TBS "The Package"

[Snarkys]

Looking at buying "The Package" from tampabay saltwater. guess i have a few questions about it though.

here is a chart of what they send you for the size of your tank and how much it costs.
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/package_chart.html

Guess i am wondering if i really need 180 LBS of rock for my 90 gal tank. ? Do i need 150 Blue Leg hermit crabs and 45 Turbo Snails? like wont there be crabs and snails like covering every inch of the tank ? Think the tank is 48"long x 24"deep x 18" wide.

Are they selling me the right amounts or just trying to sell as much of thier products as they can ?

 

[gbolton]

Their package is pretty well fitted for the tank sizes. 2lb of rock per gallon is perfect with their rock as it is pretty dense stuff.

 

[mogurnda]

There are several of us here who got the TBS "package," and I think we're all pretty satisfied. Although there do seem to be a lot of hermits, those guys and the big population of astrea snails are probably the main reason there isn't a huge algae bloom while the rock matures.

The rock isn't really curing in the tank, because there isn't that much die-off. But, in my tank at least, there was a prolonged period of high-ish nitrate (peaked at 80 within a few weeks, then hung on at 40 for a few months, then slowly down to about 1), which didn't harm any of the creatures in the tank, but probably would have fed a lot of hair algae without all the crabs and snails.

Once things settled down a little, I traded some of the hermits to the LFS and there has been some attrition, so the number in the tank is relatively normal now.

Have a look at my tank pics and cearbhaill's, and see if you think that's too much rock for the tank size. You can always buy a smaller package.