question about curing rock

[jen73]

Hello! I just ordered 100 lbs of live rock. It was fed-exed to me (4 day) This is the first rock that I have cured-kind of mysterious to me. Some of the rock I got has a bunch of clams on them. I am wondering how to tell if they are alive? How long do you recommend I cure it? It was pre-cured but some of the reading Ive been doing says to cure again regardless. Please dont laugh- Im still a newby! Any advice helpful!! Thanks!

 

[bergamer]

I just went through what your going through
bought 50lbs of cured walt smith live rock then had it fed ex'd to me
and it took about a 3 weeks to a month to cure
I placed the rock in a rubbermaid container and placed 3 airstones in it
I put enough water to just cover all the rocks
I was told by others that I should put a powerhead, but I didnt want to buy another one.
I didn't do any water changes
I let it sit with a lid on bc it began to stink
and then put in in my closet in my office
the ammonia readings were off the chart and my testing kits could not even read it, then all of a sudden the ammonia levels dropped like a rock and it seemed as though in 1 day it went from pure ammonia to perfect water

 

[bdhough]

Have you set your tank up yet? If you have no live stock in your tank just place the rock in your tank and turn on the mechanical filters and power heads and get the water stirring. Then just let it sit for a month till your cycle levels come down.

 

[bergamer]

i guess when ordering 100lbs of live rock, unless your tank is massive it is probably not set up yet. good call BD

 

[masala4080]

4 days is a long time. It probably caused a lot of die off. Like mentioned before, throw it in your tank. The big amount of die off will cause HUGE spikes, but its nothing to worry about. You will probably have to do a partial (10 to 20%) water change after there isno trace of ammonia or nitrites, just to take the nitrates down a little.

 

[jen73]

I bought the 100lbs of rock but a friend and I are splitting it. Im the lucky one whom volunteered to cure it though (lol). My tank is 55 gallon. I have a naso tang, a hawaiin puffer, 1 damsel, 3 curly q anenomes and some ricordea, star polyps, and a bunch of base rock. My tank has been set up over a year. I have the new live rock in a rubbermaid w/ water to cover it, 2 large airstones, and i put my skilter filter/ skimmer on the tub too. I did a 100% change after 2 days-it was so nasty! Ive been skimming and rinsing the filter everyday, and today,(its been 7 days) I did another 100% change--it is so stinky! I havent tested yet- I just figured it is way out of wack. So, how much of my 50Lbs would you put in the tank at one time after its cured?? What about the clam conglomoration on the rock? How do you tell if its alive??? If it died wouldnt it really foul my tank? Or would it be ok at the end of the curing process?? Wow-im confusing even myself---thanks everyone!!

 

[bdhough]

I would stop the changes. You are prolonging things. Just let it sit. It will work itself out over a couple weeks. I'm sure the smell sucks but it will go away. Just don't get impatient and place it in your main tank. If you want to be really cautious jsut smell the rock before placing it in your tank. No stink it should be good to go.

 

[nm reef]

Interesting stuff.....
I just did a google search for "curing LR" and found this real quick...
The Standard Method Used For Curing Live Rock
The method most often used for curing uncured live rock is to place it in a completely separate, unlit (to prevent algae bloom problems), heated , well filtered aquarium with powerheads and a protein skimmer for at least a month, but before doing so clean and prepare it by striping the rock of all organisms that are dead or dying off. Once the rock has cured, it can then placed into the intended aquarium for aquascaping aquascaping. For most hobbyists, this type of curing process may not be practical. For those on a tight budget or that don't have the extra room, it may not be feasible to have a complete separate tank running just for this purpose. However, you may be able to swing this type of set up using a suitable sized container such as a large plastic garbage can. And, course you do have the option of cycling uncured live rock directly in a newly set up tank, if need be. So how can you tell when the live rock is cured? Simple. When it doesn't smell anymore, and your water test results for ammonia and nitrite are normal again. This means zero readings on both.
I just wanted to toss out the above info to illistrate that a search on-line or here on the forums will provide a vast amount of information in regard to curing LR.....

 

[paulcoates]

A Naso in a 55 with 100 lbs of rock?
Yikes...
Naso's should be kept in at least a 125 gal.
a 55 with that much rock is like a 35-40 gal tank

 

[jen73]

my friend and i are splitting the 100lbs, so in my 55 will just be about 50lbs. I have been kind of looking for a larger tank. My naso is only about 2-3 inches right now