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View Full Version : Group Order - Marco Rocks?


Myka
05-03-2008, 09:01 PM
Anyone in BC interested in ordering from Marco Rocks? There will be significant brokerage charges, so keep that in mind.

I'm willing to accept the shipment and then divy and send out (or drive out if it's cheaper) orders from here, but if the bulk of interested buyers is in Vancouver it would make more sense for someone from that area to accept the order.

Please jot down your thoughts. Especially those who have ordered from Marco Rocks before...

www.marcorocks.com

Delphinus
05-03-2008, 09:52 PM
Have you thought about Eco-Rox? They say they have a UPS deal for brokerage for Canucks and they are a sponsor of this site so that's kinda cool .. otherwise looks like more or less the same thing?

Myka
05-04-2008, 04:19 AM
I don't think the $10 brokerage will apply with the over-weight of the Eco-Rox, but I can check. :)

Monti-Man
05-04-2008, 04:49 AM
Bought my rock from bulk reef supply and yup only 10 bucks.Done it a total of 3 times and never charged more than the 10 dollars. I just make sure that it is under the 200.00 mark.

Gools
05-04-2008, 04:51 AM
I looked into marco rock several times by the time you get it here your paying about the same as what you would pay in the okanagan for Live rock. It's actually cheaper to order Live rock from J&L and have it shipped here. I also thought about having it shipped to my mom in Washington, and going and getting it, but then you have to stay more then 24hrs to get out of paying duty.

mseepman
05-04-2008, 05:49 AM
Myka,

I think that ordering from BRS will work out better...their deal is based upon the purchase price, not the weight. Just remember that they get you a deal on brokerage, but duty is a whole other matter. You and I will experience that when we get our other order from BRS. Eco-rox were cheap and the shipping wasn't that bad when I priced it out. I just didn't want to go over the $200...it was cheaper to place 2 orders.

Monti-Man
05-04-2008, 06:05 AM
I ordered 50 pounds each time. All i paid when it got here was 16 something for GST. No duty and no brokerage. And the middle shipment they didn't even charge me GST.

Myka
05-04-2008, 04:42 PM
I like the Marco Rock shapes a bit more than the Eco Rox, but you guys have talked me into it. I'll go with the Eco Rox. I will have to check into what it's going to cost for shipping though...

Oh, and "duty" is just 5% GST. ;)

You and I will experience that when we get our other order from BRS. Eco-rox were cheap and the shipping wasn't that bad when I priced it out. I just didn't want to go over the $200...it was cheaper to place 2 orders.

Ya, I wanted to do this "test order" before considering the Eco Rox just to see if we end up getting any "hidden fees" and just see how smoothly the order goes.

I looked into marco rock several times by the time you get it here your paying about the same as what you would pay in the okanagan for Live rock.

Yes, I figured this out too, but there is the fact that you're getting WAAAAAAAAAAAY nicer pieces, in fact you can get them cherry picked and they sent you pictures and everything. AND Marco Rocks (or Eco Rox) are DRY WEIGHT. So 50 lbs of Marco Rocks is going to be A LOT more rock than 50 lbs of live rock. ;)




EDIT: Just checked shipping on the Eco Rox. Looks like it's about $60 shipping to me. It looks like the $10 brokerage is included in that, but it's not very clear. So, for 50lbs of the Shelf rock it will be $130 + 60 = $190 + GST = $199.50 So that' sup to $4/lb now, but it IS dry weight, and pieces of a quality that I personally haven't ever seen available in any LFS.

SECOND EDIT (:lol:): Weird, I tried some different postal codes in the area, and Westbank is about $60 (where I am), and Kelowna and Rutland is around $80. Odd...

mseepman
05-04-2008, 05:03 PM
How long do you think it would take to cure this rock? I've never cured my own before but I would be interested in trying.

Would I just need a big tupperware bin, a heater and a powerhead? How do you seed it?

GreenSpottedPuffer
05-04-2008, 05:03 PM
If you do ever try ordering Marco rocks, please let me know...I would be interested. I think the Marco rocks are much nicer looking and have better shapes than the others.

Myka
05-04-2008, 06:04 PM
How long do you think it would take to cure this rock? I've never cured my own before but I would be interested in trying.

Would I just need a big tupperware bin, a heater and a powerhead? How do you seed it?

I emailed Marco Rocks about curing the rock. He recommended to not cure it, just to toss it in the tank, and cycle like a normal tank. Not what I would do...

I would take at least 3 months to cure the rock, as I have heard that dried live rock often leeches phophates for the first while (I did not hear this in particular to Marco or Eco rocks).

I found a REALLY good explanation of a good way to cook dry base rock, and I printed it out (copy and paste to Word so there's no URL on it), but I didn't jot down where I got it from. I've been searching all the reef forums I know about for the last 10 minutes, and I can't find it anywhere! I do still have the print out though. It would take some SERIOUS typing to type it all out though.

From reading that "article", and just adding my own thoughts to the process, I figured I would start by filling the bin with water from one of my tanks, a few cups of sand (I'd put that in an open top container in the bin so that the sand isn't loose on the bottom of the bin), and a good clean piece of live rock. From there I would start small doses of ammonia/amino acids. You have to use unscented pure ammonia. I wouldn't let the ammonia get any higher than 0.25 mg/L though to ensure the ammonia doesn't kill off the life you're trying to establish in there!

Once I've decided the rock is good to go (not sure how I will decide this, but I figure 12 weeks should be sufficient), I will drain the bin, and put new clean SW in there, let it run for a few days and check to see if there are any phosphates or nitrates in the water column.

At this point there won't be any coralline on the rocks, so I will scrape my tank's glass of coralline, and scatter the "shavings" on the rocks in the bin. Let it sit for a few hours with no circulation, so the coralline can (hopefully) set, and add a medium output light (like a couple T5s or something). I would dramatically cut back the amount the rock is being fed about a week before the lights get added. Let it run with the lights on it (slowly building up the number of hours each day), and keep and eye out that there are no bad algaes starting up. I'm hoping it can be seeded with coralline this way.

I'm definately open to further ideas on this...

If you do ever try ordering Marco rocks, please let me know...I would be interested. I think the Marco rocks are much nicer looking and have better shapes than the others.

I agree.

Ripwoop
07-04-2008, 11:17 PM
I don't see any reason why seeding the tank like that wouldn't work. I put little pieces of rock with new colors of coralline algae some times. Doesn't take long for the seeding to take place with all flow going. (maybe a couple weeks) now i have multi color rock. I think it looks good but just JMO. Good luck with your order and curing!!:smile:

Monti-Man
07-04-2008, 11:28 PM
If you do buy a large amount of eco rocks etc. I would cycle them like you would live rock. I had 150 pounds and for 6 weeks went through the typical cycle stages. I just had them in a bucket with a powerhead,airstone and heater and we got ammonia,nitrite and nitrate.

Really it might be dry but everything that was alive in the nooks and crannies dies in there and then decomposes when added to water.

Just my observations anyways:biggrin:

Myka
07-05-2008, 03:27 AM
^ I figured that would happen. I imagine there is significant phosphate leeching as well.