I just read this today. An excerpt written by Mike Paletta:
"As mentioned above keeping nutrient levels low starts at the beginning, as it is easier to keep them low from the start than it is to reduce them once they have gotten high. This starts with the live rock. It should not be immediately added to the tank, unless the waste material it produces can be easily removed, as some of the live material that is on the surface and deep within the rock will die off as a result of the trauma of shipping. So the first step is to allow this rock to "cure" so that the dead material can be removed and the resultant rock will not foul the tank. To "cure" the rock, it should be placed in a container, either the tank to be used or even a clean garbage can, where aged clean saltwater of the desired salinity has been prepared. The entire container should not receive strong illumination during this period and the water should be agitated with a powerhead or two. In addition, any dead material that is found on the rock should be removed either with tweezers or by blowing water over it with the powerhead or a bulb baster. Please note that during this time the rock may have a slight or strong odor of decomposition depending on how cured it was when purchased and how much material was on it. After a couple of weeks in this container a 20% water change should be undertaken to remove the detritus that has settled on the bottom. Also at this time a test for both ammonia and nitrite should be undertaken. If everything is going right both of these tests should show only moderate to zero levels of these compounds and nitrate levels will be off the scale. Once these levels have dropped to zero, usually two to four weeks later, and there is no longer any decomposition on the rock it is safe to use the live rock. Keeping light levels low during this period, and removing detritus as it builds up should keep the development of micro algae on this live rock kept to a minimum. In addition, by keeping light levels low there will be some coralline algae development. This is important in that where coralline algae grow other algaes usually cannot gain a foothold. At this point a large water change should be done to reduce the nitrate levels. Also the denitrification and phosphate removing equipment or resin should be hooked up at this time."
A little long, but I hope that helps.
Cheers!
