Do I need to cure dry rock?

[Keith A.]

I have some live (now dead) rock that I picked up from a LFS that was closing. When I got it, about five months ago, the water was drained from the tank it was in and it had dried up. Would I have to cure it before I put it in my tank?

Thanks,
Keith

 

[MacDracor]

Once it is rehydrated, the dead organisms are going to start to decompose. That means nitrogen cycle. You're definitely going to want to cycle them. Add in some good live rock along with it or it won't do you any good at all.

 

[Spotted]

You don't need live rock to get it going. It'll just take a bit longer to complete the process.

 

[Keith A.]

Most of the books I have say it is about a 4-6 week process with regular live rock. I take it will be about the same amount of time if the rock was dry before the curing process?

 

[Spotted]

Dry rock usually takes longer. You're probably looking at 6-8 weeks for dry rock. I does help if you can get a piece of live rock, sand from an established tank, or a piece of decoration from an established tank. You don't need all live rock or sand, just some to help kick start your dry rock. You don't need anything other than dry rock, but the seed piece helps speed things up.
Good luck!!

 

[MacDracor]

Ok, so maybe "won't do you any good" was a slight exaggeration. But you do need some source of live bacteria to kickstart the process or it'll take forever. I have nothing against dry rock (would love to get a couple pieces actually) but I'm the impatient type, so I would never try cycling with only dry. LOL