Quick help? Adding Live rock
- Thread starter dartman
- Start date
27mtaylor
Member
Has your tank already cycled? Do you have fish in it? If you are going to use the LR to cycle your tank then all you need to do is give it a rinse in some saltwater (to rinse off anything that might cloud the water) and then add it to your tank. If you already have fish and such in your tank, then you will want to cure the rock.
oceana
Active Member
Originally Posted by dartman
I just got my Live Rock in the mail minutes ago. It's wrapped in wet newspaper and cardboard. Can I put in directly in my tank? Do I need to wash it? Also Getting live sand later today from UPS? Help please... Dartman
well if there is nothing in your tank i would do the following.
take a big bucket filled with salt water.
take each rock and shake the crap out of it just to get off all the loose dead crap
then go ahead and place it in your tank.
if your tank is already stocked. then i would do the following.
I would still do the bucket rinse and shake but i would put it in a large rubbermaid of some sort and cure it for a week or more to limit the die off in the tank
I just got my Live Rock in the mail minutes ago. It's wrapped in wet newspaper and cardboard. Can I put in directly in my tank? Do I need to wash it? Also Getting live sand later today from UPS? Help please... Dartman
well if there is nothing in your tank i would do the following.
take a big bucket filled with salt water.
take each rock and shake the crap out of it just to get off all the loose dead crap
then go ahead and place it in your tank.
if your tank is already stocked. then i would do the following.
I would still do the bucket rinse and shake but i would put it in a large rubbermaid of some sort and cure it for a week or more to limit the die off in the tank
danedodger
Member
There will be die-off, which is natural after being shipped, which can cause an ammonia spike if you put it directly in your tank! Do you have any critters at all or other liverock in your tank already? If no you can probably put the liverock directly in your tank and use it to start your cycle. If yes you'll need to cure the liverock before putting it in the tank.
ETA: Ah, others have already beaten me to the answer
In that case, yeah, I agree with what they said!
ETA: Ah, others have already beaten me to the answer
danedodger
Member
Liverock is called live because it has living things in and on it. When it's shipped to you they usually ship it in wet newspaper like yours was. During shipping some of the living things are not going to make it and die. If you put this liverock into your tank without curing it first the dead things degrading is what cause the ammonia spike. Since you don't have any living creatures in your tank already that's ok but once you do get fish and whatnot in there after the tank cycles you won't want to put more liverock directly in the tank because the ammonia going up can harm or kill your fish so you "cure" it first.
Basically curing liverock means putting the rock into a large container of some kind, covering it with saltwater mixed just like you'd put into your tank, scrubbing it often to remove any of the dead things, and keeping a powerhead for water movement, heater, and thermometer in the container to keep the things still alive on the rock living. The rock is "cured" when there's no more dead things on it, it should smell like clean saltwater and not rotting something or the other icky, and is then safe to add to your tank.
Basically curing liverock means putting the rock into a large container of some kind, covering it with saltwater mixed just like you'd put into your tank, scrubbing it often to remove any of the dead things, and keeping a powerhead for water movement, heater, and thermometer in the container to keep the things still alive on the rock living. The rock is "cured" when there's no more dead things on it, it should smell like clean saltwater and not rotting something or the other icky, and is then safe to add to your tank.