Gulf-View.com Live Rock

1EightT · #1 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 12:05 AM

For my new tanks I decided to go with Gulf-View.com live rock. I did quite a bit of research on the subject before hand and decided to give it a shot being that it was a good combination of price and quality. I spoke with Dale over at GV several times via e-mail and he answered all of my questions very promptly which is important for any company that does business online. I can't say enough great things about the service I received. When it came time to order he asked when a good time would be for the shipment to arrive. I told him Thursday which meant that he only has 2 days notice to get the rock shipped. To my surprise I had confirmation that the shipment would get here Thursday, and by Wednesday he had sent me an air bill to confirm the delivery.

The rocks themselves were shipped via air freight which was great because it saves you a ton of money over typical overnight shipping methods like FedEx or ups. In total 85lbs of rock only cost 60 dollars and change to ship overnight which is an incredible value.

Next came the exciting part, the opening of the boxes. I opened the boxes to find they were VERY well packed. Each group of rock was sealed in thick plastic bags inside of a Styrofoam box inside of the shipping box. Now some complain about the fact that the rocks are not shipped completely in water, but I would rather pay for shipping rock than water myself, and it seems that dale has found a very nice alternative when shipping his rock. There is a small amount of water in each bag, and then each individual rock is wrapped very well in a soaking wet piece of paper towel. I found that each rock was still very wet when I removed them and that everything living on the rocks was still living once in the tank (even the sponges).

I can't say enough great things about the appearance of the rocks themselves. Each one is completely covered with life. They vary in color and size nicely and are very diverse. The rocks themselves are also quite porous contrary to what I have heard in the past (not quite as much as the Fiji rock, but very nice none the less). The following link shows some of the life you can expect to see on the rock http://www.gulf-view.com/species_list_on_rock.html . Every day I literally find myself staring at the rock for hours and each time I do I notice new life that I hadn't seen the day before.

Bottom line, I definitely recommend talking with Dale at Gulf-View (floridaliverock.com) if you are in the market for some nice live rock. Here are some pictures of the rock I received. I'll take more pics as I have more time as well. http://www.deepseaforums.com/photopo...bee7cb236f5f11

n2deep · #2 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 01:07 AM

Ditto on that one! I had the same excitement opening my first delivery from Gulf-view. Can not say enough about Dale and his operation. Best rock at the best price anywhere.

dieselfish · #3 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 03:12 AM

the worst shaped tank they evermade, i hate the hexagon. My father hand one , you cant do anything with them

dieselfish · #4 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 03:13 AM

not to piss you off or anything , just my opinion, from experience

1EightT · #5 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 03:47 AM

This one is actually a corner tank. Not nearly as bad as a hex. It actually fits quite nicely in the room I have it in

Austin40reef · #6 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 03:49 AM

The Good

Very diverse-sponges tunicates, feather worms, pods, brittle stars...etc.
Good Price and customer service

The Bad

TOO diverse- Bivalves, flatworms, mantis's, isopods, aptasia, and some sort of predatory snail(looks like a black and white striped nassa snail). Bryopsis and this goddamn red macro algae that i cant ger rid of.

Overall

Pretty good rock that i am happy with. just make sure you look over each piece very carefully before placing it in the tank

My suggestions

Remove ALL rock-like bivalves as one of them dying caused my tank to crash early in its life. Get rid of ALL bits of bryopsis or unwanted Macro as it is a pain in the a$$ to remove once it is establish. keep a peppermint shrimp in the tank. watch the tank closely especially at night for isopods, small mantiss, and those predatory snails.

Good luck
-austin

Austin40reef · #7 (**permalink**) 01-20-2004, 03:51 AM

oh yeh. i love my hexagon and have done quite a bit with it but i do wish it was 10 inches longer

idWinter · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2004, 05:02 AM

I'm considering buying some live rock from them to fill my 90 gallon, but I'm confused as to which live rock to pick. Should I order "Premium Coriline" or "Deco" or a mixture of the two or something else? What did you guys buy?

Also, it says on their site to soak the live rock in a high salinity solution for 30 seconds before putting it into your tank to remove any unwanted critters....has anyone tried this? Do you think this would/should work?

Austin40reef · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2004, 05:25 AM

i have the deco. its nice but i have been battling all sorts of macro algae plus bryopsis. i would go with half coraline and half deco though. the salinity dip from what i hear works and should be done. i have found isopods and polyclad flatworms in my tank. i also some some dead baby manitiss in the box so becareful

idWinter · #10 (**permalink**) 02-02-2004, 05:28 AM

That's another thing I'm a little worried about....everyone keeps talking about finding "bad" critters, and needing to remove them before placing the rock in your tank, but I don't know what these things look like

I'm only a beginner and have no clue what I'm looking at... it all looks cool to me :tongue: Chances are, in a year, I'll be raising a whole 90 gallon filled with mantis shrimp