Curing Live Rock

[sorcha]

Ok, we finally got our 92 gallon corner tank. In order to save some money, we ordered 100 lbs. of LR from Haiti ($4/lb + free shipping). The rock is really nice looking, lots of places for fish to hide and layer corals later on. Of course the deal is that the rock was not cured yet. We figured that was ok since the tank is brand new, we would just take our time with it.
Scrubbed the rock, rinsed well in Salt and Distilled water. Pulled off as much stuff as we could that looked like it suffered too much in the transition. There were some leathers on there (don't know what kind, reds and oranges) that didn't look great, but sure didn't want to scrub or be pulled off either.
Two days after putting in the tank, there is a bizarre white stuff covering what was left of the leathers. It's taking on some odd textures and if the filter is turned off, a whispy white sort of "smoke" starts to rise from it.
Oh yeah, did I mention the STENCH?? OMG, the house stinks, I'll be very glad when the die-off is over. That's normal?? BTW - lights are off (except for the pix) filters & sump are running, will change out more water this weekend,...windows are open! LOL
Please excuse the focus, camera is not the best at close ups.
Any input is greatly appreciated!! :help:

 

[fishieness]

lol, the stench is normal esspecialy if you cycle with LR that is completly uncured.
the white stuff is proabably spounge that is covering the leather or whatever as it dies.
The smoke is probably sperm being released for propogation. You probably didnt notice it if the filter is on because it jsut whisks it all away.

 

[sorcha]

Um...ew? Ok, obviously I'm pretty new at this, so my first reaction to sperm in my tank isn't to jump for joy. Especially with my husband out of town! LOL
Not to be dense, but spounge? Propogating? Do we actually want this to happen? I know, I know...duh. Don't get me wrong, we were hoping for some cool stuff on the rock to survive and not too many nasties. There is a very cool looking mollusk on one of them that's opened up.
My instincts are to pull the rock and scrub the crap out of it again to get this stuff off. But you don't sound too concerned, so I should leave it be?
And BTW - any ideas on how long the die-off will take? It's still 35-40 degrees in NJ, a bit much on the heating bill with cracked windows!
And thanks so much for such a quick response!

 

[fishieness]

what i wouldnt give for a 40 degree day in CT.....Right now you guys are getting winds form the tropics.... we are getting winds form canada........
and no, the spounges wont do anything but absorb nutrients and take them in. It will help your cycle not peak as high will will let a wider variety of species survive. If you would like, you can remove them, but it is not realy necessary. But once again, that is jsut a guess as to what it is. once the tank cycles, and your nutrients levels are lower, your spounge will disapear.
and oh yeah: having your heater off will jsut prolonge the cycle because there is a lot of stuff that will die from the cold temperatures because they are used to the warmer regions. As far as how long it will take with the heater, i cannot say for sure. there are wayyy too many factors to even estimate. but most last between 3-6 weeks.

 

[sorcha]

We're using lots of Nutriwater Sea Water with the distilled water, so we're hoping this will speed up the cycle. The heater is definitely on and the rock looks more interesting each day.
So we'll keep the windows cracked and the candles lit. But I gotta tell you, Yankee Candles and Rot are not a pleasant combination. Better than just plain old rot though!
Wish I had my son's stuffy nose!