G.a.r.f. ??

Just wondering if anyone has bought stuff from this place , and if so ,how was it? Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Home Page
Thanks

 

oooh... i can sense the fights and fusses starting already... (that is, if 3reef is like almost all of the other forums)... anyway, i'm thinking about ordering from them as well, sounds like a good deal to me, from what i've seen, nothing to complain about, but a lot of people don't like them (the whole bandwagon thing, one "popular reefer" has a bad experience with them, and all the others who have never tried them, automatically hate them)... it sounds to me that GARF knows what they're doing, the prices aren't THAT bad.. and, to top it all off, it seems almost impossible to have "bad hitchhikers" since the rock is man-made, and the grunge used to seed the rock is from GARF's own aquariums... i don't think GARF mentions this, but i've heard that a lot of people actually have frags of corals come with the grunge, that grow into full-fledged propagatable corals! my suggestion, is that you should go for the "bullet proof reef" recipe, and keep us informed of how it actually goes! if i were to start up another aquarium, (which i may do in the next 2 or 3 years), i would definately consider the bullet proof! i mean, i want to do it, just to see exactly how good it turns out, but i've already got my aquarium, and no room for another.. so that's my excuse! oh yeah, and no money to start a new one...

 

Actually, fights on 3Reef are few and far between.


I have no problems with GARF whatsoever other than this (and I could care less what other people think of them). There is no such thing as a bulletproof reef. If there was, 3Reef wouldn't even exist. Let's think about this.

You have 2 125g tanks. One contains a 3 foot long snowflake moray eel with only only mushrooms and zooanthids. The other tank contains a relatively small bioload but is stacked from top to bottom with SPS corals, a couple clams, and maybe a few softies.

The calcium and alkalinity needs of the 2 tanks vary widely. The nitrate problems of the two tanks vary widely.

If you treated both of these tanks the same based on a "recipe" you are waiting for disaster. It's the "recipe" and word "bulletproof" that bother me about GARF and nothing else.

Test, test, test. Do regular water changes with a quality water source and a quality salt. NEVER overfeed (it's tempting but there are more problems other than nitrates). Maintain your tank well. Read 3Reef a lot. There are a lot of excellent articles and a lot of excellent posts.

 

+one

LeRoy has helped many newbs over the years with his info and methods they came up with at GARF.

 

I have ordered from them a number of times. It does take a bit to get in touch with them. Call them, leave a message they will call back. Email them, they will call you. Maybe not that day but definitely by week's end. Their GARF Grunge is some incredible stuff. Loaded with all sorts of worms, pods, you name it. I wouldn't use it as the top layer in the tank since some of the rumble can be rather dark but put it just below the top. They will give you 2 lbs free with any order or a free frag. LeRoy's wife is suffering from some nerve disease I think & she's there when she can - I give her a lot of credit.

 

It seemed to Last month or so last I spoke to Le'Roy I was told they are in the process of moving and at that time had limited availability of many types of corals . I may have misunderstood him but he had none of their usual bread and butter corals and stuff. Maybe you know

 

Well so far the reveiws look good, Thanks
Just trying to get my ducks in a row on this new setup.
I was planning to get some of that grunge just for the sump/refugium ,after I make the thing. Got the tank Two weeks now and don,t even have water in it yet. Is this what Matt Rodgers means by go slow? lol
Thanks again

 

Well, hate to break up the consensus here, but here's my less-then stellar review:
I got their whole boat-load-of corals deal for 100$ (I think). They give you a wide selection, which is nice, but two of them were gorgonians which have struggled to say the least in my relatively new tank (one recovered from shipping damage only to wither and die, but the other is spreading to my rock which is nice). I had to I.D. the coral myself, as no sheet or anything was given. I sent them one email asking them for the names of the coral and any special care issues but I got no response.
I do know that they are hard to get a hold of, and that Sally Jo was suffering from some sort of medical problem, so maybe that was why the didn't get in contact with me. Also, the corals that did die probably did so because of my own lack of knowledge, but knowing what kind they were would've helped.
The corals that survived are very nice; my metallic polyp is spreading over my rocks like wildfire. I've also had good experience with their GARF grunge and clean up crew. Their prices can't be beat.
All that said, my advice would be to know what you are purchasing and how to take care of it (i.e, buy single coral rather than in bulk as I did), since they are not always available to answer those questions.

 

Well if its old sand and rock with ever bug under gods deep ocean in it just about I have several tons of it if anyone ever needs it or has a problem getting it from anywhere .. Systems are 12 to 16yrs old and full of everything.. We have been thinking about replaci ng about all of the old media this summer with new stuff . So we have as I said tons of it..

 

well there ya go! plenty of replies without "YOURE STUPID IF YOU ORDER FROM GARF!!!" hehehe... i guess my only complaint would be the website design... seeing the same stuff about 3 or 4 times on each page.. but, me and another member of 3reef (you know who i'm talking about), has already talked about it, and i understand... old folks doing their own stuff... but all in all, sounds good to me!