[untamed]

It has been my experience this far that they don't really understand what Live Rock is. (Why would they?) Now...I'm not going out of my way to explain it to them, either. I just answer the questions that they ask. "How long have you been in the US, What have you acquired?...How much is it worth?..."

When they ask, I just tell them that it is rock for my aquarium. You're not going to successfully explain how the biological filtration of a reef aquarium works to a border officer in 30 seconds...and you know...they don't really care...Sometimes, they'll sometimes ask a ton of questions, but they don't hear the answers. They just want to hear that you have answers.

They do struggle with how to classify it for importation purposes. The first time, they classified it as "sand" (because I did have some sand, as well). This time, it was classified as "limestone". Next time, I'll be bringing the previous paperwork and I'll be telling THEM how to classify it.

Either way, it is a product of the US and qualifies as duty-free. You pay your 6% GST and 7% PST and be on your way.

It's not the cheapest alternative, believe me...but the best rarely is.