Shipping Live Rock Technique

[invincible569]

I was browsing through a Japanese LFS called "Natural" and they actually wrap the live rock. How come no one ever thought of this? It would keep the rock from going dry and could ship over a longer period instead of overnight. Cool idea.

Source: http://natyu.ne.jp/list/list24.html

[majesticangelfish]

But what about the Oxygen demand?

[o2manyfish]

I am not sure if this would be beneficial. All the areas that are in contact with the wrapping are going to go bad very quickly. And when the do, they will quickly foul the remaining air.

Live Rock is in the box (dry) for quite some time before it gets to you folks outside So Cal. Overnighting the rock, is to make sure the rock doesn't sit in hot trucks, on airport tarmacs in the snow, etc etc, before it gets to you.

Can you imagine what the cost of live rock would be, if the guys in LA had to open the boxes and heat seal each piece...

Dave B

[invincible569]

I dont think O2 would be a problem. At least not for a while. Its not like there are big animals in this seal to eat up all the 02 needed.

Dave, Im really surprised to hear you say that the LR coming from Cali has been dried out. I always thought that they shipped you wet LR. Im pretty sure RM does this and doesnt dry them out first in order to create inxreased nutrients over time.

[cetled]

That is not live rock, it is ceramic rock painted, made by TMC.
It looks very real.

[o2manyfish]

Invinc,

The live rock ships into the US, moist.

RM deals with small quantity of live rock. So if you call and order 200lbs, RM will order 200lbs and ship you the boxes when they arrive. But those boxes ship moist.

However, live rock comes into the US by the container, several times a week. At other wholesale facilities, they may get 200+ boxes of live rock each week.

Until the rock is ordered by your local fish store, the rock may sit in moist storage, until it ships for a week+.

Hate disspell any of the myths of live rock.

As most people who have bought Premium High End live rock know, by the time you cure the rock, you probably have killed over 90% of the fauna on the rock at the time it was harvested from the ocean.

However, by special ordering rock, from a small vendor, I have been able to get liverock into a curing tube within 48hours of harvest, and been able to save over 70% of the fauna on the rock -- Even had acros on live rock survive !

Dave B

[cetled]

was browsing through a Japanese LFS called "Natural" and they actually wrap the live rock. How come no one ever thought of this? It would keep the rock from going dry and could ship over a longer period instead of overnight. Cool idea.

That is not live rock, it is ceramic rock painted, made by TMC.
It looks very real.

[SEAREEF]

That ceramic rock is wayyyy cool

[Aquatic Image]

I receive liverock transhipped that each piece is individually wrapped in wet newspaper then placed into a plastic bag. All the time there are corals hard and soft the make it through the curing process.

[gqjeff]

Over the yrs I have gotten about 90% of my LR form here. http://www.gulf-view.com/. I know for certain that he has it curing in vats and picks it the day he ships.. All the LR I have gotten from him is moist and wrapped in wet newspaper and teaming with life. Always passes the smell test too and has many live corals on it.. Its the best LR I have found to be fresh and ready to go....

Jeff