curing live rock

hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Okay so I understand that all rock has to be cured to deal with die off. However, if I get precured live rock from my LFS and take it in water to my new tank with no inhabitants yet, can I just deal with the die off cycling in the new water? That would allow it to cycle by itself without letting it sit in buckets right?
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Aztec Reef
http:///forum/post/2623294
If you have no inhabitants then just get the rock put it in tank and cycle both..
Right, if you have no other live stock in your tank then the rock will cycle the tank for you. Sometimes rock is sold as cured", even by the LFS and it is not completely cured. Be sure to watch your ammonia. Keeping it below 1ppm will save the life on the rocks.
 
nycustomsumps

nycustomsumps

Member
you may not want to add your substrate until after the rock fully cures.
nutriants from the curing rock will stay in the substrate and cause algae blooms later.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
so the plan would be, move the tank into the house, put the rocks where you want them. wait for levels in the tank to stabilize, then add sand or cc or whatever you will use and maybe a little LS to seed it and wait again for the levels to stabilize, add plants and then start your cuc a few weeks later to get everything going??
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
so the plan would be.... move the tank into the house, put the rocks where you want them. wait for levels in the tank to stabilize, then add sand or cc or whatever you will use and maybe a little LS to seed it and wait again for the levels to stabilize, add plants and then start your cuc a few weeks later to get everything going??
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by hlcroghan
http:///forum/post/2624527
so the plan would be, move the tank into the house, put the rocks where you want them. wait for levels in the tank to stabilize, then add sand or cc or whatever you will use and maybe a little LS to seed it and wait again for the levels to stabilize, add plants and then start your cuc a few weeks later to get everything going??
What plants do you plan to add? Are you planning on a refugium?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
I disagree with putting all the rock in and waiting on the cycle to finish and to stablize before adding the sand. to me this is a waste.
when you add the sand your going to get a sand storm in the tank.
I would add the rock then the sand so that the rock has a good foot hold on the bottom glass and make things more stable. but waiting for it to become stable just to imbalance it again doesnt register with me LOL
you can use the FW tank as long as you have treated it with ich meds. those will stay in the sealant for some time and could cause problems. I would look into cheato as a macro algae. stay away from caluperas as they can go se-xual and cause massive pollutants to be released back into the tank.
HTH
Mike
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
not nessecarily recycle but it will throw the tank into turmoul again and you would have to wait on the sand to settle after you wait a few weeks for it to cycle. I for one rather do it all at once so that its down all at once.
Mike
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Somehow I missed the part about not adding the sand until after the rock cycles. YES add the sand around the rock. The bottom layer of rock goes on the glass. Test the ammonia of your rock and keep it below 1ppm, to preserve the life on it. Mix up water for changes if needed.
 
th3third

th3third

Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2626408
Somehow I missed the part about not adding the sand until after the rock cycles. YES add the sand around the rock. The bottom layer of rock goes on the glass. Test the ammonia of your rock and keep it below 1ppm, to preserve the life on it. Mix up water for changes if needed.
Will water changes prolong the curing process of the rock?
Will adding regular sand as a bottom layer be ok until the rock cycles....and adding LS after be an ok route as well?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
doing water changes when it gets over 1ppm might make it take a couple more days to cycle but you will save more of the micro fauna than if you didnt do them.
The sand thing is fine. I usually dont add any live sand to my tank unless I can get some from freinds tanks. the critters in the live rock will migrate down into the sand making it live sand. but to answer your question yes you can add live sand then after the cycle is complete add the live on top of that without a problem. You might have a little sand storm in there for a couple days but it wont hurt anything.
Mike
 
nycustomsumps

nycustomsumps

Member
i would NOT add the sand to the tank your curing the liverock in , sand dissolves over time and it also absorbs nutrients. if you add sand to the tank your curing the rock in it will absorb the released nutrients from the curing rock and then as the sand dissolves it will release nutrients back into the tank.
i would not add the sand until the rock is fully cured.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
this is such a simple question....lol. i didn't know there would be a debate when i asked. first, i am in no hurry to have things cycle faster so if it is more beneficial to wait to put the sand in then i will wait. i don't care if there is a ton of sand floating around for a while. there won't be anything in there for weeks before that. i don't think i will put the first plants in there for the first two. so sepulation, i notice in this forum most people really respect your opinion, i am asking you, based on my personal info, which direction would you go? put the rock in first and wait out the cycle or all together to speed the results? this tank will be a fowlr.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by hlcroghan
http:///forum/post/2627130
this is such a simple question....lol. i didn't know there would be a debate when i asked. first, i am in no hurry to have things cycle faster so if it is more beneficial to wait to put the sand in then i will wait. i don't care if there is a ton of sand floating around for a while. there won't be anything in there for weeks before that. i don't think i will put the first plants in there for the first two. so sepulation, i notice in this forum most people really respect your opinion, i am asking you, based on my personal info, which direction would you go? put the rock in first and wait out the cycle or all together to speed the results? this tank will be a fowlr.
I would personally add the sand around the base of the rock. I have done it that way, as have most people on this board. This is the first that I have heard anyone recommend not adding the sand until after the cycle. It really would not harm anything if you did want to wait though. You will just have to let it settle then and the sand would not have biological bacteria colonized on it. You can wait to add the live after the tank is cycled. If you are buying live sand that is dry in the bag, it is not true live sand. It is aragonite with some nutrient solution and bacteria cultures. It does not contain creatures or anything else that is truly alive. It will not be harmed by the cycle. I would, however, keep the ammonia below 1ppm. As mentioned, keeping the ammonia low will save the life on your rock. That life will then migrate into the sand and make it live.
 
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