Sweet! What are the plans for the new LR?
It's for the 40g. I was going to get some from someone leaving the hobby, but the amount/types of algae and aptasia made me nervous. I've purchased rock from LiveAquaria before, and it's always had nice shape to it and smelled fresh, so I went with them again.
They describe the process on their website:
"Drs. Foster & Smith's Select Fiji Premium rock is the highest grade of Fiji rock available. We are able to provide the freshest and most colorful live rock available anywhere, because this rock is flown in directly from Fiji on a weekly basis. Be warned, you may find cheaper sources for Fiji Premium rock elsewhere, but the rock is cheap for a reason because its been in a shipping container for three to six weeks! We call this cheaper Fiji rock
Boat Rock because the rock is placed in cargo containers on a ship which sails out of the port of Suva in Fiji and arrives in the United States three to six weeks later!
We start by Flying in our Select Fiji Premium Live rock weekly, and deal with one of the best collectors in Fiji, who grades the rock based on shape and coralline algae coverage. Once the rock is picked up from the airport in Los Angeles California we then unpack each and every piece of Drs. Foster & Smith's Select Fiji Premium Rock and sort the rock again. Each piece is then hand picked by our experienced packaging crew based on the overall appearance and coralline algae coverage. The rock is then re-hydrated in fresh synthetic seawater, and carefully packaged in an insulated shipping box."
) and might give this a shot. I've always bought from other reefers in the past but had the same issues you were trying to avoid. 