my LR is on the way - what should i do to prepare?

[guitarded]

my LR is on the way. i will be adding to a new tank so i will cure in the tank. i could use advice with what i should do to prepare.
water chemistry, temperature, cleaning the rocks, water flow, aquascaping, etc...

 

[pontius]

a new, uncycled tank with no fish in it? if so, I'd say have the ph at 8.3, the temp around 80, and SG at 1.024. other than that, I wouldn't do anything special because you're probably going to have some die off from the rock and the ammonia will spike.

 

[dvs]

Also, get as much die-off off of the rock before you add them. Itll help cut your cycle time down a bit.
:happy:
Good luck!

 

[guitarded]

i have read that some people remove the die off with a toothbrush. after brushing off the rock and rinsing in salt water, i guess i can just place it in the tank, right? from what i understand i should be prepared for a "stench" for a week or two.

 

[dvs]

Stench, lol. thats putting it nicely. Whacha got for equipment?

 

[guitarded]

i've got a wet/dry without bio-balls that i use as a sump. no mechnical filtration. i also have an aquac ev-180 skimmer. the sump pump is a quiet one 4000 and i have 2ea maxi-jet 1200's and 2ea maxi-jet 900's (so i think i am moving the water around pretty well). will my equipment effect the amount of "stench" i get during the time the rock is curing? should i do real frequent water changes to keep the smell down?

 

[lion_crazz]

The equipment will help you determine how long the rock will take to cure. It will not smell that bad as long as you have a lid on your tank. Otherwise, it may smell pretty badly for about a week.

 

[bigarn]

Don't do any water changes until the cycle is finished. It'll just make the cycle period longer.

 

[lion_crazz]

Yeah, definitely don't do any water changes for a good 3 to 6 weeks.
Sorry, I forget to answer that question!

 

[guitarded]

to save the us from the "smell", i have decided to cure the LR in a 50 gal container first until the smell goes away. i will have a mag 5 moving the water. since our air temp here is almost always around 80 degrees i will not need a heater. however, i will check temp with a thermometer just in case it gets too high. after the smell goes away, i will then transfer the LR to the tank to begin the cycle. we are having a bunch of friends and family staying at our house for new years eve and new years so we need to spare them the smell.
in light of this, do you have any further suggestions.

 

[lion_crazz]

Keep it in the drum until the party is over. However, I would put it in the tank after that to get your cycle started. Cured live rock will not start a cycle. If you put cured live rock into an uncycled tank, you will need to go and get some cocktail shrimp or bacteria to start up your cycle. Either way will work, but I just figured that you can kill two birds with one stone by curing it in the uncycled tank (which will cycle the tank, as well).

 

[guitarded]

sounds like great advice. i will keep the rock in the 50gal tub until after the new years party then transfer to the tank. hopefully, some of the rot will be left behind in the tub water. the rock should be new enough to start my cycle. if the rock arrives today, as i anticipate, i will spend 3 days in the tub. they are sending it out this morning by air cargo so i should be able to pick it this afternoon. i will be monitoring this thread until then so if you folks have any more advice, please feel free to chime in.