curing lace rock

[Gti_Leo]

i just bought some lace rock from my LFS and its got some orange/ green fungus stuff growing on it. i soaked the rock with vingar and water for a few days then soacked it in fresh water for a few days.

the fungus stuff is still on it so i put it in a 5 gallon bucket of salt water to start curing, will this stuff eventually start to decompose and cause an ammonia spike so the rock can cycle or should i have scraped it off and started fresh?

i'm in no real rush to place it in my aquarium so i can always start again if needed

 

[thominil]

Was this dry, or did it come out of the tank at your lfs? If it was from a tank, it may be a sponge. If it was dry, I wouldn't worry about it since it will come off sooner or later during the curing process.

 

[Gti_Leo]

it was dry.

just hoping that that helps start a cycle so i don't have to add a raw shrimp. i'm kind if kicking myself for not using PWC water after i rinsed off my filters. i'm sure there would be disolved organics floating around waiting to decompose

 

[Gti_Leo]

look at the pretty colors



so far so good, its been 10 days and i have .5ppm nitrites and 2.0ppm ammonia with 10ppm nitrates. PH is about 8.1 so the curing process is doing well and all the mossy growths that were on the rock have almost fully been removed.

i can't remember how long there will be nitrites before the cycle is over but hopefully by that time the stuff is all gone and i can introduce the rock into my tank

 

[Henry405]

nitrites tend to just linger and disappear overnight, just be patient

 

[Gti_Leo]

they were at 1ppm last night so still there

 

[Gti_Leo]

so my curing is going soemwhjat smooth

i have 0 ammonia but my API tests sho 5ppm nitrites and 180ppm nitrates.

just wonderign if there is a halt on the cycle with the high nitrites and nitrates. shoudl a waterchange be done?

there is still soem of the mossy stuff on it which i started to brush off today with a nail brush and toothbrush now the water is really murky and i feel i've just set back everything

 

[itrack4u]

I'd do a 50% water change.