people, do talk out of ignorance. They only repeat what they hear.

I believe "The Package" is the better bargain out on the market. The proof is in the puddin.

Keith

[chriss]

tbs rock is nice with lots of life, but has unwanted mantis, crabs & aptasia on it. Also, rock is dense, heavy and not a lot of holes to place corals on. However, on the plus side, lots of hard coral growths, sponges, bristle worms, tube worms, and sometimes soft corals. All in all, I'd say it's worth getting. Cheaper getting direct than from lfs and it's in better condition.