Live rock question

[fishman]

I have a 125 FOWLR and it has been set up since Dec. I have 2 clowns, 1 wrasse, 1 damsel and 1 blenny. I order 15 lbs of LR from liverocks.com and will be getting it any day. I was told you DO NOT have to cure the rock from them. Has anyone cured theirs at all when they bought it or as I have seen others, just thrown it in the tank? I would assume I could just throw it in the tank since its a 125 and not have an ammonia spike???
Thanks

 

[Biggen]

It still needs to be cured. Any rock that is shipped will incur some die off. Now the LR from liverocks.com is some of the best rock you can get and its die off is minimal when compared to others. But it will still have a die off problem and it needs to be taken care of before put in the tank.

 

[SquishyFish]

Agreed.

 

[fishman]

well I may throw mine into a tank that a friend of mine is cycling right now then. I have read many places on here that there is really no need to cure the rock again. But rather just take some of the water from my tank and drop the rock in there rinse it real good, then it can go in the tank.....guess I will have to acquire a heat, pump and tank to cure it.....

 

[Biggen]

I have read many places on here that there is really no need to cure the rock again.

Not sure where you got that advice, but it is incorrect. You will have an ammonia and nitrite spike when you go to place this rock in water. It won't be high, but it will still be there.

 

[fishman]

well if it isnt that high of a spike, and I have a 125 tank, I would think it would be less than 0.25 wouldnt you?? In this case, its at 0 right now so I would think it would be tolerable. Wouldnt be anything that the fish could not handle as you get a spike in ammonia when you add a new fish?? Right?

 

[An t-iasg]

I personally wouldn't chance it. Your tank is at 0 ammonia right now, and with your fish in there, I would keep it that way. I would cure the new rock in a different container.

 

[Biggen]

well if it isnt that high of a spike, and I have a 125 tank, I would think it would be less than 0.25 wouldnt you?? In this case, its at 0 right now so I would think it would be tolerable. Wouldnt be anything that the fish could not handle as you get a spike in ammonia when you add a new fish?? Right?

It impossible to tell what the ammonia spike will be. It is possible you could have a sponge attached the rock and not notice it. As it dies it will release a fair amount of ammonia into the water.

If it were me, I wouldn't do it. Remember, in the ocean, ammonia and nitrite don't exist as far as fish and inverts are concerned. Any amount they encounter is toxic to them.

 

[fishman]

So would I just get some RO water and drop the rock into a 10-15 gallon tank with a pump and heater then?? For how many days? Also do I use fresh RO saltwater or some from my tank?
Thanks

 

[SquishyFish]

a small amount of ammonia and/or nitrites is like a small amount of arsenic. Its toxic...

Squishy

 

[flynnternet]

What do people feel about curing in a quarantine tank? Kinda like QTing a rock...

 

[Biggen]

fishman wrote:

So would I just get some RO water and drop the rock into a 10-15 gallon tank with a pump and heater then?? For how many days? Also do I use fresh RO saltwater or some from my tank?

We have a great article on our site about curing LR here: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=6

Basically all you need is a container that has SW already mixed, a powerhead, and heater. Check the levels each day to see what is going on. When both ammonia and nitrite has hit zero your rock can be added to the display.

flynnternet wrote:

What do people feel about curing in a quarantine tank? Kinda like QTing a rock...

Well if you follow the articles method of curing LR, you are basically QT'ing it...

 

[srgetz]

I would not put it in a tank that is cycling; this tanks high levels can kill what is alive on your lr

when they say your rock should be put in a container with heater to "cycle", they are referring to a low to moderate ammonia spike due to some die off from s/h, the reasoning is your tanks inhabitants should not be subjected to it

a good idea may be to do a 10 gal water change, only drain into the containter with the lr, put a heater and some circulation and when levels reach 0 for ammonia, nitrites put lr in display tank, it is now "cured", I have seen this take as little as a several days or weeks even, and water changes could be required during this time

 

[jvennitti]

fishman,

I'm still a newbie, but I just went through this process with liverocks.com LR. I had a tremendous (4-8) spike of ammonia. I was changing 20-25% of the water daily, which probably wasn't enough. I lost one damsel before moving the second to a QT. If you plan to use your main tank, I would QT the fish. The alternative is to cure the LR in a separate tank. As has been stated, it is hard to tell what will die and when. I had a squirt that lasted through the high spike, but died shortly after the ammonia was back to zero. I let the tank sit for a couple weeks after ammonia spike and verified the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate were all zero before putting the damsel back in. Also, Zack specifically asked me to pass along that only SW should be used to rinse the rock, not the carbonated as was previously suggested here.

Good luck,

Jeff

 

[f-dean]

you could gust use any old tub cant you it doesnt have to be an aquarium to cure rock

 

[d_art]

Can you?

First off, yes, I am a newbie.
Second, my newbie question.....Can you add more Live Rock to your existing tank as long as it is fully cured?



Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread.....it seems to fit here though.

 

[d_art]

Ouch...

made my first mistake already. Too bad I can't delete these posts (found the info further down the line

 

[dralarms]

D_art,

Welcome to AA. 8)

 

[An t-iasg]

you could gust use any old tub cant you it doesnt have to be an aquarium to cure rock

You don't have to use an actual aquarium. You can use a different container, especially if you are adding more LR to an existing tank. You can use a plastic tub or garbage can. I have seen posts that say a new Rubbermaid garbage can is good. I would buy it new, so it is clean -- not used for anything else, no soap residue, etc. I would rinse it out well with tap water (squirt it with a hose), and then give it a final rinse of RO water, and then put your rock, saltwater, heater, and powerhead in.