curing live rock - Page 2

I dont soak it in fresh water, just spray it real hard in the caves and small areas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW256S_SRT4 

But I do have live rock. You should see it!!! Nice bright purple and everything.

Did you fully cycle your tank after spraying the rock with the garden hose?

Flower is correct, you should not be spraying off your live rock with freshwater.

I just spayed all the crap off of it with the freshwater hose. I did cycle the tank. I let the tank cycle for a month. I know they say use saltwater but it wasnt going to hurt it that bad, and as I see it didnt. I did this with both of my tanks and one is almost 3 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW256S_SRT4 

I just spayed all the crap off of it with the freshwater hose. I did cycle the tank. I let the tank cycle for a month. I know they say use saltwater but it wasnt going to hurt it that bad, and as I see it didnt. I did this with both of my tanks and one is almost 3 years.

This is why you were fine. You started out with uncured LR and recured it during the cycle.

True,

I will never just add rock like that to a tank that has already cycled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW256S_SRT4 

I will never just add rock like that to a tank that has already cycled.

Ok, that's good.

I'm lucky, I can get fully cured LR from 4 or 5 different stores that are all decently priced and 5 minutes from my house, so I've never had to cure rock myself.

I wish, I had to order my uncured rock from online.  I have only have 1 store that is within 10 mins of me. The rest are abour a 45 min drive away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW256S_SRT4 

I wish, I had to order my uncured rock from online.  I have only have 1 store that is within 10 mins of me. The rest are abour a 45 min drive away.

It makes no sense to pay $10.00 or so a pound for live rock and wash it in freshwater, yes you hurt it that bad. You may have seeded your rock from the sand or something but you killed the rock with freshwater. If you had to cycle anyway why didn't you just put it in the uncycled tank? Dirty won’t hurt a thing.

I know it is live and learn, I think this is important enough for any other beginners to pay attention, I am not ragging at you. I'm very glad things worked out, but it did in spite of you doing a very stupid thing, I don't want to see any new beginner repeat it, they may not be as fortunate.

But im not a beginner, I have been doing this for almost 3 years. I have 2x 90gal tanks. Oh and I didnt pay 10.100 + for live rock. Only paid about 6.00 +.

3 years really isnt a long time in this hobby.the way to learn along the way is from mistakes.most people dont do research of things that might go wrong.we do it after it goes wrong.

I know but again why fix something if it isnt broken. If it works for me then im going to keep doing it. just MO

He really didn't do anything wrong.

Is washing your LR with freshwater the best idea? No. However, this "washed" rock was never put in a fully cycled tank. It was placed in a tank that was then cycled. IMO, no harm was done. If it had been placed in a tank that was done cycling, that would be a totally different story.

IMO, it's not the best method to get rid of unwanted hitchhikers, but it is effective none the less.

I have found the most effective methods to be:

1) place rock in a bucket of water with an extrememly high salinity. This usually causes the hitchhikers to come out. However, this method can also kill things and create dieoff, just less than using fresh water. But no method is without its faults.

2) Place rock on a ledge with a bucket under it. If the rock is out in the air for a few minutes, most hitchhikers, specifically the bad ones will usually crawl out of the rocks in search of water again. Again, 10 minutes isn't really going to harm your rock, but it too can create a tiny bit of die off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW256S_SRT4 

But im not a beginner, I have been doing this for almost 3 years. I have 2x 90gal tanks. Oh and I didnt pay 10.100 + for live rock. Only paid about 6.00 +.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deejeff442 

3 years really isnt a long time in this hobby.the way to learn along the way is from mistakes.most people dont do research of things that might go wrong.we do it after it goes wrong.

I don't think that you can base someone's knowledge or experience based on how many years they've been in the hobby. I've only been in the hobby for 3-4 years and I breed fish and clams with an extremely loyal following here in NY. Time has nothing to do with it.

LOL yes back to the OP.

thats more or less what i am saying.obviously someone who goes nuts and starts with a fowlr,reef,breeder etc. will learn more in a few years then someone like my friend who has a clownfish in a 20 gallon tank for ten years.although 3 years to most average hobbyists isnt very long.if someone just starts up a 90 gallon and doesnt do much with it he/she isnt going to learn much especially if they rely on their lfs.hell i have had tanks since i was 14 now i am 41 it is really nice for beginners to have these forums.i know i sure didnt .i still have my first 45 gallon tank i bought with my paper route.i still use it to mix my water.crazy how the years fly by.but you are right if someone does get obsessed and read everything they can get their hands on time makes no difference.in my day of learning it was all on the job training.