A New Approach to Curing Live Rock

[1geo]

I just got in a package of live rock. I had my 30 gal trash can ready with salt water and all the requirements for curing the rock, then I read an article on associated.com. The link is http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/153683/how_to_cure_live_rock_with_little_die.html?cat=53 Instead of killing the rock and flushing out all the dead stuff over a period of weeks or even months, this article give the opposite approach, it feed the rock and try to preserve what life there is left when you received it. The title is "How to Cure Live Rock with Little Die Off" So, that's what I'm doing. I put the rock in a 10 gal tank, feed it Spectra Vital and put a actinic light on it 24/7. After an hour the ammonia reading was .5, I'll keep the forum informed on how this experiment works out. Geo.

 

[1geo]

It is now 5 hours since I put the live rock in my 10 gal tanks and the ammonia reading is still .5

 

[Teixeira29]

Wow i didnt know you could do it that way!!

 

[yote]

I've seen that done,and it saves a lot of the cool hitch hikers and corals that may be on the rock.
Good luck with it,and how about some pics of the new rock.:D

 

[1geo]

Its now 7 hours since I put the rock in my 10 gal tank and the ammonia is holding steady at .5

 

[1geo]

It is now 21 hours since I started curing my live rock and the ammonia level is still .5 This afternoon I plan on a 50% exchange of water in my 10 gal curing tank. So far so good. Geo.

 

[1geo]

Its now the end of the second day and the ammonia is still .5. I only did a 20% water exchange instead of the 50% I had planned on. The rock is looking good and there is no smell to the curing tank. Will keep you updated. Geo.

 

[Bifferwine]

Cool! Keep the updates coming, I'm interested in seeing how it turns out.

 

[1geo]

Its now the beginning of the third day. The ammonia level is still .5. I forgot to write that last night I fed the rock a dose of Spectra Vital and plan on doing so everyday. This morning I exchanged 10% of the water. The rock really looks good. During the night the temperature got higher then I would like, it went up to 79 degrees so I cut the heater back and will bring it back down to between 72 and 75. Geo.

 

[BigSteve]

Just curious as to how long this method of curing is supposed to take?
Sounds like it may be a good method. And so far no major spikes in ammonia

 

[dustin_P74]

i personally would bump the temp up, i run my tank at a constant 82*

 

[1geo]

Its now the end of the third day. Today in addition to the 10% change in water this morning, I did a 40% change in the afternoon. I did the change not because of rising ammonia levels but to see if the ammonia levels would drop. When I started ammonia was at .5. Four hours after the change it was still .5. After the change in water I fed the rock with a dose of Spectra Vital. The method, as described in my original posting, also uses calcium and purple up. I have not been using either because I have none. Tomorrow I go to the pet store and if they have these supplements, I will use them in the cure tank. BigSteve asked how long this curing method should take; according to the article above, it took 7 days. Geo.

 

[dustin_P74]

purple up is in a nut shell calcium

 

[1geo]

I am going to the pet store this morning and, thanks to dustin P74, will get some calcium supplement to put in the tank. As for the temperature, most of what I have read says the lower temperature, 72 to 75 cures the rock faster. Can anyone discuss the desirability of having higher temperatures during the curing process, say 78 to 82? Geo.

 

[daugherty]

if it get to cold it will kill pods and other things on the rock this rock comes from warm waters

 

[1geo]

Its noon of the fourth day and I just came back from Petco. I fed the tank some calcium supplement and a dose of Spectra Vital. I agree with dustin and James that a higher temperature is more beneficial to promote life so I am slowly raising the temperature to 78. All of which I have read on temperature uses the "kill everything off" method of curing rock so maybe that is why they use the colder temperatures. I also added an ammonia tablet called "Ammonia Clear". The ammonia level dropped in half; its now down to .25 ppm. This evening should tell if the ammonia is going up again or staying sable at the lower .25 number. More to come. Geo.

 

[yote]

Your rock dont need that Spectra Vital.Theres more than enough food for the micro organisms that live in and on the rock.

 

[1geo]

Duplicate Post, sorry, Geo.

 

[1geo]

I am using Spectra Vital because that was part of the original procedure in the article, "How to Cure Live Rock with Little Die Off" (see my first posting for a link to the article). My objective is to follow the article as closely as I can to see if it works and reduces the time frame for curing live rock. Unfortunately, the article is long on rhetoric and short on detail such as water temperatures, water exchanges, etc. But, so far so good, I will know more this evening when I take the ammonia level of the cure tank. If its stable at the reduced ammonia level between .5 and .25 then the experiment is working. Geo.

 

[1geo]

It is now the night of the fourth day. The ammonia levels are steady at the new low level of .25 ppm. I will keep things steady for another day and then plan another major water exchange on Tuesday which should drop the ammonia levels even more. The fact that the ammonia levels have NOT increased since the new low level was established this morning tells me the experiment is working. At this rate another three days the ammonia levels will be near zero (hopefully) and the rock will be cured. Geo.