Liverocks.com, any bad smells?

[KFEdaddy2k]

I'm getting ready to buy 20 lbs of keys rock from Liverocks.com. I've been reading here on the forum and I've seen a few post talking about the bad smell of the rocks they received from liverocks. Is this typical (the smell for a few days) when ordering LR on-line, or does it have more to do with what the buyer does with the rock when they receive it (try to cure it in a rubermaid container, etc.)?

I'm concerned with the smell, more so because of my wife. If any part of this hobby get a foul odor right off the bat, that'll be the end of it. I vaguely remember the time I took up home-brew beer, that was a pretty short lived hobby.

FYI, I have a 29 gal tank, it's been running for a week. There is nothing in it except for sand, wet/dry filter, heater, and a PH. It's "brand new".

Thanks for your help,
Kurt

 

[CBRGuy]

I got 140# of LR.com rock. I bought it @ three different time any everytime it had no "bad" smell. It did have an ocean smell. And produced no nh3 spike at all. It's good stuff.

 

[Bearfan]

It has an odor out of the box, but not once you get it in the tank. No worries. Tell her to go shopping for a couple of hours while you unbox it. I recommend a Carbonated Water dip to get rid of any undesirables (ie: Mantis Shrimp, Black Clawed Crabs, Red Crabs).

 

[malkore]

wow, she complained about homebrew smells? true, a boiling wort with hop pellets is a little pungent...but I think the live rock smell will be 10x stronger.
however I heard that liverocks.com stuff is shipped so well, that the curing process is very short and mild.

 

[KFEdaddy2k]

but I think the live rock smell will be 10x stronger

Great, 10x stronger? Any AA members offering divorce service at a discount?

So let me get this right, if I order liverocks.com, and put it directly into my new tank as soon as it arrives, there should be minimal (if any) foul odor. Right? Sure, that's assuming that shipping goes OK and all.

Bearfan, I'll look into the carbonated water dip, that's a new one for me. Sound promising though.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

[dralarms]

So let me get this right, if I order liverocks.com, and put it directly into my new tank as soon as it arrives, there should be minimal (if any) foul odor. Right? Sure, that's assuming that shipping goes OK and all.

Yes this is true, when you take the rock out of the box look at it and see if you see anything dead or dieing, if so get it off and it wil cut down on your "smell"
That being said, I have ordered twice from lr.com and never had a problem with either order.

I'll look into the carbonated water dip, that's a new one for me. Sound promising though.

I don't recommend this. My last rock I didn't even dip, sure I have some crabs to dispose of and I have at least 1 shrimp, don't know if it's a mantis or a pistol it was about 1/2 inch long. But the carbonated dip didn't do well on my 1st order of rock. I thought it did good but I saw alot of stuff that died that should not have.

HTH

 

[lziarek]

if you dont do the "dip" how do you know if you will get a mantis shrimp? Do you just listen for any "popping" noises prior to adding the rocks to the aquarium?

 

[dralarms]

When I set the last batch up it was in a "temp" tank. No fish just rock and ls. I wasn't worried about a mantis yet. The ones that worry me are the small "standard" crabs. The ones with the big claws. I saw 1 of those, I have to get it out but not yet.

 

[An t-iasg]

I am researching to set up a SW tank. (it may not happen this summer, though )

I have heard (read here) that as the rock cures, it will have a smell. Once it's cured, it will be fine. I plan to cycle the rock in the garage, in a new rubbermaid container or a garbage can. If I don't do it this summer, it will have to wait till next summer, because where I live, the winters get too cold to try to cycle in the garage, even with a heater in the curing container. I've also smelled fully cured and set-up SW tanks, and they have no smell. If you can, cycle the rock in another area (not in the living room!) and then when you set the tank up, all the smell will be gone.

 

[Brad]

I think that the point is that the LR.com rock comes from Ocean to you so fast that there is minimal die off on the rock...and therefore minimal curing required...

If you are starting a new tank, there is no need to cure the rock in a separate container, just put it in the tank. This is the best thing to do for the rock and everything that is struggling to stay alive on it. Even better if your new tank already has some filtration that has been running for a while.

If you have an existing tank with lots of sensitive life in it, that is a very different situation entirely. Adding the rock directly to the tank my shock some of that life.

The rock has just made a long trip. It needs immediate TLC. Give it the best environment for survival as soon as possible. Once all the life on the rock has recovered.... then you can pull it out of the aquarium for a few minutes to dip it and try to get certain critters off/out.

 

[An t-iasg]

If you are starting a new tank, there is no need to cure the rock in a separate container, just put it in the tank. This is the best thing to do for the rock and everything that is struggling to stay alive on it.

Yes, I agree with this too. It is probably better for the rock and easier to do the tank set-up this way. KFEdaddy2k didn't say if his wife is sensitive/allergic to the odors, or just doesn't like them. I'm asthmatic and the slightest smell can cause an attack. That's why I'm not going to take a chance with putting uncured rock (even rock with minimal die-off) in the display tank in the living room. If you're not horribly sensitive to odors like I am, then the "cure" smells probably won't be a big deal.

 

[KFEdaddy2k]

No, no sensitivity here. Other than the evil eye and cold shoulder reaction I'll get.

It's more of a patience thing, she doesn't understand that a couple days of odor will result in a beautiful "piece of living art" full of interesting marine life.

I'm pretty sure things will be alright, I'm exagerating mostly.

Thanks for everyone's input, you have helped to ease my mind on the matter.
Kurt

 

[Bearfan]

I don't recommend this. My last rock I didn't even dip, sure I have some crabs to dispose of and I have at least 1 shrimp, don't know if it's a mantis or a pistol it was about 1/2 inch long. But the carbonated dip didn't do well on my 1st order of rock. I thought it did good but I saw alot of stuff that died that should not have.

You have to make sure the salinity matches your new tank, and the temperature needs to be reasonably the same. I had great success with it and no real noticable die off.

 

[dralarms]

You have to make sure the salinity matches your new tank, and the temperature needs to be reasonably the same. I had great success with it and no real noticable die off.

My sg was the same. I guess everybody has different exp. with this.

 

[Nitrate]

Smell = death, death = bad water.

I added 100 lbs of liverocks .com rock to my tank the day it arrived, it smelled like most any rock or decoration that I would take out of my tank to clean (not necessarily appealing, but not pungent) I had a mild spike of nitrate, but one 20% water change later all levels are at least as good as they were before the rock, and most are better!!!

Take the time to pick dead stuff off the rocks before you put it in the tank, otherwise IMO lr.com rocks can go straight in. Monitor your levels closely for the next few days and be prepared for a water change.

 

[KFEdaddy2k]

I just wanted to update everyone with my experience. I received my LR today from liverocks.com and just as everyone has said, I am more than thrilled with the rocks I got. 20 lbs is more than I thought, and all the rocks I got were beautifully covered with coralline (sp?) algae and all sorts of life. I only had time to look for a few minutes when I ran home to put the rock in my tank (had them shipped to work), so I'm anxious to get home tonight and look some more. I did see a few crabs, and pencil urchin (sp?), what looked like a tiny bristle star, and even a couple nudibranches. One nudi was of pretty good size, maybe 3/4 to 1 inch in length. Unfortunately he was attached to the paper towel the rocks were shipped in and upon removing the rocks from the shipping container and removing the paper towels I think he got injured. He didn't look so good when I left the house this afternoon. I'll check on him when I get home.

As far as the smell goes, I didn't smell anything other than salt. In fact I had a cocktail shrimp in the tank for the last few days trying to get my cycle started and I had to remove it because I started to get a slight (very slight) odor in the tank last night. So in all reality the single shrimp smelled worse than the live rock did.

I 100% recommend LR.com, they live up to their reputation.

Kurt

 

[CBRGuy]

Glad to hear everything went well

 

[Bearfan]

Glad to hear it!