Customer feedback.....
 

Hey Richard,
Got the rock in the tank now. Looks amazing. All the barnacles are going mad. Very nice color. Can wait to see what shows up on it. Got a tiny crab, couldn't really identify and forgot to take a pic. I took pics of it in the tank now, a little messy but when I take it out for the new tank I'll reorganize. Not sure but I think that last one is a whelk.I'll take him out when he gets a little bigger. Kind of small right now. Thanks again.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...k/IMAG1950.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...AG1951%202.jpg

And from a customer in Texas this week....neat set up..
 

Hi Richard!
I absolutely looove the shapes of the rocks you sent me! Everyone seems to be doing well. Check out the picture. What kind of nem did you send? Thank you!
- Katie

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...to%201%202.jpg

And 125 gallon package that went to Atlanta last week...customer reports...
 

Doing well, water parameters are nitrates 10ppm ammonia undetectable

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...k/IMG_0850.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...k/IMG_0848.jpg

And...another tank in Texas...
 

You gave me so many extras, I was able to add a couple tree sponges to my other tank, too! Thank you! I don't have a pic of my larger tank, because only the blue bulbs are working at the moment, so hard to see anything! I'm hearing quite a bit of clicking, though, so I'm curious if it's a pistol or mantis. Either is fine with me. :). One question - how do I make sure the sponges stay happy and healthy? They're so beautiful, I would hate to lose them.

Jolene

She did a really nice job aquascaping...

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...043%2046_1.jpg

After all these years I bet you still love every awesome comment/picture that comes your way. :cool:

Indeed. Happy customers.

Richard, For your customers asking how to keep sponges and other filter feeders alive I've heard nothing but incredible reviews of Sponge Power. I've never used but it may be worth mentioning to your customers. 1 drop per 25 gallons.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Korallen_...SACS-4-vi.html

Here's a shot of my new tank with Richard's eco rock.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...psfa6iuwum.jpg

Couldn't be happier. Thanks!

Brenda did really well with her new tank.She was in Tampa and flew part one of the Package home with her as baggage....and picked up part two a couple of days ago at her airport.

"Richard, Here are the photos of our tanks. Hopefully you will enjoy the photos of much as we do.

http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/th...%20Reef%20Tank

And another customer from 1/16/16 from Oakland California says...
 

Everything went great. Picked the boxes up around 6:00 pm and spent the rest of the night getting things in the tank.

Everything looked great and wife and kids had so much fun checking everything out. My 11yo daughter spent hours with me looking for hitchhikers and pulling welks and some gorilla and stone crabs off the rock. She had such a great time she asked, "can we get some more rock tomorrow"? The rock itself is very nice and I appreciate all the extra critters. I have to say I can't believe the numbers of porcelain crabs and pistol shrimp. I had individual rocks with 10 plus porcelain crabs and if all those baby pistol shrimp survive the tank will sound like a popcorn maker.

Thanks for the great product and excellent customer service.

Dale

Thought I would share a few more comments and a quick picture of the tank.
I purchased the 50 gallon package minus the sand to seed and add diversity to my new 270g build. Richard added additional critters for me in place of the sand since I already had a sand bed. I have to say Richard is a pleasure to work with. His communications were excellent from the time I asked my initial question through to him checking how everything came in. I would highly recommend him and his excellent product.
Here is a picture of the tank. Not the best picture as I don't have all my lights in yet. I will post some more later.

[IMG]http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/...pskude2s1f.jpg[/IMG]

Dale

Nice aquascape job!

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :rollface::rollface::rollface:

And from California this week....
 

- we just got back from Burbank SouthWest Cargo, have unpacked everything and now it is all in the tank! Looks great and thanks so much for including a couple of extras: the pair of spider crabs (?) and the coral, which is already opening up. We couldn't believe the amount of life on the rocks: crabs, feather dusters, snails, as well as the orange, red and purple algae, not to mention a bunch of stuff that will need identifying. Phenomenal! I think we also had a small fish in there, but whatever it was darted quickly out of sight. Everything smelled very fresh: your packaging is superb! So we're absolutely delighted.

And from Nashville this week...
 

Really neat tank..a TRUVU......with The Package....


http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...k/DSC_0010.jpg

And from last week...
 

Hi Richard,

I wanted to thank you for the awesome experience with this live rock. I will admit that I was nervous about using the air freight, but that was easier than I ever imagined. Southwest was so easy to work with. The rock arrived in great condition in both shipments. Everything was so fresh!!

My ammonia never got above 0.25 the entire time. In addition, there were several hitchhikers in each batch of rock that I got to discover and investigate. Every day, I seem to find something new. I've spent so much time just staring at my tank!!

I really appreciate all of the extras that you were able to provide. One thing I haven't been able to positively ID yet. From the Internet, it looks like it might be a basket star, but that doesn't seem to fit with the environment of these rocks. Can you tell me what it is? It was one of the extras in the bags. Let me know if I need to send you a picture.

This has been a great experience. My tank looks amazing!! I love this rock (and all the extras), and I will definitely order from you for my next tank. I really appreciate your customer service and quick responses via email.

Thanks again,

Megan

Another customer from this week, part one of The Package!
 

WOW!!! You weren't kidding!

The pickup went very smooth, and only one of the sand boxes was leaking. Everything is in the tank and looking great. Some huge pieces in there to make a great base. I didn't see any die-off with sponges. There were tons of porcelain crabs, a bunch of pistol shrimp, a brittle star (?), a couple tiny urchins, and all sorts of snails and other life. I can't wait for the water to clear up a little more so I can better inspect everything. My son went absolutely nuts over the porcelain crabs! I told my wife there were going to be hitchhikers, but she was thinking a snail or two. She never dreamed that we would have such a vibrant tank so soon.

I'll keep an eye on everything and email you next week. Your product is worth every nickel, and your service is second to none. Thank you!

Chris

From Christinas shipment to BWI sunday 11/13/2016
 

Thank you for everything! The flame scallop was a cool surprise. The gorgonians are completely gorgeous! And of course the rock itself is amazing. You sent me some really interesting shapes worthy of building arches, tunnels, etc. I have found several porcelain crabs, decorator crabs, pistol shrimp, starfish, myriad snails, cup corals, and all of the sponges and tunicates. The pistols that i have seen are tiny. I think they are making the higher pitched popping sounds. What is making the lower popping noises? Such a mystery! lol.
I havent seen any stomatopods, but i wonder with those other noises. I finally have everything set up, and just waiting for the water to clear a bit. Sitting in front of my tank, with a glass of wine in hand, and watching as if it were tv. Everything keeps expanding, and more polyps are coming out. Thank you again for another fantastic order!

I will never buy rock from anyone else.

Christina

From a customer in Atlanta 1/2/17
 

Hey Richard,
So the rock came out really good! I got a porcelain crab, a small black urchin, several crabs both good and bad, hermits and several different types of snails in the bag of sand. In the bag of rocks more crabs, mostly bad which were disposed of, another black urchin, 2 pistol shrimp (1 caught in the bag, other made it into the tank), tons of feather dusters on one rock, sponges, tube coral, barnacles, and still probably a bunch more that I just haven't seen yet. We can't peel ourselves off the tank looking and are constantly finding new things all over and in the rock. Thank you, and we are very happy with our purchase! The tank completely settled and was crystal clear within 4-5 hours. Talk to you soon when the tank cycles!

Sent from my iPhone


Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

Received Part I
 

Just received part I of the package yesterday and wow, so much more than I expected! In addition to great rock covered with sponges the rock has several clams, barnacles, anemones and several feather dusters.

Opened the bag of live sand and found a nice golf ball sized urchin and, a fish! Belted Sandfish and he is still and seems to be fine.

Water parameters are great and can't to get part II hopefully next week.

Best rock I've seen and everything's going really smooth. Can't recommend TBS enough!

Wow, loving looking at these pictures!

And a customer from Knoxville shipped 1/25
 

I got my rock today.. Like all your other customers, I love it.. Already found 2 pistol shrimp (one with eggs under its tail) 2 crabs so far and havent seen them good enough to ID yet, a beautiful brittle star and a sea spider. Not to mention all the other life on the rocks. Thanks and I will be ordering again soon.. Tom

Part 2
 

Received Part 2 of the package last Wednesday and all I can say is wow. Great looking rock and all of the cuc in great shape. But the extras, that's amazing. Richard sent along 4 nice sponges(orange, red and yellow), a purple gorgonian, huge decorator crab, a flower anemone and a Royal Gramma! All of which made the trip just fine and have acclimated nicely. Know it will be hard to keep the sponges but look great for now. The gorgonian polyps are open everyday and and it looks awesome. The Gramma is doing fine and eating like a horse! TBS pretty much sends you you own little piece of ocean! Almost forgot about hitchhikers, for at least 6-8 crabs, mostly red porcelain and mythrax but did have a couple gorilla which never made it into tank. Plus lots of nice sponges, little feather dusters, macro algae and a couple small anemones! You find something new every time you look close. Since the rock has been in the tank I also have found 2 more decorator crabs - one bright red!

Even after adding all the new rock and critters tank levels have stayed steady. This is the only way to start a tank!

Thanks again for you great product and awesome service. Wanted to post some pictures but it doesn't seem to want to let. I'll figure it out and post them soon.

And a customer this week from Madison Wi.
 

Richard,

Thanks so much for hooking me up with such incredible live rock. I really appreciate that you hand-picked the pieces to fit perfectly into my Reefer Nano. I'm very happy with the assortment of sizes and shapes you chose, especially the amazing large piece that I was able to place vertically on the right to give my rock structure good height. All the pieces are gnarled shapes and filled with nooks and crannies. I can't believe the amount of life I'm seeing. Everything survived the plane ride. I didn't find one dead critter in the bottom of the box which probably has everything to do with how well it was packed and how quickly you got it here.

Thanks again,

Jason

And from Raleigh North Carolina....this week...snow and all!
 

Richard,
I got the package from Southwest, no problems!!! Just got the sand and rock in the tank and can’t wait until it clears up enough that I can start to arrange it. The pieces of rock are gorgeous and the shapes you sent are going to make a beautiful arrangement.

I am beyond well pleased and my family and I really enjoyed the un-packaging. Thank you so much! It was like Christmas in February!

Thank you,
Colen

From this week..customer in the outback of Oklahoma!
 

Richard,
When we were putting live rock in our tank we found a brittle star! Tonight while watching TV we saw something swimming around!!!!! I got the camera and video camera out and it is either some type of Hawkfish. We are almost sure or b we are a blenny. I have some people IDing for me online and will try and get a good still image of it tomorrow when lights are on. We’ve never seen on like him in a LFS but thats not saying much….
I’ll keep you updated.

And from Little Rock this week
 

The packages arrived in great condition. So far the ammonia has not gone over .25, in fact it is very close to 0 still, after almost 24 hours in the tank. This is the best base rock ever! I once got what Live Aquaria called premium live rock, their best. It smelled really rank upon arrival and was still cycling a month later. This is a real treat to get a new tank started with quality live rock. When I opened the bags it smelled just like the ocean. I am from Florida and miss that smell so much! How pleasant to have a bit of ocean in the Ozarks!

I found only one gorilla crab and removed him. I absolutely love the hermit crab you included! There are a couple mithrax crabs and a decorator crab and a curlycue anemone. Lots of feather dusters!

Now to business! My tank is a 40 gallon breeder tank with a the largest size backpack CPR refugium, which I think is about 4 gallon capacity. So I really have 44 gallons. I ordered the 30 gallon package because of budget restrictions but I really think I want to get the amount of rock I need to do the reef the best I can. Since I last talked to you about the order and my budget, I have been notified that I had a substantial rewards balance from a credit card and it has been credited back to the account. That allows me enough on the card to cover the extra rock. However, I would like to get it all together in the final shipment.

I also want to know if it is possible to send a few pieces small enough for the refugium that have some macroalgae on them.

Also, my LED lighting is made for reef tanks and will support anemones and most corals. I have a separate lighting system that is made by CPR for the refugium as well. I think anything on the rocks will do well. This is not my first reef tank but very well be my best, with all the life in your awesome package. My last tank was a 28 gallon nano cube, so the 40 gallon breeder tank feels like double the space, because it is not so deep but lots of floor space. That's why I want to upgrade my package.

I also wanted to ask if it is possible to make a request, kind of like some folks do with a wish list. I really love gorgonians and had wanted a rock flower anemone but hesitated in my other tank because of tight space. I can have one in this reef! I am sure I will be delighted with whatever you include though. Please let me know how much it will cost to include the extra 20 pounds of rock and the rest of what comes with the 40 gallon package. I paid for the 30 gallon package.