FAQ Purchasing Live Rock

f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
If im getting rock to cycle my new 40 gallon breeder (36"x18"x16") should I buy cured or uncured rock? I read what you said, but is there anything different I have to do whether or not I get cured or uncured rock to cycle the tank? It's going to be the first thing in there. Could you just tell me the procedure for cured vs uncured rock when cycling the tank with it. Thanks :happy:
 
hispaniola

hispaniola

Member
Consider the following scenario.
-New 75gal tank
-Filled with saltwater (instant ocean mixed with bottled water)
-Sand
-No sump or trickle down
-3 Maxi-Jet 1200's
-100 lbs. of cured live rock placed inside the tank
Ok, when do I start the skimmer? Do I have to wait for something before I start it? When do I add the clean-up crew (snails, hermit crabs, etc.)?
Thanks.
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
BTW my tank is going to have 3 powerheads totalling to 690 gph so could I just point them toward the live rock to "blow-off" the die-off?
 
hispaniola

hispaniola

Member
Hey F1shman. I started with a 20gal in Feb. to see if saltwater was for me and after just one apocalypsis (it was completely my fault/mistake) I have to say that I am hooked. I must say that controlling nitrate levels in a 20gal. tank is very difficult. That's why I purchased the 75gal. and decided to make it a reef tank. The extra volume of water will be more forgiving but that doesn't mean you don't have to run a tight "tank".
I live in the Caribbean and finding live rock and curing it shouldn't be a difficult task. A few hobbyists here do it and they have very beautiful well-kept tanks. Anyhow, I am just not sure when the protein skimmer shoud kick-start into action. I hope someone "clears" that up for me :D .
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
There was another thread about that, and most people said that you turn it off right when all your level are at 0. (after the cycle) Ya I have a 75 gallon fish only tank, very easy to take care of, had for over 2 years now.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Hi guys. Make sure you buy uncured rock if you are going to use it to cycle your tank. You need the dead stuff on the rock to feed the growing bacteria population (the good stuff) that appears during your cycle.
Also, you can have a skimmer running or not during your cycle as it really isn't going to affect much. I personally didnt even buy a skimmer until after my cycle though.
Hispaniola,
You need to let your tank cycle now. It is going to take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month from when you started the tank. Your nitrites and ammonia levels are going to get really high, then slowly taper back down to zero. When they both reach zero, then you do a 10-20% water change and you are ready to add your snails and hermit crabs.
F1shMan,
For a 40 gallon tank you will need a total of 800 to 1,000 gallons per hour flowing through your tank. Make sure you buy some more powerheads or hang on the back power filters to achieve this flow rate. If you do not you may eventually have bad water parameters due to the live rock not getting the flow it needs to properly act as a filter.
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
My powerheads and protein skimmer return is around 800 gph combined and I might add a sump later, so I left a few hundred gph for that.
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
I just got all the stuff (dry materials) for my tank today, I'm so excited!!! I was planning on ordering live rock online because its so cheap, but around me livesand is cheaper at my LFS then it is online. I was planning on going and getting the water (from my LFS, they mix it new, not like its from their tanks) and while I was there buying some livesand. Would it be okay if I added the livesand and the water, and then ordered the live rock today and added that in about two days? And are you sure about the getting uncured rock.. cause when you buy it cured, it will have some die-off which would start the cycle, ehh i dunno lol
 
hispaniola

hispaniola

Member
Thanks Mud.
Please help me understand a few things.
I am going to dive to get the rocks from shallow water (30ft or less). I will use the rocks to cycle the tank. So should I cure the rocks or not? Should I cure most of the rocks and leave some uncured? If I leave some uncured, won't I have a potential risk of introducing some bad boys in the tank? Please help me understand that part.
By the by, can I use sea water stored in 5gal water bottles to cure the rocks?
Oh, and one last question - will 3 Maxi-Jet 1200's provide enough water movement for my 75gal. tank with approx. 100lbs. of rocks?
Thank you.
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
No I don't think it would be enough, I checked at each one does 295 gph, x 3 = 885 GPH and for all corals and a good turnover rate for a 75 gallon, you would need 1500 GPH
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
ya people say 10x-20x or 20x-30x. so obviously every one agrees on 20x
ya thats the nice thing about having my 40 lol, only need 3 powerheads and the protein skimmer return (which isnt much)
 
hispaniola

hispaniola

Member
So if I add the flow rate of an AquaC Remora Pro (375gph) I should be pretty much there, right? I wanted to get the smaller AquaC but the specs say that it's for tanks up to 75gal...I'm glad that at least I do not have to buy live rock hehehe :D
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
Originally Posted by F1shMan
I just got all the stuff (dry materials) for my tank today, I'm so excited!!! I was planning on ordering live rock online because its so cheap, but around me livesand is cheaper at my LFS then it is online. I was planning on going and getting the water (from my LFS, they mix it new, not like its from their tanks) and while I was there buying some livesand. Would it be okay if I added the livesand and the water, and then ordered the live rock today and added that in about two days? And are you sure about the getting uncured rock.. cause when you buy it cured, it will have some die-off which would start the cycle, ehh i dunno lol
That sounds fine. I personally think either cured or uncured rock is fine. If you don't see an initial ammonia spike (buy your test kit at the same time as the rock if you don't have one yet) then you can always add a raw shrimp to the tank until the ammonia spikes. Get rock you like the look of, and has the critters you want, don't worry about cured/uncured for your cycle.
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
Originally Posted by Hispaniola
I am going to dive to get the rocks from shallow water (30ft or less). I will use the rocks to cycle the tank. So should I cure the rocks or not? Should I cure most of the rocks and leave some uncured? If I leave some uncured, won't I have a potential risk of introducing some bad boys in the tank? Please help me understand that part.
By the by, can I use sea water stored in 5gal water bottles to cure the rocks?
Oh, and one last question - will 3 Maxi-Jet 1200's provide enough water movement for my 75gal. tank with approx. 100lbs. of rocks?
Thank you.
If you take it straight home from the ocean in buckets, and don't expose the sponges to air, it's just like having cured rock. Curing does not remove undesireable hitchhikers. For that you need either a hyposaline or hypersaline bath. The critters will get uncomfortable and come out into the bucket.
If you have a source of clean seawater, that's great. Most american shores are too polluted, so clean seawater has to be gathered on a boat at sea.
I'm not sure about the powerheads. What's the GPH rating on them? You want 750-1500 GPH total.
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
Originally Posted by F1shMan
ya people say 10x-20x or 20x-30x. so obviously every one agrees on 20x
ya thats the nice thing about having my 40 lol, only need 3 powerheads and the protein skimmer return (which isnt much)
It really depends on what you're keeping. Softies like slower flow, SPS corals like the higher flow.
 
airforceb2

airforceb2

Active Member
Originally Posted by Hispaniola
I am going to dive to get the rocks from shallow water (30ft or less). I will use the rocks to cycle the tank.
Keep in mind local laws may prohibit removing anything from the ocean. Also, you may get a lot of chemicals in your tank from the rock. Oil and other pollutants gather near the shore and once placed in a controlled envoronment (your tank) may get out of hand.
 
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