rock curing

[stratmaster]

Quick question about curing rock, I've had 50 pounds worth of rock curing for two weeks in a 30 gallon with a couple a powerheads going and doing water changes frequently. well I tested it today, no ammonia, no nitrite and the trate is pretty low too. Does this mean it's good to go in my 180?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[neilanh]

probably. How long has it been since you did a water change? If it's been more than a few days I think you're all set.

 

[stratmaster]

Yup, two days actually. Only thing is I had a massive fish loss due to an ammonia rise a while ago because I did not let some live rock cure long enough. Ever since then I've been paranoid and don't want to rush it. I might just give it an extra day or two, can't hurt right?

Steve

 

[thincat]

Yes, another way is to add a little fishfood and see if the readings stay stable for a day or so after that. either way it is good to be curious.

 

[neilanh]

If you are worried about it (I would be too) just add it like a piece at a time and wait several days between to make sure your main tank stays stable.

 

[Krypt]

+1 for adding small amounts of it over time. If your unsure about it, add 5 pounds, wait a day, test, and if it's all clear add 5 more, then repeat til done and you got yourself a nice aquascaping project that'll take you a week and a half or so.

 

[mrg02d]

I just dodged a bullet similar to this. I bought 7 lbs of dry rock from my LFS and began plunking pieces in the DT. I got to one that looked a little funny (had some brown stuff on it) and decided to boil it. After I boiled it, it had this awful stench to it. I wasnt sure what the heck it was (thought the brown stuff was just dirt) so I put it into a bucket full of old tank water. A few days later, AMMONIA OFF THE CHARTS!!! YIKES!

The rest of the rocks are all sitting in the bucket. Im guessing the rocks I added already are okay as nothing bad happened. (WHich Im sure would have )

I dont really want to cure the rocks (as in, wait for good bacteria to show up), I just want to get rid of the decay. Is this okay? My tank has been up and running (cycled) for 11 months now. Im just adding rocks to the tank.

Is it okay to keep doing water changes until the ammonia is at zero? Seems letting whatever rot for a little while would be faster than waiting for a cycle. Plus, I dont have any extra power heads. The rocks are just sitting in a bucket of old tank water. Each time I do a PWC on the DT, I use that water to replace the bucket water.

Matt

 

[thincat]

What do you think cycling is. It's letting the organic stuff get broken down by bacteria. Yes, PWC's are the best way to reduce ammonia.

 

[mrg02d]

What do you think cycling is. It's letting the organic stuff get broken down by bacteria. Yes, PWC's are the best way to reduce ammonia.

Yea, I know that cycling reduces the ammonia, but that letting bacteria form and do the work is best. With what I am doing, I am mechanically reducing ammonia. So as the junk is turning into ammonia, I am simply pouring it out rather than letting bacteria turn it into nitrites and then into nitrates.

By my method, I could have zero ammonia, but no good bacteria either. The benefit I am hoping for is less time. The problem I see is maybe having some junk still inside that really needs bacteria in order to completely rid the rocks of ammonia producing junk. I am also concerned that if I DO let the rocks truely cycle and form all the good bacteria, that I could face a crash in the DT when all this extra bacteria finds it has very little to eat.

Matt

 

[Krypt]

Yea, I know that cycling reduces the ammonia, but that letting bacteria form and do the work is best. With what I am doing, I am mechanically reducing ammonia. So as the junk is turning into ammonia, I am simply pouring it out rather than letting bacteria turn it into nitrites and then into nitrates.

By my method, I could have zero ammonia, but no good bacteria either. The benefit I am hoping for is less time. The problem I see is maybe having some junk still inside that really needs bacteria in order to completely rid the rocks of ammonia producing junk. I am also concerned that if I DO let the rocks truely cycle and form all the good bacteria, that I could face a crash in the DT when all this extra bacteria finds it has very little to eat.

Matt

With the way your handling your curing process, you will be setting yourself up for a nitrite spike. When the material is decomposing and the ammonia is released, the bacteria that convert it from ammonia to nitrites will be present on the rocks and start to grow. They will release nitrites and since your just going by the ammonia levels, the bacteria that convert nitrites to harmless nitrates won't have a chance to grow and when you put those rocks in the tanks, you'll get a nitrite spike which is just as deadly as ammonia.

Your best bet is to let them cure all the way, ammonia to 0 and nitrites to 0. Curing them all the way won't cause a crash to your DT, in fact it's just the opposite.

 

[mrg02d]

Hello,
I was actually hoping that NO nitrifying bacteria would develop.
I havent added anything to seed the cycling process with bacteria, so I imagine it would take quite awhile for any bacteria to form. I am watching the others as well (nitrite and nitrate). They are both zero. Ammonia is staying the same each day and only reduces when I change the water. Ammonia isnt climbing so I am assuming, along with the fact that nitrites and nitrates are 0, that the junk is done decaying into ammonia.

Matt

 

[thincat]

No matter what you do the "Junk" will turn into ammonia, the ammonia will turn into nitrite and the nitrite will turn into nitrates all you are doing is changing the water and most of the bactreria is in the rock. All you are doing is using allot of saltmix.

 

[mrg02d]

Here is what I am getting at...The rock was out in the air, dry, sitting in a bucket at the LFS. There wasnt any nitrifying bacteria present. I put them into a bucket of old tank water and found that there was ammonia present from decaying matter in the rock. My reasoning is that the junk will rot out completely before any nitrifying bacteria become present since I havent added any kind of material that is seeded with good bacteria. I know that it will eventually find its way, but people talk about months going by waiting for a cycle when doing it without seed material.

Now I guess a possibility is that the old tank water may have enough good bacteria that happen to be suspended in it to now be working on the ammonia. This would defeat my reasoning. Other than that, I dont see how nitrites can form. Since I dont need the extra bacteria, seems I could skip the cycle process altogether.

Think of this as a DEEP DEEP cleaning.

Thats really what I am up to...Or at least, what I want.
Matt

 

[Greenmaster]

If you put one small piece at a time in and wait a day or two it shouldn't rock your system, depending on how much LR and other places for bacteria you have. I would say if you have 50lbs of LR and has been good for a while I would add the rock one piece at a time if you see a spike that's got you a little worried then take the rock back out, but if the first one works with no problems I would add one rock every few days till it's done.

 

[thincat]

Matt, by seeding, you are talking about things like bristleworms and other macro life...you are trying to completely remove all organic life from your rock and that is why you cure LR because there is no way to get all organics out of the rock. You have rock that was once live and then taken out and put into a bucket. It was full of bacteria(LR) and seeded with macro life from the tank(life that is bigger then bacteria). If you had totally dead rock then you would need to add an ammonia source to start the cycle, not the "curing" process.