FAQ About the Live rock for your tank … There are many informative sites and publications to help you optimize your tank. We learn something new everyday… from our customers, other sites and chat rooms, etc. A couple of informative sites to visit. Check our Stan and Debbie Hauter at About.com or http://www.reefs.org and http://www.garf.org six. These are great sites. Curing or Isolation: Do I need to cure any of your rock? The term, "cure" really only applies to Live Rock imported from the Indo Pacific such as Fiji rock, Tonga rock, etc... Imported rock is shipped dry in waxed cardboard boxes to LA., then on to distributors in New York, Chicago and Miami. From there it goes to dealers and trans-shippers. All this dry transporting means a lot of die off and thus, the need to "cure" the rock. Conversely, we handle our rock very differently and make every effort to deliver to your door fresh and most importantly ALIVE. The whole idea of Live Rock for a reef tank is the bio-filtration the rock provides. If you cure our Live Rock much of the incredibly diverse biology living in and on the rock will die. Some of it will die off with ground shipping. We do not further curing, even to remove the hitchhikers. You should scrub your rock again upon delivery and shake loose material through a salt water rinse. You do not need to "cure" our new Live Rock like you would with imported rock! Every effort has been made to harvest and deliver your rock to you fresh and alive. But you should be cautious if you do not get priority delivery or if the Live Rock ends up in the shipping terminal over the weekend. Expect only a small ammonia spike of 0.25 for up to 72 hours. Using a protein skimmer and a 10-20% water changes can resolve the spike and then simply follow your regular maintenance schedule. Should I “isolate” the rock before I put it in my reef tank? We do have customers that isolate the rock. This is done to prevent any ammonia increase due to shipping, from harming delicate life forms already in the system. For established tanks, you may want to isolate our rock in a fully functional system for 3-5 days before placing the rock in your established tank to minimize potential ammonia spikes. A typical ammonia spike from our rock is .025 for 72 hours. Skimmers and a 10% water change are all that you need to deal with this. However an isolation tank will solve more severe ammonia spike due to an organism in the rock that dies during shipment. Unlike the "cure" process an isolation tank should have good water flow, and lighting. A Rubbermaid type roughneck container and a Hang-on saddle filter and protein skimmer will work fine. Measure the ammonia level for 72 hours. Can I put the rock directly into my tank when I receive it? Under what conditions should I do this or not do this? For new tanks always put the rock directly into the tank when it is received. For established tanks you may consider isolation for potential ammonia spikes. Please do not "cure" your new Live Rock like you would import rock! Every effort has been made to harvest and deliver your rock to you fresh and alive. Expect a minimal ammonia spike if one occurs at all. Use of a protein skimmer will solve this or you can perform a 10%-20% water change, and then simply follow your regular maintenance schedule. Live Sand: Do I need to have live sand in my tank? Live sand is part of natural reef systems therefore we recommend it for your reef system. Can I order Live Sand from your company? We do not always have live sand available as we can not legally harvest Live Sand from our Florida Keys lease site. Gulf sand has too much Phosphate to benefit the tank environment. You can ask and if it is not available, check you local store or online. How much live sand do I need in my tank? The appropriate amount of live sand is about 1 pound per gallon of tank capacity which will equal about 2 inches of sand in the bottom most tanks. Many tank owners are running up to 6 inches. Some are running 8 inches or more, which is only for the more experienced or courageous tank owners. Rock Types and Combinations: II see many types of rock such as Premium, Ultra, Top Shelf, Cherry Picked and more. What is the story? The story is advertising and getting more money for basically the same rock. Great rock sells in stores between $7.00 and up to $10.00 per pound. If it came by boat, it is no longer Live Rock like our product because it sat in a container for a very long ride. Everything has died. Live Rock is Live Rock at our shop. If it is not a great rock, it is base rock. Very Simple. What is Live Base Rock and what is it used for? We harvest about 5000 lbs of rock per month. Once the rock is placed in our holding tanks, we see that some of the divers’ selections do not meet the high quality standards of porosity, color or life-form attachment for the Live Rock that we market. This rock is kept in the same holding systems as our top-shelf rock and has the same bio-diversity and bio-filtration. Many of our customers with large tanks (120 Gallons or larger) use Live Base Rock Since some of the rock at the bottom of the reef in large tanks will not be as visible, it can be used to support the other, more visible Gulf and Keys rock in the tank. In addition, it is a way to save a little money on the rock that is not as visible, but is required to perform the same function in the tank environment. With other customers it is simply a matter of budget, and many of our customers have told us that our Live Base Rock is better quality than what they can purchase at their local fish stores or other on-line sites. Can I purchase Rubble from your company? Yes. It is made up of very small pieces of Live Rock and is used in sumps by aquarium hobbyists and for attachment substrate or coral frags. If you want to order to be made up of rubble, please let us know how much you want and request Rubble clearly in the special notes section of your order. Let us know what you will be using it for, so we can match the best pieces for that type of use. Some is used in Nano tanks or Mini’s and some for filters. This is the same price as other rock, Live, Dry or Base. How soon after I set up my tank with live sand and rock can I add clean up crews? About a week after the rock goes in your tank. Can I order a combination of Rock? Yes. You can order in combinations of any of our available rock per the options provided on our product specifications page. Can I mix these rocks in my tank? Yes. You can even mix our rock with import rock if so choose. What size rock pieces can I expect to arrive with a typical order? A standard mix for new tanks includes one large piece and assorted medium, and some medium small and small pieces. This combination meets most of our customer’s expectations. Very Large= 20 to 80 lbs. (Large “Feature Pieces” require special shipping) Large = 12 to 15 inches across and runs 12-20 lbs. each Medium-Large = 8-12 lbs each Medium = 5-8 lbs each Small = 1-5lbs each All sizes above are approximate as each and every rock is unique. Can I make special requests for rock sizes? Yes. We inventory 5,000 lbs of rock at all times and can meet most any size request you have. Please let us know your tank size in gallons and how much rock is already in the tank (if any). Or, please specify the sizes you are looking for by referencing common objects/shapes such as the size of a baseball, football, flat, split etc. and we will do our best to accommodate you. Special notes for plexi-glass tank owners: Many plexi-glass tanks have limited openings. Please be sure to let us know the opening size. All unique requests should be noted in the special notes section of the order Hitch-hikers and Life Forms: What type of life forms will I find on the Live Rock that I purchase from your company? Live forms attached to our Florida Aquacultured Live Rock includes beautiful corals, coralline algae, spiny oysters, thorny jewel boxes, feather dusters, crabs, clams and many other tropical reef dwellers found in the Atlantic Ocean. For additional and very specific information there are several sites and publications where you can learn about the critters including the HCC Interdisciplinary Live Rock Report for the National Science Foundation and http://www.reefs.org. I have heard so many concerns about bristle worms and mantis shrimp coming into tanks via Live Rock. What is your experience with these creatures? We get two hitchhikers on our rock with a bad reputation. Bristle worms and mantis shrimp. Bristle worms are common to all reef systems and can be expected in any Live Rock. Like many reef creatures there are all different types of bristle worms from all over the world's reef systems. Most are reef safe, work as sand stirs and will eat any waste decay or detritus they come across. Unfortunately we have observed some eating certain types of soft coral polyps. The best way to remove them from the reef is with a siphon hose at night as you see them on the rocks. Most of the larger species we get never leave the sand and cause no trouble so leave them to their work. The small pink ones you find on the rock can be removed with the hose to a bucket. Do not get the worm in your mouth! Start the siphon, and then put your finger over the bucket end. Move the other end of the hose over the worm and take your finger off the hose at the bucket end. Goodbye worm! The second type of hitchhiker we get is the mantis shrimp. Like the worms, mantis shrimp come in many shapes and sizes. Ours fall in the category of south Atlantic rock mantis. We get a lot of request for them with rock shipments due to their color and intelligence. They cannot break your aquarium glass. Like most shrimp, they have very sharp points on their body armor and if they catch you just right can puncture the flesh like any of the armored inverts. They will scavenge dead fish and get blamed for doing the killing when they are caught eating a dead fish. What they will kill is mollusk, turbo snails, and some types of crabs if they get real hungry. Unable to break the snails shell or door we have observed these smart little clowns tumble the snail into the open sand near its home hole. Turning the snail upside down they wait for the snail to extend the foot to right itself. That’s when they attack and sever the door from the flesh. Then they will pull the shell close to the hole and eat what meat they can reach through the now open door. You can feed them pieces of raw shrimp or squid 2-3 times a week and they leave everybody alone. Unfortunately the siphon hose will not work on these guys. I see traps for sale but have never tried one and am a little suspicious how well they work on such a smart and fast creature. If you use the carbonated water trick do not dip the whole rock in it. Instead, try to find the hole the shrimp lives in and remove that rock. Pour a small amount of carbonated water in the hole only. I understand this works well and does not destroy the biology of the Live Rock. Shipping/ Pick-up: How do you package and ship Live Rock? We ship using the services of an overnight shipping company to ship from our warehouse location to your door. Our packaging starts with a standard 14"X14"X14" double wall card board box. We then utilize a 3 Mil plastic liner, water absorbent paper and a little seawater to help maintain a suitable environment. We have shipped our Live Rock successfully to destinations throughout the USA. Can I pick up rock at your Islamorada warehouse instead of incurring shipping costs? We definitely welcome walk in customers but ask that you call ahead to set up the time. (305) 664-3131 Office Cell 305-300-3733 Our address is 84771 Overseas Highway, Islamorada, Florida 33036 Specific directions can easily be obtained from Mapquest.com Do you ship outside the US? Only to Canada. How would the distance affect the die-off? It can but more a result of heat. Scrub your rock when it arrives and monitor for ammonia spikes. When will my rock arrive? Orders received before 12:00 PM EST Monday and Tuesday will typically be shipped the same day. Orders received after Tuesday will ship the following Monday. If you prefer a specific day/date for your shipment to arrive, please specify the delivery date you prefer (must be a Tuesday – Friday) If I live in Florida, what are my shipping options other than overnight shipping? You may come to the shop and pick up your rock or we will ship it to you via overnight services How is the shipping price calculated? Shipping is based on weight and is calculated per pound of rock and filler material. A 50lb order is 50lbs of rock plus five pounds of water and packaging materials. Each box and packaging carries a $5.00 per 50 pound charge. Can I use my own account(s) with overnight shippers to have my rock sent to me? Sorry, only on orders over 200 pounds. Are there any price breaks by the weight I order? If so, what are they? Shipping is calculated on a per pound basis, and is optimized at 50 lb increments, since each box holds up to 50 lbs., your best deals are at each full 50lb box. Prices are lower for large shipments. We get excellent rates and pass the savings on to you.