Nervous question about Live Rock

[Altohombre]

Ok, I now have a pretty good idea of how much and what type of live rock I want. My problems is this. I hear that most online stores suggest 2nd day air. I work most days of the week from times ranging from 2-9pm. I am worried that my package will come and sit outside my door in the winter cold and by the time I get home everything will be screwed. I know sometimes Fedex or UPS will deliver around 12pm and I would be ok to at least bring it inside, but would have no time to do anything with it until later at night. Am I being paranoid or is this a realistic problem I may have. I want to order this rock soon.

 

[reeffreak]

I ordered live rock online several times during the winter months.They do put in heat packs if the weather will be cold.If your worried about having the package sit out in the cold then you can request to hold it at a FedEx or UPS store closes to you.Call to request specific details like adding heat packs and holding the package.

 

[Bifferwine]

All my live rock has come in insulated styrofoam coolers too. I'd think that the heat packs in combination with the coolers would keep it warm enough for at least several hours.

 

[Doc]

if you are really worried, have the package delivered to a trusted friend who is home during that time and can take it in for you and keep it wet and warm

-Doc

 

[fatman]

I have my FedEx live packages sent to my place of employment. They receive freight anyway and had no problems with my request, even though I am not there when it is delivered. I go from school to work and take my package(s) home from there. Special notes section are standard with most on line stores. Just put down that anyone can sign for package. At least I have never heard of the stealing live aquaria products being common.

 

[Alexander]

I wouldn't sweat it too bad. when I ordered in GARF grunge it came when it was sub freezing temps outside and wasn't in any kind of insulated container and no heat packs. funny enough some hermit crabs and snails got in the mix and when I added it to my sand bed, out they all crawled. main thing you want with your rock of course is the bacteria and much much smaller organisms. I would really not stress about it.

 

[fatman]

:sfish:The bacteria that do the filtering that is expected of live rock mainly live inside the rock not on the rocks surface, that is the only reason the bacteria survive the poor handling and shipping methods from overseas. The external life on the rock, such as coralline algae, macro algae, sponges, critters and other hitch hikers are just bonuses. The rock is called live rock due to the bacteria, not the other life forms. Unfortunately a lot of the other life forms are lost do to poor shipping methods and poor cycling/curing methods. :frustrat: Most people go for a quick cure/cycle, without water changes during the cure/cycling, at great cost to the other life forms and a good deal of the beneficial bacteria. A good cure/cycle methodology is given on the Tampa bay live rock site, it takes a little longer put it preserves the life of nearly everything that arrives with and on your rock.:Cheers:
Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock - The Package Setup

 

[Altohombre]

I just ordered 30 lbs of Lalo and 22 lbs of Select Premium Fiji from Liveaquara. It should be here on Saturday as I selected saturday delivery so I could be available to go get it at the Fedex store. Damn it was expensive in all. Just about $300 bucks because of the 2nd day air and weight. Saturday delivery was 25 bucks in total as well.

 

[Alexander]

I'm never buying liverock again. in the future I will buy garf grunge and use it to seed my rock. that way I still get liverock, all the bacteria without taking from out oceans

 

[fatman]

The cheapest way to get live rock is airport to airport air freight. Most online aquarium stores do not do air freight because FedEx, UPS and now even the post office picks up from stores , whereas the store would have to drive to the airport for air freighe shipments. However air freight companies charge for a minimum 100 pounds, then by the pound for amounts over 100 pounds. The cost for 100 pounds is $85 dollars to Alaska and definitely cheaper in the states. FedEx is the most expensive shipping method. Consider that most live rock sits for several days with out water before it makes it to the states. It starts off literally covered with coralline algae, sponges, little corals, polyps, anemones, macro algae and other life forms. By the time it makes it to the wholesalers it is a pretty putrid mess with little but bacteria deep within the rock still living, and if lucky a little coralline is still visible. Some life recovers but it is nothing in comparison to what it started out like. Florida maricultured rock that is shipped in bags of water still has a lot of living things on it, but the cost is pretty high in comparison to rock like Fiji rock. Live rock is a little better than years ago, but it is still pretty sad stuff considering what it is like when its pulled out of the ocean. As far as GARF, they are good people with good products , but they also buy tons of over seas live rock and many, many, many coral from wild sources themselves. They are the best source for a lot of different frags at very good prices, and they will take orders to airports for cheap deliveries. Airport deliveries nearly always, always arrive the same day they are shipped, even to Alaska when sent air freight. GARF coral prices are now at seven frags for $100, soft, LPS or SPS. Their grunge (live sand) is excellent, but expensive ($5 per pound). I myself have only used it to seed fresh sand due to its high cost. I used 20 pounds of GARF sand too 100 pounds of fresh sand. A great way to order from GARF is to order your frags from them and round off your orders freight weight with sand to get something for the freight cost your paying by using air freight. To Alaska FedEX is over three times as expensive as regular air freight, and that difference will probably hold for the continental United States as well..