LR: Cured or UnCured?

[tyrfing]

Just wondering what different people's opinions are. I'm planning on adding another 40 lbs of LR to my tank. I understand the process to prepping both cured and uncured LR, my question is, which do most prefer?
Wouldn't it seem like uncured LR would have the most biological diversity and therefore be more preferred?

 

[tucker3940]

You are right about the biodiversity, but if you add 40 lbs uncured it may cause an ammonia spike from the die-off.

 

[slick]

I like uncured myself. I have 90lbs of it in my tank. I used it to cycle my tank. I have never used cured though so my opinion could be one sided.

 

[surfnturf]

You'll be happier if you go with the uncured LR, but I would cure it in a rubbermaid container or something before adding it to the tank if the tank is already established. The uncured LR is quite a bit cheaper and definitely looks better initially.

 

[benj420]

surfnturf,
What all do you need to cure LR? Obviously the Rubbermaid Container, salt water......
Does the water need to move? Filter? Light? Water Changes? Standard salinity?

 

[surfnturf]

You do need to maintain water movement in the curing container. Salinity should be the same as the display, I would go easy on the light, at least for the first week. It is also recommended that you use a skimmer on the container or at least do 10 percent water changes if the ammonia or nitrite get too high, remember you want to preserve as much life as possible on the rock so don't let your levels get extremely high. Good Luck and post some pics when you get it all set up!

 

[nacl-h2o]

Uncured is deffinatly better when it comes to diversity. I prefer it. Just follow above instructions.

 

[richard rendos]

How is uncured better for diversity? If the diversity dies off while you are curing it, you are back to the same rock as if you bought cured in the first place. I am not seeing the logic behind that at all.
Please explain...1) where does the diversity go after curing it?
2) don't the same things die off whether you cure it yourself or buy it already cured?
The only advantage I see to uncured is that it is usually cheaper. But if you have to go buy a container to cure it in, and additional salt water for the LR, and a power head to circulate water, aren't you back to the same money again?
I say find good cured rock.

 

[nacl-h2o]

If you control how high the NH3 and NO2 go, you can prevent killing things that would not survive their curing process and end up with better diversity. Your right however, the cost is simular depending on how much rock you cure, but it's not about it being cheaper it's about the extras.

 

[surfnturf]

There is also the fact that when you mail order "cured" LR it has gone through a die off period before it left the distributor, then it goes through another die off period when you get it. It only makes sense that you will lose more of the total population of the rock going through 2 die off periods than 1. This is actually an understatement, since it most likely went through a die off before the distributor you bought it from received it, the more times you acutely poison the life on the rock the less desirable life you will have in the end. Does that make sense to anyone else?

 

[legion]

Bought both and am much happier with the uncured. I got alot of feather dusters, zoanthids and many other creatures from my cured liverock and mainly just coralline and a few others on my cured.

 

[hnf2k]

uncured may cycle your tank again. and you may also get a mantis shrimp if it is uncured. if you do get a mantis shrimp i would like it.