to cure or not to cure?

[cobalt0627]

Do I really need to cure my dry rock or will the cycling process take care of all the stuff on the rock?

 

[Sniperhank]

Some recommend a curing process to ensure that your rocks won't leach any phosphate into the water column.

 

[cobalt0627]

yeah but don't you need something to get the cycle started anyway?

 

[Sniperhank]

That isn't what will start the cycle as it isn't an ammonia source.

 

[54seaweed]

Do I really need to cure my dry rock or will the cycling process take care of all the stuff on the rock?

is your dry rock really dry rock ? or is it live rock that was dried out ? I ask because you said will it take care of the stuff on the rock ,

Dry rock should be rinsed to remove any loose dust and bugs ,

now dry live rock I would scrub off any crud on all the live rock , this will help remove most of the crud along with any other stuff .

once you do the above with which ever you have you can add it to your tank,

There are 2 ways you can start your cycle .

1.) now you start your cycle , you will need straight clear liquid ammonia with no
perfumes or additives , (No other type of ammonia will work) you would need to dose to 4 ppm ammonia

2.) another way you can start your cycle is to use a deli shrimp that you can place in a clean but old lady s stocking to keep the decomposing shrimp from going all over the tank and it makes for easy removal once you reach 4ppm the shrimp is your ammonia source .

this link should help with most of your unanswered questions about cycling

Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice

 

[cobalt0627]

Hey 54seaweed thanks for the reply, I have pukani dry live rock, and reef saver dry live rock. I have already gone though and scrubbed everything I can get off the rock. so I can just throw it in and let it start cycling? Don't need to "cure" or anything? And should I put the rock in first, or sand then rock?

 

[54seaweed]

I always recommend putting rock on glass to keep any diggers to burrow under causing a rock slide , some actually use the egg crate light defuser on the bottom to keep rocks from cracking the glass , if you add sand before you fill use several plates to prevent sand from being stirred up. you may still encounter a sand cloud but it should clear rather fast ,

 

[cobalt0627]

I'm about to start curing my pukani dry rock, it seams like a waste of salt could I just use rodi or distilled water?

 

[Sniperhank]

You want to build up a bacteria base for a saltwater tank, not freshwater. They aren't one in the same.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice