Customer Comments
Here are some unsolicited e-mails received from
customers about their experience.
Thanks to all of you who have sent in your comments!
Coral Comments
Live Rock Comments
Thanks to all of you who have sent in your comments!
Coral Comments
Live Rock Comments
Re: Philippine Cebu Fish
"This was by far the best order yet!!! These are some amazing fish! All the fish that I got were in good health when they arrived. Thank you." - B.A., Salt Lake City, Utah
Philippine Fish
Re: Australia Corals
We received some photos from the Chesapeake Marine Aquarium Society, which are shown on the following pages ...
January '19
Australia Acropora Photos
Tanked Australia Frags & Corals
Re: Kupang Corals
Kupang Photos
"Order arrived in great shape - all of the mixed box LPS and such look great. Most of the 24 acros made it in. You wouldn't believe the color in some of these mille's and whatnot ... eye-popping. Send word back somehow to those folks in Kupang that they are doing a great job. All in all, the color looks good in the tissue looks great in nearly every piece."
Ray U. - Feb. '18
(Also see Chesapeake Marine Aquarium Society photos on Kupang page.)
Re: Fiji Acropora
Fiji Acropora
"It's been a couple weeks since I've received a box of Wild Fiji acro colonies from you. Like you and your previous customers mentioned, these are amazing colonies. After QT time, once I placed them in my DT under Kessil and T5 lighting, the only word I could say was "HOLY COW." The health and colors of these acros are so good and brilliant, plus I found at least one acro crab in each of the colonies, and think it's a plus to have them around. Now that the acros seem to settle in my DT, I would like to send you some pictures of them. What's shown in my DT is the whole box of Wild Fiji acros plus a few much smaller of my existing pieces (no comparison!!)."
Minh D., Maryland - Feb. '17
(Photos on "Customer Photos" and "Fiji Acropora" photo pages.)
Re: Fiji Acropora
Fiji Acropora - Large
In an August phone conversation, Bob in WA had this to say about the Fiji 10 piece special with 6-7 LARGES that he and a couple buddies split ...
"We couldn't believe how big some of the pieces were." I never saw a yellow spaghetti leather like that, it was so big we could make two very large larges out of it. I saw a red favia just like the one you sent as one of the pieces, online at one of those fancy shops for $180. Same piece. Yours were great, huge, we were very happy."
Re: Greenhouse Items
Greenhouse List
"The two blueline angels are awesome ... Thank you so much for your expert service!"
Best Regards,
Alan C., San Francisco, CA
Re: WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
"I do have to say of all the years I've been doing Reef this shipment was the best bagged and well boxed corals I ever received. Thanks. Great service."
George D., Chicago, IL - Oct. '14
Re: Vietnam Soft Corals
Vietnam Fancy Zoanthids & Soft Corals
"Thanks ... got the corals beautiful animals, specially the combo rocks, couple didn't make it , by the smell of it used to be mushrooms, :) lots of eagle eye zoas, overall good deal, thank you. In a month would like to try lps and sps if you don't mind. Thank you."
Al K., Florida - July '14
"This was by far the best order yet!!! These are some amazing fish! All the fish that I got were in good health when they arrived. Thank you." - B.A., Salt Lake City, Utah
Philippine Fish
Re: Australia Corals
We received some photos from the Chesapeake Marine Aquarium Society, which are shown on the following pages ...
January '19
Australia Acropora Photos
Tanked Australia Frags & Corals
Re: Kupang Corals
Kupang Photos
"Order arrived in great shape - all of the mixed box LPS and such look great. Most of the 24 acros made it in. You wouldn't believe the color in some of these mille's and whatnot ... eye-popping. Send word back somehow to those folks in Kupang that they are doing a great job. All in all, the color looks good in the tissue looks great in nearly every piece."
Ray U. - Feb. '18
(Also see Chesapeake Marine Aquarium Society photos on Kupang page.)
Re: Fiji Acropora
Fiji Acropora
"It's been a couple weeks since I've received a box of Wild Fiji acro colonies from you. Like you and your previous customers mentioned, these are amazing colonies. After QT time, once I placed them in my DT under Kessil and T5 lighting, the only word I could say was "HOLY COW." The health and colors of these acros are so good and brilliant, plus I found at least one acro crab in each of the colonies, and think it's a plus to have them around. Now that the acros seem to settle in my DT, I would like to send you some pictures of them. What's shown in my DT is the whole box of Wild Fiji acros plus a few much smaller of my existing pieces (no comparison!!)."
Minh D., Maryland - Feb. '17
(Photos on "Customer Photos" and "Fiji Acropora" photo pages.)
Re: Fiji Acropora
Fiji Acropora - Large
In an August phone conversation, Bob in WA had this to say about the Fiji 10 piece special with 6-7 LARGES that he and a couple buddies split ...
"We couldn't believe how big some of the pieces were." I never saw a yellow spaghetti leather like that, it was so big we could make two very large larges out of it. I saw a red favia just like the one you sent as one of the pieces, online at one of those fancy shops for $180. Same piece. Yours were great, huge, we were very happy."
Re: Greenhouse Items
Greenhouse List
"The two blueline angels are awesome ... Thank you so much for your expert service!"
Best Regards,
Alan C., San Francisco, CA
Re: WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
"I do have to say of all the years I've been doing Reef this shipment was the best bagged and well boxed corals I ever received. Thanks. Great service."
George D., Chicago, IL - Oct. '14
Re: Vietnam Soft Corals
Vietnam Fancy Zoanthids & Soft Corals
"Thanks ... got the corals beautiful animals, specially the combo rocks, couple didn't make it , by the smell of it used to be mushrooms, :) lots of eagle eye zoas, overall good deal, thank you. In a month would like to try lps and sps if you don't mind. Thank you."
Al K., Florida - July '14
Re: Premium Acropora
Premium Acropora
"You guys do amazing things. That box was beautiful ... even the packaging was pretty ... every knot perfect ... and the pieces ... well, these guys named themselves appropriately. They're in the tank for an hour and we're already getting some polyps sneaking their little heads out. Now I wish I had gotten A AND B ... silly me for being responsible ... or something ... you tell these guys they're awesome for me next time you speak with them. You have a good evening too sir ... ya'll made my day!"
(A second note ...)
"The lights went out, so it's too dark to tell who's who at this point ... but they didn't send me box A according to the packing sticker. They appear to have sent everything I wanted from both lists, and left out the ones from list A that were less exciting to me. Almost like they could read my mind ... I mean sure ... there's no purple Caroliniana, but there's a mystery valida and abrolhosensis ... and I always fancied a valida ... on neither list, but on the sticker ... maybe it's in the tank. I can't wait to play detective in the morning.
20 of the 22 pieces were also bigger than expected ... 4 or 5 of them were at least double what I expected. The one Monti was as expected ... the other (undata) is way cooler than I thought (my brother thought it was an acro cuz of how its growing) the other "little" guy might be the valida, cuz it's awesome looking, even if dwarfed by his friends ... the only piece that broke a bit was still bigger than expected even after fragging itself twice en route.
Very satisfied customer here ... I had to tell you twice, and usually I just keep my mouth shut and smile when I'm happy. I'll be sure to tell anyone who asks where they came from. Keep doing what yer doing, it's good.
I forgot the best part of the story was my brother at the unboxing ... as we're opening it up he says to me, 'so how much did you pay for this one box?' And gets a little bit of the eyebrow raise going on like I was crazy ... then he sees the bagging job and compliments it ... something about he's been tying bags for 15 years and these guys know what they're doing ... then as he cuts open the first bag for me it immediately turned to 'holy %^#! bro' ... I think he musta said it 20 of 22 times ... the only other was 'what's this?' (Monti) and 'this one's broken, but still huge' ... by the end of it he was very impressed and he's not an easy one to win over. Big time kudos"
Mark H., Lewis, CO - Sept. '16
Premium Acropora
"You guys do amazing things. That box was beautiful ... even the packaging was pretty ... every knot perfect ... and the pieces ... well, these guys named themselves appropriately. They're in the tank for an hour and we're already getting some polyps sneaking their little heads out. Now I wish I had gotten A AND B ... silly me for being responsible ... or something ... you tell these guys they're awesome for me next time you speak with them. You have a good evening too sir ... ya'll made my day!"
(A second note ...)
"The lights went out, so it's too dark to tell who's who at this point ... but they didn't send me box A according to the packing sticker. They appear to have sent everything I wanted from both lists, and left out the ones from list A that were less exciting to me. Almost like they could read my mind ... I mean sure ... there's no purple Caroliniana, but there's a mystery valida and abrolhosensis ... and I always fancied a valida ... on neither list, but on the sticker ... maybe it's in the tank. I can't wait to play detective in the morning.
20 of the 22 pieces were also bigger than expected ... 4 or 5 of them were at least double what I expected. The one Monti was as expected ... the other (undata) is way cooler than I thought (my brother thought it was an acro cuz of how its growing) the other "little" guy might be the valida, cuz it's awesome looking, even if dwarfed by his friends ... the only piece that broke a bit was still bigger than expected even after fragging itself twice en route.
Very satisfied customer here ... I had to tell you twice, and usually I just keep my mouth shut and smile when I'm happy. I'll be sure to tell anyone who asks where they came from. Keep doing what yer doing, it's good.
I forgot the best part of the story was my brother at the unboxing ... as we're opening it up he says to me, 'so how much did you pay for this one box?' And gets a little bit of the eyebrow raise going on like I was crazy ... then he sees the bagging job and compliments it ... something about he's been tying bags for 15 years and these guys know what they're doing ... then as he cuts open the first bag for me it immediately turned to 'holy %^#! bro' ... I think he musta said it 20 of 22 times ... the only other was 'what's this?' (Monti) and 'this one's broken, but still huge' ... by the end of it he was very impressed and he's not an easy one to win over. Big time kudos"
Mark H., Lewis, CO - Sept. '16
Re: Bali-Prop
Bali-Prop
"Hi ... I wanted to let you know the Bali-Prop acros are outstanding, all alive, and very healthy. I couldn't be happier. I've taken some pics but need to play with them to get the right color representation."
James D., Portland, OR - Sept. '15
Re: Bali-Prop
Bali-Prop
"You did me good ... I'm happy, happy, happy. 100% survival on arrival. One looked pale in the bag. I thought he had shed his zeo, but once acclimated and under lights he's a yellow-gold with pink tips. He's a short little fat thing with three branches. One branch is going to display, the other two are going to my home system. Got a couple *very* nice neon yellows. One going to display, the other is going home with me. Got a couple deep teal with pink tips, greens with teal tips, purples. I've got to place another order to sell to my customers cause I'm keeping half of this order for myself. Oh, and the montipora are as nice as they come. Excellent color and growth pattern. Anyway, Thanks ... I'LL BE IN TOUCH!"
Randy F., Winchester, VA - March '15
Re: Bali-Prop
Bali-Prop
"Got the coral and tangs, they look pretty good will see what they look like in the tank. I think a couple are not what I ordered but they still are nice. :) "
..... a few hours later a second e-mail....
"They are opening up and they look awesome amazing color glad you steered me in the right direction again."
- Jerry S., Lincoln, NE - March '15
Bali-Prop
"Hi ... I wanted to let you know the Bali-Prop acros are outstanding, all alive, and very healthy. I couldn't be happier. I've taken some pics but need to play with them to get the right color representation."
James D., Portland, OR - Sept. '15
Re: Bali-Prop
Bali-Prop
"You did me good ... I'm happy, happy, happy. 100% survival on arrival. One looked pale in the bag. I thought he had shed his zeo, but once acclimated and under lights he's a yellow-gold with pink tips. He's a short little fat thing with three branches. One branch is going to display, the other two are going to my home system. Got a couple *very* nice neon yellows. One going to display, the other is going home with me. Got a couple deep teal with pink tips, greens with teal tips, purples. I've got to place another order to sell to my customers cause I'm keeping half of this order for myself. Oh, and the montipora are as nice as they come. Excellent color and growth pattern. Anyway, Thanks ... I'LL BE IN TOUCH!"
Randy F., Winchester, VA - March '15
Re: Bali-Prop
Bali-Prop
"Got the coral and tangs, they look pretty good will see what they look like in the tank. I think a couple are not what I ordered but they still are nice. :) "
..... a few hours later a second e-mail....
"They are opening up and they look awesome amazing color glad you steered me in the right direction again."
- Jerry S., Lincoln, NE - March '15
Comments from the Fiji Pukani live rock days ...
"It is great! Just as promised, very light! The one huge show piece ... that went dead center. Big enough that it took 2 of us to lift it, but once in the tank, so buoyant that I could move and position it with one hand. I built the two side 'islands' from some medium to large pieces. There was a lot of rock."
- Jeff H., Oklahoma City, OK - July '17
"So far so good. Going through the curing process and it looks as though I may have some surviving coral. The colors are phenomenal and it's the best quality live rock I have purchased. Most of the hitchhikers were dead in the bottom of the box which was great! We had 4 or 5 brittle stars, one small mantis shrimp, 2 crabs, and a bristle worm. I spent a few hours investigating with flashlight for anything I may have missed and couldn't find anymore. For this amount of fresh live rock, I couldn't have asked for more. I will buy from you again and have already recommended livestockusa.org. I can't wait to see what becomes of these rocks."
Gianna D., Augusta, GA - Jan. '17
"We got the live rock; it's in the tank. BEAUTIFUL. Thank you; I will surely contact you when I'm ready to add corals!!
It looks beautiful; lots of orange & purple on it. Some soft stuff sponges I guess and one little crab was still moving. One little clam didn't close up so in the trash; another one closed tightly; he went in the tank. TONS of dead sea stars in one box; put a few in where I can watch them to see if they come back. The rocks smelled great--no funk at all; just salty; little iodine.
All in all, I am extremely happy with what I got from y'all--excellent quality; *LOTS* of little things too numerous to name just out of the box. Can't wait to see what manifests itself over the next few months. Just like the old days!!"
Karl & Tanya P., Cleveland, OH - April '16
"Man the rock is......stinky!! Haha, no it was great! Really, really, fresh! Overall, the rock was awesome man! Very porous, almost perfect pieces. It was covered in red, pink, orange, purple, and a little bluish coralline algae.
There were two clusters of acropora that appear just skeletons now, although one still had a purple hue. Some plate corals, and I'm pretty sure I cleaned off some dying mushroom looking coral. There are some circular green with with stripe corals that are still live but I can't identify. Several dead brittle stars, a few dead bristle worms, a couple dead crabs. There was also a few sea slug looking things, and a few unknown to me worms. All those were doa too. I am starting to see trails in the sand through the front pane, so some life is starting to stir. :)
I have been doing water changes daily...about 25-30 gallons. Taking 3-6ppm ammonia down to 1-1.5. Been cycling since Saturday. Have the salinity around 1.020-1.021 and the temp 71-73, just like you said. Have only had light on while I'm doing the water changes. I am hoping to go to every other day, or every few days here soon. I think with the next water change, I'm going to situate the rock into the places I actually want them in the tanks. I have them spread out now for circulation purposes. Thanks again for everything man!"
Jeremiah G., Louisville, KY - April '16
"The Fiji Pukani is awesome! What impressed me the most was the size of the rock in addition to the quality. I wasn't expecting such large pieces and was very appreciative of them. I can't wait for the rocks to come-back to life to see what sprouts out of them. Thank you Mitch for making this all happen ... it was painless picking them up at the Air Cargo Terminal. I'll be happy to tell anybody that calls that you guys are the BEST! Keep up the great work!"
Willie C., Ontario, CA - March '16
"Thank You Very Much! This is VERY nice rock! No dense pieces and excellent variety of life. A grade for sure. :-) "
Andy B., Pittsburgh, PA - Sept. '15
Here is an update from Andy regarding an earlier box ...
More beautiful things on the Fiji rock! Fluorescing fanworms and giant black or orange tunicates 1-1/4" in size! You da man! Keep me updated on my upcoming box - play time!
"Thanks so much for getting back to me. That's great customer service. Anyway, my ammonia finally went away after numerous water changes. I was happy with the shape, sizes and quantity. They were great pieces. I would certainly recommend you guys."
Melanie, Ohio - July '15
The rock is here and it looks great, thank you very much! Lots of life, and definitely a lot of rock for 44lbs! There were quite a few starfish in the box, sadly most were dead, but there was a few crabs, and even a mantis shrimp. I threw them in the sump and I think they may live. It wasn't too stinky, but certainly there was some die-off. My wife was shocked at how light is it! For 44lbs, it's a load of rock! It's very porous and has lots of great holes and shapes.
Daniel H. - April '15
I got it fine last night. The pieces are nice and large and in good shape. They are cycling now. Thanks
Sean M. - April '15
Comments from the Java live rock days ...
"The only problem I have is that I wish I had a bigger tank so I could put more rock in. The pieces of rock are awesome, much better than I had ever hoped for. I am soo happy that you talked me into getting the Indo rock. I am totally blown away by the quality and the unique shapes I received. When I placed the rock in the tank last night it came out so much better than what I had pictured it would look like. Thank you for making this the easiest and best experience, I can not say enough good things about the rock."
Thanks, Kevin H. - Oct. '14
"Great man. The algae (macros) were great looking. The newspaper kept most of the moisture on the rock. I am 100% satisfied man, best live rock in the U.S. Thank you so much. "
Patrick R. - Oct. '14
"It looks great, seems more like branch rock than previous shipments, and a bit denser so there's less. However, the quality is amazing. When I picked up the rock to put it in tubs, there were things literally crawling on it, this is the freshest I've ever seen. Good timing, the Molecular Bio class will be doing scrapings for their experiment in metagenomics TODAY! Thanks for coming through again, everything worked out great. Talk to you soon!"
Jason V., M.A., M.Phil., Lecturer
Department of Biology - State University of New York at New Paltz
Oct. '14
Comments from the Manado live rock days ...
Thanks for the compliments on the rock and aquascaping. I take them seriously coming from someone that sees literal tons of rocks and tanks. Easy to do when you have the good stuff to work with. I have caves, bridges, arches and finger like overhangs. Some rocks are so open and porous that fish can swim through them. It may have taken some time and we had some difficulties, but the wait was well worth it. I am so very glad that I took a chance and called you this past spring. I can't ask anymore than the great service you provided with advice, communication, and effort. It is a breath of fresh air to find a knowledgeable person that has his customer's interests at heart. For every tank I set up from now on I know who I will be contacting to supply the rock. You have gained a lifelong customer from your efforts. I hold you in the highest regards for your treatment of potential customers and this hobby. We may have had delays in shipments but have thoroughly enjoyed each and every conversation. Even the ones about an island not shipping. Thank you also for your continued support "after the sale." I feel like I can call you for advice as needed without feeling like a burden and that you care about problems and issues that may arise. It's weird, but I don't think of you as "the guy that sold me rock", but rather, as "the guy that cares about me enjoying this hobby and wants to help me have the best tank as possible." -Nelson S., Georgia - Sept. '12
Thank you Nelson ... very nice!!
"I picked up the live rock this morning and it was amazing! Even better than the first time I bought live rock from you. The rock was just as requested, large show pieces. For each box there was two huge pieces (watermelon size) and maybe 4 pieces the size of a cantaloupe. You simply cannot buy this in a store. It has to be island direct. I know that my first aquarium was so successful because of your live rock. I have no doubt it will be the critical piece of my 300 gallon reef tank this time. To me, this is the most important investment into a stable, thriving aquarium. No store bought machine can ever do what live rock does for an aquarium and live rock isn't truly live rock unless it is directly shipped from the islands. Thanks again."
Graham S., Charlotte, N.C. - October '13
... I found another polyp type coral ... waiting for it to open fully ... I am so excited I keep on finding critters!!!!
Paul H. - July '10
The rock is GREAT! It smells like the ocean and has beautiful colors still on it. It even came with oysters on the half-shell. : ) I lightly cleaned it and got it into my 40. There are 2 very large pieces and a few small pieces. I will probably have to order more rock : ) My brother saw it and he now has to have more rock too. I'll take pics. There is some great stuff on these rocks. :) Thank you so much!
Nancy I. - June '10
This rock is so fresh, I am having a hard time getting the ammonia to peak. The protein skimmer is working but not cranking out much. I even washed the bag it came in out in the tank I put it in. I've fished out 2 dead crabs and one worm or snake (black with yellow stripes going sideways), but that's it. I even held each piece in front of a powerhead and blasted them with water. The water got dirty but not smelly.
Love the rock,
P.S. I told you Terry would want more rock once he saw mine. He is trying to buy mine off me. (I have one that weighs about 18 lbs.) He wants it for his new 125.
Nancy I. - June '10
The rock is beautiful and more than I expected. It exceeded my expectations. Cleaned installed and curing. Thanks.
John S. - June '10
I got so excited this morning. There is something bright pink sticking out from one of the rocks. Spongy looking?? Not sure what it is called but it is going to be so pretty. And that's just the first day. I know you warned me, but I can't keep myself from looking everytime I walk by. I even thought about taking a vacation day today just to stare. Guess I will have to wait for the weekend. The Fiji wasn't as exciting. There was some type of plant life growing on it. Some, but not a lot of color yet. Just thought I would let you know. Exactly 1 week from the time I put my rock in water to cure the ammonia measured zero, nitrite is zero and nitrate is very low. I am getting anxious to add some more life. Going to aquarium store tomorrow to make sure they get the same readings. Will probably wait at least another week before any fish and critter purchases. I believe I owe it all to the great live rock?? Thank you!!!!!!
Rhonda W. - May '10
Ok the morning after the shipment. Just wanted to let you know how great this order was. My last order from Timor had to be a fluke. I think this is my 5th box order from you and this is why i will continue to buy my acros from you. ALL 15 pieces were healthy on arrival. Only 1 bag had smelly water. There were 3 pieces extending polyps in the bag. The colors were much better than the Timor order also. So I would like to thank you again for standing behind your product and refunding part my last order. I am moving locations in about 2 months and hope expand my small time coral farm. You have another happy and loyal customer here.
Till next time,
Matt B. - March '10
I am enjoying my aquarium. I am looking at your rocks and corals and they are beautiful. They are really nice, if I had bigger tank I would order some more. Maybe few Acroporas at some time in the future.
Thanks again to all of you,
Gerard C. - March '10
Received the order, flight was late they close at 10:30 came in around 11:10 I was back home before 12:00. They are cleaned scrubbed and in their first bath as you read this email. The Vanuatua definitely matches your website pictures. Me being a Tonga rock guy, I can only say I have been spoiled by you with the Tonga. Am I happy overall. Yes.
Cedric W. - March '10
I split this shipment with a friend, and he got a live mantis shrimp, although it is tiny! Don’t worry – he’s not complaining, and he wants to try to keep it. But a little aiptasia and a mantis shrimp is well worth all the other great living stuff we got. My friend has two small zooanthid colonies that survived, and I got a small feather duster worm. Plus lots of crabs and clams and a few snails.
Thanks again!
Thomas D. Culp, Ph.D. - Feb. '10
I love all of the live rock I ordered from you. They are by far the largest and best pieces I have seen anywhere. I have attached some pictures of the tank (300 gallon) with the rock. I did receive a 4" mantis shrimp with the rock. He was neat looking but starting eating my snails and crabs. Finally got him out of the tank.
Thanks
Vern D. - Dec. '09
Comments from the Vanuatu live rock days ...
Hi ... the Vanuatu was awesome ... the pieces were large with some smaller ones it made a beautiful reef.
Rae C. - Dec. '09
"WOW!!! The most beautiful live rock I’ve seen. I’ve never seen rock with so many holes, nooks and crannies. I was impressed with how fresh the rock smelled when I got it, I grew up on a beach and this is exactly what I expected. Thanks a bunch."
Steve - North Las Vegas, NV
"How dare you send me such GREAT ROCK! You made it soooo hard to aquascape my tank, I couldn’t decide on which piece to put on top or upfront. I don’t think I have seen rock that looked this well in over 10 years. The rock has amazing colors and shapes. I was concerned about getting too many small pieces after ordering it and then reading more about the rock.
Well you guys once again removed that worry as I had at least 3 show size pieces and it filled the tank nicely. After doing this transaction I have to wonder how you stay in business selling great rock at such a amazing price. The time spent on the phone with you the day before I even ordered anything was really appreciated and you had such great patience with all of my phone calls and your communication was perfect. Your advice on which airport to send to saved me a huge amount of money and the rock was packed extremely well. "
Phil S. - Wheaton, IL - Mar. '07
Many thanks Phil ... great-looking reef!!
"It is great! Just as promised, very light! The one huge show piece ... that went dead center. Big enough that it took 2 of us to lift it, but once in the tank, so buoyant that I could move and position it with one hand. I built the two side 'islands' from some medium to large pieces. There was a lot of rock."
- Jeff H., Oklahoma City, OK - July '17
"So far so good. Going through the curing process and it looks as though I may have some surviving coral. The colors are phenomenal and it's the best quality live rock I have purchased. Most of the hitchhikers were dead in the bottom of the box which was great! We had 4 or 5 brittle stars, one small mantis shrimp, 2 crabs, and a bristle worm. I spent a few hours investigating with flashlight for anything I may have missed and couldn't find anymore. For this amount of fresh live rock, I couldn't have asked for more. I will buy from you again and have already recommended livestockusa.org. I can't wait to see what becomes of these rocks."
Gianna D., Augusta, GA - Jan. '17
"We got the live rock; it's in the tank. BEAUTIFUL. Thank you; I will surely contact you when I'm ready to add corals!!
It looks beautiful; lots of orange & purple on it. Some soft stuff sponges I guess and one little crab was still moving. One little clam didn't close up so in the trash; another one closed tightly; he went in the tank. TONS of dead sea stars in one box; put a few in where I can watch them to see if they come back. The rocks smelled great--no funk at all; just salty; little iodine.
All in all, I am extremely happy with what I got from y'all--excellent quality; *LOTS* of little things too numerous to name just out of the box. Can't wait to see what manifests itself over the next few months. Just like the old days!!"
Karl & Tanya P., Cleveland, OH - April '16
"Man the rock is......stinky!! Haha, no it was great! Really, really, fresh! Overall, the rock was awesome man! Very porous, almost perfect pieces. It was covered in red, pink, orange, purple, and a little bluish coralline algae.
There were two clusters of acropora that appear just skeletons now, although one still had a purple hue. Some plate corals, and I'm pretty sure I cleaned off some dying mushroom looking coral. There are some circular green with with stripe corals that are still live but I can't identify. Several dead brittle stars, a few dead bristle worms, a couple dead crabs. There was also a few sea slug looking things, and a few unknown to me worms. All those were doa too. I am starting to see trails in the sand through the front pane, so some life is starting to stir. :)
I have been doing water changes daily...about 25-30 gallons. Taking 3-6ppm ammonia down to 1-1.5. Been cycling since Saturday. Have the salinity around 1.020-1.021 and the temp 71-73, just like you said. Have only had light on while I'm doing the water changes. I am hoping to go to every other day, or every few days here soon. I think with the next water change, I'm going to situate the rock into the places I actually want them in the tanks. I have them spread out now for circulation purposes. Thanks again for everything man!"
Jeremiah G., Louisville, KY - April '16
"The Fiji Pukani is awesome! What impressed me the most was the size of the rock in addition to the quality. I wasn't expecting such large pieces and was very appreciative of them. I can't wait for the rocks to come-back to life to see what sprouts out of them. Thank you Mitch for making this all happen ... it was painless picking them up at the Air Cargo Terminal. I'll be happy to tell anybody that calls that you guys are the BEST! Keep up the great work!"
Willie C., Ontario, CA - March '16
"Thank You Very Much! This is VERY nice rock! No dense pieces and excellent variety of life. A grade for sure. :-) "
Andy B., Pittsburgh, PA - Sept. '15
Here is an update from Andy regarding an earlier box ...
More beautiful things on the Fiji rock! Fluorescing fanworms and giant black or orange tunicates 1-1/4" in size! You da man! Keep me updated on my upcoming box - play time!
"Thanks so much for getting back to me. That's great customer service. Anyway, my ammonia finally went away after numerous water changes. I was happy with the shape, sizes and quantity. They were great pieces. I would certainly recommend you guys."
Melanie, Ohio - July '15
The rock is here and it looks great, thank you very much! Lots of life, and definitely a lot of rock for 44lbs! There were quite a few starfish in the box, sadly most were dead, but there was a few crabs, and even a mantis shrimp. I threw them in the sump and I think they may live. It wasn't too stinky, but certainly there was some die-off. My wife was shocked at how light is it! For 44lbs, it's a load of rock! It's very porous and has lots of great holes and shapes.
Daniel H. - April '15
I got it fine last night. The pieces are nice and large and in good shape. They are cycling now. Thanks
Sean M. - April '15
Comments from the Java live rock days ...
"The only problem I have is that I wish I had a bigger tank so I could put more rock in. The pieces of rock are awesome, much better than I had ever hoped for. I am soo happy that you talked me into getting the Indo rock. I am totally blown away by the quality and the unique shapes I received. When I placed the rock in the tank last night it came out so much better than what I had pictured it would look like. Thank you for making this the easiest and best experience, I can not say enough good things about the rock."
Thanks, Kevin H. - Oct. '14
"Great man. The algae (macros) were great looking. The newspaper kept most of the moisture on the rock. I am 100% satisfied man, best live rock in the U.S. Thank you so much. "
Patrick R. - Oct. '14
"It looks great, seems more like branch rock than previous shipments, and a bit denser so there's less. However, the quality is amazing. When I picked up the rock to put it in tubs, there were things literally crawling on it, this is the freshest I've ever seen. Good timing, the Molecular Bio class will be doing scrapings for their experiment in metagenomics TODAY! Thanks for coming through again, everything worked out great. Talk to you soon!"
Jason V., M.A., M.Phil., Lecturer
Department of Biology - State University of New York at New Paltz
Oct. '14
Comments from the Manado live rock days ...
Thanks for the compliments on the rock and aquascaping. I take them seriously coming from someone that sees literal tons of rocks and tanks. Easy to do when you have the good stuff to work with. I have caves, bridges, arches and finger like overhangs. Some rocks are so open and porous that fish can swim through them. It may have taken some time and we had some difficulties, but the wait was well worth it. I am so very glad that I took a chance and called you this past spring. I can't ask anymore than the great service you provided with advice, communication, and effort. It is a breath of fresh air to find a knowledgeable person that has his customer's interests at heart. For every tank I set up from now on I know who I will be contacting to supply the rock. You have gained a lifelong customer from your efforts. I hold you in the highest regards for your treatment of potential customers and this hobby. We may have had delays in shipments but have thoroughly enjoyed each and every conversation. Even the ones about an island not shipping. Thank you also for your continued support "after the sale." I feel like I can call you for advice as needed without feeling like a burden and that you care about problems and issues that may arise. It's weird, but I don't think of you as "the guy that sold me rock", but rather, as "the guy that cares about me enjoying this hobby and wants to help me have the best tank as possible." -Nelson S., Georgia - Sept. '12
Thank you Nelson ... very nice!!
"I picked up the live rock this morning and it was amazing! Even better than the first time I bought live rock from you. The rock was just as requested, large show pieces. For each box there was two huge pieces (watermelon size) and maybe 4 pieces the size of a cantaloupe. You simply cannot buy this in a store. It has to be island direct. I know that my first aquarium was so successful because of your live rock. I have no doubt it will be the critical piece of my 300 gallon reef tank this time. To me, this is the most important investment into a stable, thriving aquarium. No store bought machine can ever do what live rock does for an aquarium and live rock isn't truly live rock unless it is directly shipped from the islands. Thanks again."
Graham S., Charlotte, N.C. - October '13
... I found another polyp type coral ... waiting for it to open fully ... I am so excited I keep on finding critters!!!!
Paul H. - July '10
The rock is GREAT! It smells like the ocean and has beautiful colors still on it. It even came with oysters on the half-shell. : ) I lightly cleaned it and got it into my 40. There are 2 very large pieces and a few small pieces. I will probably have to order more rock : ) My brother saw it and he now has to have more rock too. I'll take pics. There is some great stuff on these rocks. :) Thank you so much!
Nancy I. - June '10
This rock is so fresh, I am having a hard time getting the ammonia to peak. The protein skimmer is working but not cranking out much. I even washed the bag it came in out in the tank I put it in. I've fished out 2 dead crabs and one worm or snake (black with yellow stripes going sideways), but that's it. I even held each piece in front of a powerhead and blasted them with water. The water got dirty but not smelly.
Love the rock,
P.S. I told you Terry would want more rock once he saw mine. He is trying to buy mine off me. (I have one that weighs about 18 lbs.) He wants it for his new 125.
Nancy I. - June '10
The rock is beautiful and more than I expected. It exceeded my expectations. Cleaned installed and curing. Thanks.
John S. - June '10
I got so excited this morning. There is something bright pink sticking out from one of the rocks. Spongy looking?? Not sure what it is called but it is going to be so pretty. And that's just the first day. I know you warned me, but I can't keep myself from looking everytime I walk by. I even thought about taking a vacation day today just to stare. Guess I will have to wait for the weekend. The Fiji wasn't as exciting. There was some type of plant life growing on it. Some, but not a lot of color yet. Just thought I would let you know. Exactly 1 week from the time I put my rock in water to cure the ammonia measured zero, nitrite is zero and nitrate is very low. I am getting anxious to add some more life. Going to aquarium store tomorrow to make sure they get the same readings. Will probably wait at least another week before any fish and critter purchases. I believe I owe it all to the great live rock?? Thank you!!!!!!
Rhonda W. - May '10
Ok the morning after the shipment. Just wanted to let you know how great this order was. My last order from Timor had to be a fluke. I think this is my 5th box order from you and this is why i will continue to buy my acros from you. ALL 15 pieces were healthy on arrival. Only 1 bag had smelly water. There were 3 pieces extending polyps in the bag. The colors were much better than the Timor order also. So I would like to thank you again for standing behind your product and refunding part my last order. I am moving locations in about 2 months and hope expand my small time coral farm. You have another happy and loyal customer here.
Till next time,
Matt B. - March '10
I am enjoying my aquarium. I am looking at your rocks and corals and they are beautiful. They are really nice, if I had bigger tank I would order some more. Maybe few Acroporas at some time in the future.
Thanks again to all of you,
Gerard C. - March '10
Received the order, flight was late they close at 10:30 came in around 11:10 I was back home before 12:00. They are cleaned scrubbed and in their first bath as you read this email. The Vanuatua definitely matches your website pictures. Me being a Tonga rock guy, I can only say I have been spoiled by you with the Tonga. Am I happy overall. Yes.
Cedric W. - March '10
I split this shipment with a friend, and he got a live mantis shrimp, although it is tiny! Don’t worry – he’s not complaining, and he wants to try to keep it. But a little aiptasia and a mantis shrimp is well worth all the other great living stuff we got. My friend has two small zooanthid colonies that survived, and I got a small feather duster worm. Plus lots of crabs and clams and a few snails.
Thanks again!
Thomas D. Culp, Ph.D. - Feb. '10
I love all of the live rock I ordered from you. They are by far the largest and best pieces I have seen anywhere. I have attached some pictures of the tank (300 gallon) with the rock. I did receive a 4" mantis shrimp with the rock. He was neat looking but starting eating my snails and crabs. Finally got him out of the tank.
Thanks
Vern D. - Dec. '09
Comments from the Vanuatu live rock days ...
Hi ... the Vanuatu was awesome ... the pieces were large with some smaller ones it made a beautiful reef.
Rae C. - Dec. '09
"WOW!!! The most beautiful live rock I’ve seen. I’ve never seen rock with so many holes, nooks and crannies. I was impressed with how fresh the rock smelled when I got it, I grew up on a beach and this is exactly what I expected. Thanks a bunch."
Steve - North Las Vegas, NV
"How dare you send me such GREAT ROCK! You made it soooo hard to aquascape my tank, I couldn’t decide on which piece to put on top or upfront. I don’t think I have seen rock that looked this well in over 10 years. The rock has amazing colors and shapes. I was concerned about getting too many small pieces after ordering it and then reading more about the rock.
Well you guys once again removed that worry as I had at least 3 show size pieces and it filled the tank nicely. After doing this transaction I have to wonder how you stay in business selling great rock at such a amazing price. The time spent on the phone with you the day before I even ordered anything was really appreciated and you had such great patience with all of my phone calls and your communication was perfect. Your advice on which airport to send to saved me a huge amount of money and the rock was packed extremely well. "
Phil S. - Wheaton, IL - Mar. '07
Many thanks Phil ... great-looking reef!!
Comments from the Tonga live rock days ...
Although Tonga has been closed for collection of live rock, here are some letters from customers regarding the live rock they received from Tonga.
Regarding Tonga Vava'u (Deepwater) Live Rock ...
"This live rock is the real deal, I couldn't have picked it out better myself. Three large show pieces and several medium to small pieces with very little breakage on any of it. It's got lots of coral heads, caves, tunnels and more shape than you could hope for. The largest piece is about 15 inches by 16 or 17 inches with large coral heads, one cave about 2 and a half inches deep and one tunnel about 4 inches long. This rock is awsome!!!!"
Glen - Tulsa, OK
"Picked up the rock today and it looks great! Very impressed - perfect mixture of shapes and sizes, including a couple of larger (as good or better than some show pieces I've bought). Sea urchin and a large sea cucumber who came along for the ride didn't make it, but a smaller cucumber was showing some signs of life. Great biodiversity on the rocks (variety of coralline, variety of green vegetation, a branchy gregorian/coral or something such, etc.), even a small crab that made it surprisingly unscathed."
Erick - Highlands Park, CO
"I actually was really surprised. The rock is great. This was the first time I have ordered online. I received a nice mixture of sizes and the color is great. And by the way, you guys made it very pleasant as well. If I ever need rock again, you will be hearing from me. Thanks again."
Eric C. - Seattle, WA
"I received the rock and it was fantastic and in great shape. There was a show piece of Deepwater that must have weighed 45 pounds. The rock looked better than your website photos. It's been great doing business with you. Thanks for the great looking rock."
Dwain - Tulsa, OK
"It's the most amazing rock I've ever seen. Local store rock looks terrible compared to this. My buddy Brian in Kansas (who has bought a lot of rock from you) told me about your site. I sent him pictures of my rock and he was a little jealous. Lucky batch I guess.
Thanks again."
Richard - South Lyon, MI - Apr. '07
Regarding Tonga Eva Live Rock ...
"The rock is awsome!!! One massive show piece and one medium one, 4-5 smaller pieces that work well. I am curing in tank, and while there is lots of coralline algae, there wasn't much in the way of sponges to remove, ended up not rinsing at all, just took of the obvious (I think dead macroalgae mostly) and put it in. I'll try to let you know how long it takes to cure."
"By the way your website is really great, and the main reason I bought with confidence on something that is in effect a bit of a mystery grab bag in terms of what you might get. Thanks for the great service."
Ken H. - Vancouver, WA
"We received our order of live rock today. Wow, what a deal. Not only was customer service class A, but so was the Tonga Eva rock. There is alot of coralline algae, and a good assortment of very nice size rock, including some very large show pieces. We are very pleased and couldn't be happier if we were at the holding tank, picking them out ourselves."
Rod and Denise - Decatur, TN
"I just want to express my appreciation for my Eva live rock order. When I opened the two boxes, it looked like I received rock that had been dipped in a rainbow and there were many nice, large pieces - two just barely fit through the openings of my 100 gallon acrylic tank.
My ammonia level is unmeasurable now and my nitrites should cycle any day. I feel like a kid who can't wait to see what prize is in the box of Cracker Jacks. I wish you continued success."
Joe R. - Fortson, GA
"I want to say thank you so much for the outstanding service you and your company has provided me! It has been an absolute pleasure doing business with you and I will recommend your company to anyone needing rock. Thank you very much for a wonderful product. The Tonga Eva rock is absolutely gorgeous and I could not be happier. Thanks again for all of your fine work."
Sam N. - Bozeman, MT
"I was afraid of a lot of die-off from the long trip, but found the rock to be in excellent condition. It smelled like seaweed. The Tonga Eva (75 lb) is four large show pieces loaded with fissures and caves and the color is unbelievable (orange, yellow, pale green, bright red, lavender). There was less than a handful of rubble in the box. The Fiji branch is also beautiful with wonderful color and shapes. I was hesitant to do business on-line but have not seen the kind of quality I received in local fish stores and am thankful for the great customer service."
Robin M. - Lehighton, PA
"Thanks for the compliments on the aquascaping. I could not have done it without your great live rock!"
Alan - Golden, CO
Vava'u, Uaniva, Ultra-premium Fiji Large
Thanks for the photo Alan!
Regarding Tonga Eva XXL Pieces ...
"Received and very impressed! The XXL Tonga Eva rock was awesome. After staring at what looks like construction rubble in the local shops at $5 to $10 per pound, this rock took me back in time about 12 years when this is what live rock looked like. The largest piece is huge and complex ... a couple of pieces broke off during shipping, thank goodness, or I wouldn't have been able to get it into my 210! Add to this Kathleen's customer service which made me feel like I was your only customer and you could definitely say I'm destined to spend alot more time on your website."
Darren G. - Miami, FL - May '07
Live rock is in my Rubbermaid sump. It is a lot bigger than I thought. It looks like a piece of coral reef in tropical ocean. I feel like l bought a piece of Kingdom of Tonga to my house. Live rock is awesome. I saved one large sea cucumber and a crab. They are doing good. The rock retains colorful coralline algaes (orange & purple). Thank you for refunding the difference. I appreciate your honesty on your business and quality rock you offered. Thank you again.
Kun Soo - Boston, MA - August '07
Regarding Tonga Eva and Vava'u Live Rock ...
"Wow, is it great stuff! Huge, beautiful pieces, just covered in tons of life. Very impressed and pleased. Many thanks, and can't wait to get second batch!"
With a follow-up letter ...
"My tank is doing nicely and the rock that I got from you is still fabulous. The coloration is still vibrant and it has a lot of growth on it. It hasn’t diminished with time at all. If anything, it has gotten more beautiful.
Thanks again."
Tony G. - Boise, ID
"LOVE THE ROCK !!!
I picked the shipment up this afternoon, it is really gorgeous. I appreciate all the help and advice. I will certainly recommend you guys to anyone who asks me about my rock. Thanks for everything ... I think you run a "Class A" organization."
Michael - Cleveland, OH
"Wow, wow, wow...the live rock is so beautiful and surprisingly fresh. I can’t thank you enough for the great service and wonderful live rock. No doubt a few of my friends that are also redoing their tanks will place orders with you. Thanks again for the wonderful service!!!!"
With a follow up note ...
"I love the rock, the shapes are amazing. Thanks again. I am so pleased and really appreciate the excellent customer service. It's rare these days to find companies that under promise and over deliver."
Greg V. - Mar. '07
"I got the rock and I’m amazed as to how nice it is. Thank you! I can’t believe how "live" the rock is! There were live crabs, some sort of red worms, and this slug like creature about 1-inch wide and 4-inches long on the rock. Once again, thank you!"
Brett D. - Marlette, MI - August '07
Regarding Tonga Uaniva Live Rock ...
"Things went very well, your communication and customer skills are first-rate. The rock was in much better condition than I expected; being a life-long NW beach boy, you should let your nose and eyes judge sealife. The smell was similar to a bucket of freshly gathered oysters and the attached seaweed wasn't even dried-out. It looked like it had been harvested, then boxed without washing, which is exactly what I was hoping for; as undisturbed as possible. The pieces were much larger than I expected."
Eric L. - Seattle, WA
"The live rock is absolutely gorgeous and will definitely be the focal point of my tank. It’s been a pleasure working with you to get the live rock, and if I ever need more in the future, I would definitely order from you again!"
Eileen - Havertown, PA
"The pieces were very nice, with at least two of them being what I would call show size ... very large rock, a couple of large pieces and 2 or 3 medium pieces.
Completely covered on life, some of which is dying off, but it looks absoultely beautiful ... I'd be happy to give you an enthusiastic endorsement on your website or to anyone who asks me. You guys were very friendly and great customer service."
Howard D. - St. Louis, MO - Jan. '07
"The rock is great - really neat with lots of holes and crevices - also lots of coraline - thanks. Been in my tank now for about 5 days and the skimmer is just idling along so it looks like there is not a lot of dead-dying matter to deal with (except for the algae-plants - most of which I picked off before putting them in the tank). Also - virtually no rubble in the box. Only "surprise" I got is that I was expecting a bunch of medium sized rocks and what I got included one about 30+lbs. No big deal - actually looks good."
Rodger E. - Tucson, AZ - Feb. '07
"Just got the last piece in my tank. I must say, you did not let me down. This is by far the greatest rock I have ever seen. Absolutely amazing. I'll talk with you soon. Thanks again!"
Brian - Emporia, KS
"The Live rock is wonderful. I cannot find words to describe how pleased I am. There was one extremely beautiful piece of Uaniva that made the over weight worthwhile. The amount of rock I received fit perfectly in my 140-gallon tank. It has been great doing business with you."
Rick H. - July '07
Received Tonga Uaniva, Eva, Vava'u
Regarding Tonga Branch Live Rock ...
"I just have to say that I'm all around impressed. Excellent communication, excellent rock."
Keith - Dacula, GA
Tonga Branch Live Rock
Thanks for the photo Keith!
"Just wanted to thank you again for all of your help during this transaction. The rock looks INCREDIBLE !!!!!! I expected a few colors but this stuff looked like Fruity Pebbles when I opened the box. Smelling that signature smell of the ocean while standing in my garage was fun also. I would endorse you guys in a heartbeat!!!"
Demetrius - Basking Ridge, NJ - May '07
Thanks for the nice photos Demetrius!
"You would not believe how fast my tank cycled. I was surprised. I was also amazed at how much other live stuff was still on the rock. I also have some new corals starting to grow. I think anyway. There is also some plant growth I'm not sure of yet, but I do believe it will turn out to be to my benefit. I do want to thank you for the speedy delivery of this rock. You are fantastic, keep up the good work."
David P. - Surprise, AZ - Apr. '07
Received Tonga Branch, Shelf, Eva, and Fiji
"Hi Guys, The rock was great. It stacked so easily making caves, arches, and ledges. I saw some "premium" live rock at my LFS and they wanted a fortune for it ... it was not even close to the quality you sent me.
The Tonga especially had great shapes. I was definitely pleased and will pass your name on to everyone I meet in the saltwater hobby. Thanks again."
Kerri D. - Waxhaw, NC - May '07
Received Tonga Eva, Vava'u, Uaniva and Fiji
"The rock was nothing short of spectacular. The rock had orange, green, red and purple coralline algae, lots of small critters and worms and had a very fresh smell. There were 3 large show pieces with several smaller "shelf" type pieces that made aquascaping a breeze.
I took my girlfriend along to pick up the extra 25 lbs. of rock I needed from a local fish store and she couldn't get over how much more expensive and how much the local stuff looked like lifeless limestone compared to what we got from you folks. "
Greg M. - Martinsburg, WV - August '07
Comments from the Fiji Ultra Premium live rock days ...
"Thank you very much for everything! I must say, you weren't kidding about the quality of your Ultra Prem Fiji. There are so many colors, and so much life, with so many interesting shapes and sizes of live rock. You simply don't see this quality in the local stores around here. You lived up to your promise, and you were fast. I very much appreciated the updates and correspondence, all the way up until the time of my pickup. It is obvious that customer service is a priority of yours. Thank you!!!"
Ryan P. - Denver, CO
"Everything’s going great. The live rock pickup took all of 5 minutes. The rock is gorgeous and covered with coralline algae and various other macro-algae, possibly some sponges, and some mollusks, which I have yet to identify. The rock is, of course, curing at the moment. I will send you an update in a couple weeks once the rock is cured and in my display tanks."
Charles P. - Providence, RI
"The live rock looks great and was way beyond my expections for the price! There is a great variety of shapes and colors, this rock is astronomically better than Drs. Foster and Smith. Everything is fantastic."
Zach - Manheim, PA
"I picked up my rock today ... it's in my tank where I plan to cure it. I don't know much about live rock (this is my 1st tank), but the shape and size of the pieces look pretty awesome to me."
With a follow-up note ...
"I have lots of coralline algae, feather dusters, some spongy looking things, some halimeda algae, no unwanted critters that I could see. I just added my reef critters on Saturday, and they are doing well eating the lush algae bloom that has grown. I have lots of pods now as well. I have submitted your site on several reef forums on which I am a member. Good stuff!"
Lynn V. - McAllen, TX - June '07
Regarding Fiji Ultra-premium 3-Box Combination ...
"Just wanted to let you know that the three boxes were received and are happily "cooking" in my tank. Very nice pieces! The Fiji large was really three extra large pieces that, combined with the awesome Branch (one piece being 20" long!) ended up being very easy to piece together into a very nice looking reef tank. Thanks to your customer service and your company's quality product.
Darren G. - Miami, FL - May '07
Awesome aquascape ... thanks Darren!
Comments from the Marshall Island live rock days ...
"I just want to say thank you for the GREAT live rock, it was full of color and life and the shapes were awesome. It took me about one and a half weeks to cure it and it was ready to put in the tank."
Josh R. - Erie, PA
"Hey Guys, Love the rock. The 70 lbs of Marshall came in first and was some of the prettiest rock I have ever seen. The next day the 80 lbs of Tonga arrived and it was like 5 pieces and maybe 1/2 a lb of rubble in the whole box. Great rock, it's in the tank and cycling now and is going to make quite a display once it's cured. Thanks for all your help and I'm sure I'll be in touch with you on any further orders of livestock. It was great doing business with you. Happy Customer"
Billy - Birmingham, AL
Thanks to Eric for his Marshall Islands live rock photo
"The box arrived without a hitch. How could anyone be disappointed with a box containing this much life?! There is sooo much coralline on this stuff and in so many different colors!! I found almost nothing that needed to come off and, I can tell that there is a lot more stuff that is gonna be growing on them soon. Problem free experience from beginning to end - I'm a happy reefer!"
Follow up Letter:
"The Marshall Island Live Rock cured very fast and, has done nothing but wonderous things for my tank. I am finding new daily growth of coralline, feather, fan & hair worms, several different kinds of desirable macro algaes (kinds my LFS charges over $40 for a small sprig of), encrusting montipora, Pocillopora, live mussels, and more new stuff keeps poping up weekly! Thank YOU VERY much!"
Eric R. - New York, NY
Thanks for this wonderful photo Eric! ....
"Just wanted to let you know that the rock is curing wonderfully. I picked up the box last Wednesday night ... it had some cool stuff on it. Did daily partials for the first few days as the skimmer went into overdrive. So just wanted to say that this is really good rock ... surprisingly quick to cure ... this rock clearly was superior to others I’ve owned."
Joon-Ho - New York, NY
"The Marshall rock looks great, in fact it's better than any I have seen at any of the shops around here. It has tons of life on it! Everyday I'm able to see something new ... yesterday something was swimming in the water, I have no idea what it was but it was exciting to see, and also not to forget the featherdusters I've begun to see only after a week. Thanks for the great service and great rock."
Jeremy - Minneapolis, MN
"Wow!!! You sell great stuff! I don't think my feedback has anything to do with that. I think everyone has a hard time gaining trust on the internet and you have mine. Thank you for the great rock!!! It has been so much fun watching to see what comes out next. I have little feather dusters, two kinds of plant life, loads of different colored algae, and I saw some copepods. I've seen lots of beautiful tanks but none with such impressive rock. I count my blessings that I bought from you. Thank you for such an awesome start on my reef."
Troy - Haltom City, TX
Marshall Islands Live Rock
Thanks for the photo Troy!
"Mark was wetting his pants last night!! He is so happy with the rock. He even found a nice sized crab ... still alive as of last night. He said the rock was beautiful and he has never seen stuff so nice. Anyway, he said all is well and he is happy. So if he is happy I am happy. He even thanked ME last night for letting him get it. He comes home everyday from work ... what?, to say hi to his wife and kids??? NO!! to see his beautiful rock! LOL!!! Oh and by the way, I just looked at the rock ... there are some green plants starting to emerge ... looks like itty bitty ferns.
P.S. I do want to say you are a wonderful company to deal with. I am very untrusting as I have been ripped off before, but your emails and calling was top rank! You made me feel very comfortable and knowing that the darn rock would get here!!
We will certainly use your company (web site) in the future. It has been a bumpy pleasure ... not your fault, I know ... it was the airline's ... you smoothed it the best you could!! You guys are a great company and your emails even after the sale are really cool ... service after the sale ... that's what I like! All our best to your company!!"
Mark and Stacie - Enola, PA
A special thanks to all of our customers who have shared their experience here with others ... thanks for taking the time to write!
Although Tonga has been closed for collection of live rock, here are some letters from customers regarding the live rock they received from Tonga.
Regarding Tonga Vava'u (Deepwater) Live Rock ...
"This live rock is the real deal, I couldn't have picked it out better myself. Three large show pieces and several medium to small pieces with very little breakage on any of it. It's got lots of coral heads, caves, tunnels and more shape than you could hope for. The largest piece is about 15 inches by 16 or 17 inches with large coral heads, one cave about 2 and a half inches deep and one tunnel about 4 inches long. This rock is awsome!!!!"
Glen - Tulsa, OK
"Picked up the rock today and it looks great! Very impressed - perfect mixture of shapes and sizes, including a couple of larger (as good or better than some show pieces I've bought). Sea urchin and a large sea cucumber who came along for the ride didn't make it, but a smaller cucumber was showing some signs of life. Great biodiversity on the rocks (variety of coralline, variety of green vegetation, a branchy gregorian/coral or something such, etc.), even a small crab that made it surprisingly unscathed."
Erick - Highlands Park, CO
"I actually was really surprised. The rock is great. This was the first time I have ordered online. I received a nice mixture of sizes and the color is great. And by the way, you guys made it very pleasant as well. If I ever need rock again, you will be hearing from me. Thanks again."
Eric C. - Seattle, WA
"I received the rock and it was fantastic and in great shape. There was a show piece of Deepwater that must have weighed 45 pounds. The rock looked better than your website photos. It's been great doing business with you. Thanks for the great looking rock."
Dwain - Tulsa, OK
"It's the most amazing rock I've ever seen. Local store rock looks terrible compared to this. My buddy Brian in Kansas (who has bought a lot of rock from you) told me about your site. I sent him pictures of my rock and he was a little jealous. Lucky batch I guess.
Thanks again."
Richard - South Lyon, MI - Apr. '07
Regarding Tonga Eva Live Rock ...
"The rock is awsome!!! One massive show piece and one medium one, 4-5 smaller pieces that work well. I am curing in tank, and while there is lots of coralline algae, there wasn't much in the way of sponges to remove, ended up not rinsing at all, just took of the obvious (I think dead macroalgae mostly) and put it in. I'll try to let you know how long it takes to cure."
"By the way your website is really great, and the main reason I bought with confidence on something that is in effect a bit of a mystery grab bag in terms of what you might get. Thanks for the great service."
Ken H. - Vancouver, WA
"We received our order of live rock today. Wow, what a deal. Not only was customer service class A, but so was the Tonga Eva rock. There is alot of coralline algae, and a good assortment of very nice size rock, including some very large show pieces. We are very pleased and couldn't be happier if we were at the holding tank, picking them out ourselves."
Rod and Denise - Decatur, TN
"I just want to express my appreciation for my Eva live rock order. When I opened the two boxes, it looked like I received rock that had been dipped in a rainbow and there were many nice, large pieces - two just barely fit through the openings of my 100 gallon acrylic tank.
My ammonia level is unmeasurable now and my nitrites should cycle any day. I feel like a kid who can't wait to see what prize is in the box of Cracker Jacks. I wish you continued success."
Joe R. - Fortson, GA
"I want to say thank you so much for the outstanding service you and your company has provided me! It has been an absolute pleasure doing business with you and I will recommend your company to anyone needing rock. Thank you very much for a wonderful product. The Tonga Eva rock is absolutely gorgeous and I could not be happier. Thanks again for all of your fine work."
Sam N. - Bozeman, MT
"I was afraid of a lot of die-off from the long trip, but found the rock to be in excellent condition. It smelled like seaweed. The Tonga Eva (75 lb) is four large show pieces loaded with fissures and caves and the color is unbelievable (orange, yellow, pale green, bright red, lavender). There was less than a handful of rubble in the box. The Fiji branch is also beautiful with wonderful color and shapes. I was hesitant to do business on-line but have not seen the kind of quality I received in local fish stores and am thankful for the great customer service."
Robin M. - Lehighton, PA
"Thanks for the compliments on the aquascaping. I could not have done it without your great live rock!"
Alan - Golden, CO
Vava'u, Uaniva, Ultra-premium Fiji Large
Thanks for the photo Alan!
Regarding Tonga Eva XXL Pieces ...
"Received and very impressed! The XXL Tonga Eva rock was awesome. After staring at what looks like construction rubble in the local shops at $5 to $10 per pound, this rock took me back in time about 12 years when this is what live rock looked like. The largest piece is huge and complex ... a couple of pieces broke off during shipping, thank goodness, or I wouldn't have been able to get it into my 210! Add to this Kathleen's customer service which made me feel like I was your only customer and you could definitely say I'm destined to spend alot more time on your website."
Darren G. - Miami, FL - May '07
Live rock is in my Rubbermaid sump. It is a lot bigger than I thought. It looks like a piece of coral reef in tropical ocean. I feel like l bought a piece of Kingdom of Tonga to my house. Live rock is awesome. I saved one large sea cucumber and a crab. They are doing good. The rock retains colorful coralline algaes (orange & purple). Thank you for refunding the difference. I appreciate your honesty on your business and quality rock you offered. Thank you again.
Kun Soo - Boston, MA - August '07
Regarding Tonga Eva and Vava'u Live Rock ...
"Wow, is it great stuff! Huge, beautiful pieces, just covered in tons of life. Very impressed and pleased. Many thanks, and can't wait to get second batch!"
With a follow-up letter ...
"My tank is doing nicely and the rock that I got from you is still fabulous. The coloration is still vibrant and it has a lot of growth on it. It hasn’t diminished with time at all. If anything, it has gotten more beautiful.
Thanks again."
Tony G. - Boise, ID
"LOVE THE ROCK !!!
I picked the shipment up this afternoon, it is really gorgeous. I appreciate all the help and advice. I will certainly recommend you guys to anyone who asks me about my rock. Thanks for everything ... I think you run a "Class A" organization."
Michael - Cleveland, OH
"Wow, wow, wow...the live rock is so beautiful and surprisingly fresh. I can’t thank you enough for the great service and wonderful live rock. No doubt a few of my friends that are also redoing their tanks will place orders with you. Thanks again for the wonderful service!!!!"
With a follow up note ...
"I love the rock, the shapes are amazing. Thanks again. I am so pleased and really appreciate the excellent customer service. It's rare these days to find companies that under promise and over deliver."
Greg V. - Mar. '07
"I got the rock and I’m amazed as to how nice it is. Thank you! I can’t believe how "live" the rock is! There were live crabs, some sort of red worms, and this slug like creature about 1-inch wide and 4-inches long on the rock. Once again, thank you!"
Brett D. - Marlette, MI - August '07
Regarding Tonga Uaniva Live Rock ...
"Things went very well, your communication and customer skills are first-rate. The rock was in much better condition than I expected; being a life-long NW beach boy, you should let your nose and eyes judge sealife. The smell was similar to a bucket of freshly gathered oysters and the attached seaweed wasn't even dried-out. It looked like it had been harvested, then boxed without washing, which is exactly what I was hoping for; as undisturbed as possible. The pieces were much larger than I expected."
Eric L. - Seattle, WA
"The live rock is absolutely gorgeous and will definitely be the focal point of my tank. It’s been a pleasure working with you to get the live rock, and if I ever need more in the future, I would definitely order from you again!"
Eileen - Havertown, PA
"The pieces were very nice, with at least two of them being what I would call show size ... very large rock, a couple of large pieces and 2 or 3 medium pieces.
Completely covered on life, some of which is dying off, but it looks absoultely beautiful ... I'd be happy to give you an enthusiastic endorsement on your website or to anyone who asks me. You guys were very friendly and great customer service."
Howard D. - St. Louis, MO - Jan. '07
"The rock is great - really neat with lots of holes and crevices - also lots of coraline - thanks. Been in my tank now for about 5 days and the skimmer is just idling along so it looks like there is not a lot of dead-dying matter to deal with (except for the algae-plants - most of which I picked off before putting them in the tank). Also - virtually no rubble in the box. Only "surprise" I got is that I was expecting a bunch of medium sized rocks and what I got included one about 30+lbs. No big deal - actually looks good."
Rodger E. - Tucson, AZ - Feb. '07
"Just got the last piece in my tank. I must say, you did not let me down. This is by far the greatest rock I have ever seen. Absolutely amazing. I'll talk with you soon. Thanks again!"
Brian - Emporia, KS
"The Live rock is wonderful. I cannot find words to describe how pleased I am. There was one extremely beautiful piece of Uaniva that made the over weight worthwhile. The amount of rock I received fit perfectly in my 140-gallon tank. It has been great doing business with you."
Rick H. - July '07
Received Tonga Uaniva, Eva, Vava'u
Regarding Tonga Branch Live Rock ...
"I just have to say that I'm all around impressed. Excellent communication, excellent rock."
Keith - Dacula, GA
Tonga Branch Live Rock
Thanks for the photo Keith!
"Just wanted to thank you again for all of your help during this transaction. The rock looks INCREDIBLE !!!!!! I expected a few colors but this stuff looked like Fruity Pebbles when I opened the box. Smelling that signature smell of the ocean while standing in my garage was fun also. I would endorse you guys in a heartbeat!!!"
Demetrius - Basking Ridge, NJ - May '07
Thanks for the nice photos Demetrius!
"You would not believe how fast my tank cycled. I was surprised. I was also amazed at how much other live stuff was still on the rock. I also have some new corals starting to grow. I think anyway. There is also some plant growth I'm not sure of yet, but I do believe it will turn out to be to my benefit. I do want to thank you for the speedy delivery of this rock. You are fantastic, keep up the good work."
David P. - Surprise, AZ - Apr. '07
Received Tonga Branch, Shelf, Eva, and Fiji
"Hi Guys, The rock was great. It stacked so easily making caves, arches, and ledges. I saw some "premium" live rock at my LFS and they wanted a fortune for it ... it was not even close to the quality you sent me.
The Tonga especially had great shapes. I was definitely pleased and will pass your name on to everyone I meet in the saltwater hobby. Thanks again."
Kerri D. - Waxhaw, NC - May '07
Received Tonga Eva, Vava'u, Uaniva and Fiji
"The rock was nothing short of spectacular. The rock had orange, green, red and purple coralline algae, lots of small critters and worms and had a very fresh smell. There were 3 large show pieces with several smaller "shelf" type pieces that made aquascaping a breeze.
I took my girlfriend along to pick up the extra 25 lbs. of rock I needed from a local fish store and she couldn't get over how much more expensive and how much the local stuff looked like lifeless limestone compared to what we got from you folks. "
Greg M. - Martinsburg, WV - August '07
Comments from the Fiji Ultra Premium live rock days ...
"Thank you very much for everything! I must say, you weren't kidding about the quality of your Ultra Prem Fiji. There are so many colors, and so much life, with so many interesting shapes and sizes of live rock. You simply don't see this quality in the local stores around here. You lived up to your promise, and you were fast. I very much appreciated the updates and correspondence, all the way up until the time of my pickup. It is obvious that customer service is a priority of yours. Thank you!!!"
Ryan P. - Denver, CO
"Everything’s going great. The live rock pickup took all of 5 minutes. The rock is gorgeous and covered with coralline algae and various other macro-algae, possibly some sponges, and some mollusks, which I have yet to identify. The rock is, of course, curing at the moment. I will send you an update in a couple weeks once the rock is cured and in my display tanks."
Charles P. - Providence, RI
"The live rock looks great and was way beyond my expections for the price! There is a great variety of shapes and colors, this rock is astronomically better than Drs. Foster and Smith. Everything is fantastic."
Zach - Manheim, PA
"I picked up my rock today ... it's in my tank where I plan to cure it. I don't know much about live rock (this is my 1st tank), but the shape and size of the pieces look pretty awesome to me."
With a follow-up note ...
"I have lots of coralline algae, feather dusters, some spongy looking things, some halimeda algae, no unwanted critters that I could see. I just added my reef critters on Saturday, and they are doing well eating the lush algae bloom that has grown. I have lots of pods now as well. I have submitted your site on several reef forums on which I am a member. Good stuff!"
Lynn V. - McAllen, TX - June '07
Regarding Fiji Ultra-premium 3-Box Combination ...
"Just wanted to let you know that the three boxes were received and are happily "cooking" in my tank. Very nice pieces! The Fiji large was really three extra large pieces that, combined with the awesome Branch (one piece being 20" long!) ended up being very easy to piece together into a very nice looking reef tank. Thanks to your customer service and your company's quality product.
Darren G. - Miami, FL - May '07
Awesome aquascape ... thanks Darren!
Comments from the Marshall Island live rock days ...
"I just want to say thank you for the GREAT live rock, it was full of color and life and the shapes were awesome. It took me about one and a half weeks to cure it and it was ready to put in the tank."
Josh R. - Erie, PA
"Hey Guys, Love the rock. The 70 lbs of Marshall came in first and was some of the prettiest rock I have ever seen. The next day the 80 lbs of Tonga arrived and it was like 5 pieces and maybe 1/2 a lb of rubble in the whole box. Great rock, it's in the tank and cycling now and is going to make quite a display once it's cured. Thanks for all your help and I'm sure I'll be in touch with you on any further orders of livestock. It was great doing business with you. Happy Customer"
Billy - Birmingham, AL
Thanks to Eric for his Marshall Islands live rock photo
"The box arrived without a hitch. How could anyone be disappointed with a box containing this much life?! There is sooo much coralline on this stuff and in so many different colors!! I found almost nothing that needed to come off and, I can tell that there is a lot more stuff that is gonna be growing on them soon. Problem free experience from beginning to end - I'm a happy reefer!"
Follow up Letter:
"The Marshall Island Live Rock cured very fast and, has done nothing but wonderous things for my tank. I am finding new daily growth of coralline, feather, fan & hair worms, several different kinds of desirable macro algaes (kinds my LFS charges over $40 for a small sprig of), encrusting montipora, Pocillopora, live mussels, and more new stuff keeps poping up weekly! Thank YOU VERY much!"
Eric R. - New York, NY
Thanks for this wonderful photo Eric! ....
"Just wanted to let you know that the rock is curing wonderfully. I picked up the box last Wednesday night ... it had some cool stuff on it. Did daily partials for the first few days as the skimmer went into overdrive. So just wanted to say that this is really good rock ... surprisingly quick to cure ... this rock clearly was superior to others I’ve owned."
Joon-Ho - New York, NY
"The Marshall rock looks great, in fact it's better than any I have seen at any of the shops around here. It has tons of life on it! Everyday I'm able to see something new ... yesterday something was swimming in the water, I have no idea what it was but it was exciting to see, and also not to forget the featherdusters I've begun to see only after a week. Thanks for the great service and great rock."
Jeremy - Minneapolis, MN
"Wow!!! You sell great stuff! I don't think my feedback has anything to do with that. I think everyone has a hard time gaining trust on the internet and you have mine. Thank you for the great rock!!! It has been so much fun watching to see what comes out next. I have little feather dusters, two kinds of plant life, loads of different colored algae, and I saw some copepods. I've seen lots of beautiful tanks but none with such impressive rock. I count my blessings that I bought from you. Thank you for such an awesome start on my reef."
Troy - Haltom City, TX
Marshall Islands Live Rock
Thanks for the photo Troy!
"Mark was wetting his pants last night!! He is so happy with the rock. He even found a nice sized crab ... still alive as of last night. He said the rock was beautiful and he has never seen stuff so nice. Anyway, he said all is well and he is happy. So if he is happy I am happy. He even thanked ME last night for letting him get it. He comes home everyday from work ... what?, to say hi to his wife and kids??? NO!! to see his beautiful rock! LOL!!! Oh and by the way, I just looked at the rock ... there are some green plants starting to emerge ... looks like itty bitty ferns.
P.S. I do want to say you are a wonderful company to deal with. I am very untrusting as I have been ripped off before, but your emails and calling was top rank! You made me feel very comfortable and knowing that the darn rock would get here!!
We will certainly use your company (web site) in the future. It has been a bumpy pleasure ... not your fault, I know ... it was the airline's ... you smoothed it the best you could!! You guys are a great company and your emails even after the sale are really cool ... service after the sale ... that's what I like! All our best to your company!!"
Mark and Stacie - Enola, PA
A special thanks to all of our customers who have shared their experience here with others ... thanks for taking the time to write!
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Our Toll-free Phone for calls within the U.S.
is open Monday through Friday
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Central time)
(866) 874-7639
(855) 225-8086
(If you should have trouble with the first number, please use the second one.)
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Phone: (866) 874-7639 or (855) 225-8086
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Curing Live Rock
Live Rock FAQ
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Phone: (866) 874-7639 or (855) 225-8086
Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Central