How to prepare dry rock?

[Fishman007]

How should i prepare it before putting it in the tank? Btw its gonna be 60lbs.

 

[aquandrew]

put it in a bucket of RODI and scrub it with a tooth brush

 

[Fishman007]

put it in a bucket of RODI and scrub it with a tooth brush

Thats all? Ive heard you have to soak it in acid and vinegar stuff like that,Leaveing it in SW for a month.

 

[melosu58]

We have an excellent article about curing rock in our SW articles section.

 

[Grizz]

I soak in RO/DI water for a few days then test for trates phos and such

 

[dmolavi]

If it's new dry rock (ie, from BRS), you need to cure it. Do this by putting the rock in a container of salt water w/ a heater and pump, and let it sit for a few weeks.

I did a combined cure and cycle on my rock and tank by adding a cocktail shrimp to the water as well to feed the BB colonies.

BRS has a video on their YouTube channel (BRSTv) on how to prep dry rock for a tank. Follow their instructions and the how-to guide on this site and you'll be good to go.

Just don't rush the process or stop things before they're ready, otherwise you will just cause big problems down the road.

 

[Fishman007]

Im gonna be useing it for my new tank, how about useing it in there to cycle?

 

[bribo12]

If it's new dry rock (ie, from BRS), you need to cure it. Do this by putting the rock in a container of salt water w/ a heater and pump, and let it sit for a few weeks.

I did a combined cure and cycle on my rock and tank by adding a cocktail shrimp to the water as well to feed the BB colonies.

BRS has a video on their YouTube channel (BRSTv) on how to prep dry rock for a tank. Follow their instructions and the how-to guide on this site and you'll be good to go.

Just don't rush the process or stop things before they're ready, otherwise you will just cause big problems down the road.

Just wondering but why the need to cure base rock, there is no life on it. You would really only need to let it sit to leach out any phosphates still trapped in the rock, as there will be no die off.

 

[Mebbid]

Just wondering but why the need to cure base rock, there is no life on it. You would really only need to let it sit to leach out any phosphates still trapped in the rock, as there will be no die off.

I bought a load of base rock once and added it into a 40g tank where I was going to do a hyposalinity treatment for my fish when they had ich. I added a sponge filter that I had sitting in my reef tank to it to help with ammonia. Even after thoroughly cleaning the rock off there was a HUGE spike in ammonia, waaaay more than 2 clowns and a firefish could even begin to produce. it may be dry rock but that doesn't mean it won't still produce ammonia.

 

[bribo12]

Ah gotcha I just didn't have an issue when I added about 10 pounds of base rock to my established reef. Just a minor diatom bloom.

 

[Fishman007]

I bought a load of base rock once and added it into a 40g tank where I was going to do a hyposalinity treatment for my fish when they had ich. I added a sponge filter that I had sitting in my reef tank to it to help with ammonia. Even after thoroughly cleaning the rock off there was a HUGE spike in ammonia, waaaay more than 2 clowns and a firefish could even begin to produce. it may be dry rock but that doesn't mean it won't still produce ammonia.

So could i use this to cycle the tank and not have to cure it?

 

[dmolavi]

I bought a load of base rock once and added it into a 40g tank where I was going to do a hyposalinity treatment for my fish when they had ich. I added a sponge filter that I had sitting in my reef tank to it to help with ammonia. Even after thoroughly cleaning the rock off there was a HUGE spike in ammonia, waaaay more than 2 clowns and a firefish could even begin to produce. it may be dry rock but that doesn't mean it won't still produce ammonia.

There can still be a lot of dead stuff in the dry rock that will decay and cycle the tank once it has been soaked for a while.

 

[Fishman007]

You guys still didnt answer my Q! Can i use the die off to cycle?

 

[dmolavi]

Yes but you might need to give it a helping hand with a raw cocktail shrimp.

I did it and had 20lbs cycled and cured in 3 weeks.

 

[Grizz]

Yes you can that's what curing live rock is it uses the die off to start the cycle if there's any dead stuff in your base rock it too will start a cycle.

 

[Fishman007]

Yes you can that's what curing live rock is it uses the die off to start the cycle if there's any dead stuff in your base rock it too will start a cycle.

Ok, i will ad table shrimp aswell to help cycle, thanks!

 

[dmolavi]

Watch the BRS video on curing the rock. I followed their procedure and was completely successful.

 

[Fishman007]

Watch the BRS video on curing the rock. I followed their procedure and was completely successful.

I did, but could i use it to cycle my tank without curing it first????? EDIT: lol i just saw what you guys said... Thanks!

 

[Fishman007]

Also how do you cure live rock with corals? I got a 7lb piece an hour ago, its in the tank already but just wanted to know if its possible

 

[Mebbid]

Also how do you cure live rock with corals? I got a 7lb piece an hour ago, its in the tank already but just wanted to know if its possible

The live rock already has corals on it? If that's the case its a cured piece of live rock and shouldn't have to go through any processing or cycling.