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  #1  
Old 11/23/2004, 11:14 AM
aetaylor aetaylor is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Newark, OH
Posts: 88
Question LFS LR vs Mail order LR

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!
  #2  
Old 11/23/2004, 11:18 AM
shag26272 shag26272 is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: New Orleans, LA
Posts: 2,462
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
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  #3  
Old 11/23/2004, 11:38 AM
ReeferAl ReeferAl is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Appleton, WI
Posts: 1,682
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
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  #4  
Old 11/23/2004, 01:02 PM
sssquake sssquake is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: bay area
Posts: 131
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.
  #5  
Old 11/23/2004, 02:12 PM
Cearbhaill Cearbhaill is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: South Florida USA
Posts: 1,997
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...
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  #6  
Old 11/23/2004, 07:54 PM
firefish2020 firefish2020 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 3,460
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.
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  #7  
Old 11/23/2004, 07:58 PM
Don_Gnomio Don_Gnomio is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Miami, Fl
Posts: 1,001
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!
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  #8  
Old 11/23/2004, 09:02 PM
tomterreefic tomterreefic is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Prosperity, SC
Posts: 490
Quote:
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.
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  #9  
Old 11/24/2004, 01:34 AM
Larry Waughon Larry Waughon is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Hampshire, IL
Posts: 1,542
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.
  #10  
Old 11/24/2004, 01:48 AM
Neptune's Nemesis Neptune's Nemesis is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Illinois
Posts: 320
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.
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  #11  
Old 11/24/2004, 05:19 AM
stelow stelow is offline
Moved On
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 470
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
 


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