Ready to Begin...again (LR question)

bheron

bheron

Member
Please read my detailed summation below first (from reading all the posts, I figured its a good way to get the right answers).
My first question is around LR. I've read all over the differences between cured and uncured, the most obvious being price.
- Which is better to start off a new tank with? What are your experiences?
- Which is easier to start off a new tank with?
- Which is safer?
- Which will help promote the best long term success?
I've also seen differences in price online referring to quality, etc, of LR. Any feedback on that? I am ready to just purchase it (@100lbs for my 75 gal) right here a SWF.com.
 
bheron

bheron

Member
Not sure if my long signature worked or not - so much for my bright idea. Anyhoo, here's what should be there....
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OK, here's where I am:
Getting ready to start over after a modestly successful 1st-year, 75gal FOWLR tank! (Let me say without this site I would’ve given up months ago)
Current situation:
With three fish still going strong (2 original damsels, 1 cinnamon clown) I decided a few months ago to start over - predicated by a water quality problem.
My Plan:
I've spent the past 6 weeks researching this site and scripting out my plan in great detail. I’ve read The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. I've been a "lurker" these past few weeks gathering as much knowledge before jumping back in.
I'd like to have a FOWLR with some simple, hardy inverts. So not a true FOWLR but also not a complex, full blown Reef System. I've read this is possible.
My plan is to quarantine the three fish (would like to move Clown into new tank eventually), get rid of the CC, empty the tank, remove bio balls, get a protein skimmer, get Southdown and LS, get 100lbs LR, upgrade my lighting to 300W, and buy an RO/DI to start.
So now I feel I’m ready but still have a few open questions. Rather than post them all at once, I'll start from the beginning and hit them in a logical order.
Any help is appreciated (altho I've gotten so much from this site than I’d ever expect from any one resource)
 
stumpdog

stumpdog

Member
If you are going to be setting up your tank then I would go with uncured live rock. It is cheaper and it will help kick start your cycle. The only real difference between cured and uncured is the die off on the rock. If the tank was already established then I would use cured rock. HTH.
Jeremy
PS: Are you discarding all of your old water?
 
bheron

bheron

Member
I am discaring all old water - has traces of copper in it from my tap water top-offs (I know!).
I've read that uncured helps the cycle process but have also heard that buying cured rock is much better - maybe thats just for established systems so you dont shock the bioload. I just want to make sure I dont create mayhem from the dieoff from 100lbs of LR into a new tankful of water.
 
tlk

tlk

Member
do you have a glass or acrylic tank? I read somewhere here that copper may not be entirely eliminated in an acrlyic tank (I think). You may not be able to keep inverts even with small traces of copper. Just read about it a little more.
What are you plans for the fish that you currently have? Will you keep them in a qt tank (or some other holding tank) while your new setup cycles?
For a brand new tank, I would go with uncured lr.
 
john reed

john reed

Member
bheron,
Just like Stumpdog said start you tank off with the uncured live rock. Once your tank is established and you want to add more live rock then go with the cured.
 
bheron

bheron

Member
Excellent. Thanks. Sounds like the uncured is the way to go.
My tank is glass. I posted a "Calling All Copper Expers" thread a couple of months ago about how to rid my tank of the copper (it was a pretty small amount measureable). The feedback was enough to make me realize I had to empty the tank, clean it out, and never use the same LR again. I've heard about the acrylic and even one person say they thought the copper could become embedded in the silicone around the joints. Not sure about that but I may reseal the tank with new silicone before starting again. I am also going to use the same sump, powerheads, overflow, and heater. I only hope to clean them enough to get rid of the copper - just didnt want to completely get rid of my entire setup. Who knows, it could come back to bite me!
 
bheron

bheron

Member
Will do tlk.
My copper, actually, came from using tap water for my top offs for the first few months before I discovered RODI and this site! I even used a water conditioner from my LFS with the tap water top offs. Wow, what a lesson learned about water quality 101!
 
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