Curing live rock?

Namor

Namor

Reefing newb
Hi, so I am starting a second tank, and in this one it's going to be a fowlr (liked the frogfish too much, got a 75 gallon for one). My previous live rock was cured by a friend who was helping me with plumbing and setting up my system, he's in Iraq now, so I need some more help.
My understanding is I set the tank up, and let it run with freshwater to check for leaks, then I mix salt for it, let it run a day or two, siphon off till about a third left. Now, I have been getting mixed responses, cure the live rock in the tank? or a secondary container? I get both responses, but no explanation as to why either way. Also, do I put livesand in now? or wait till rock is cured and fill in, if that's the case, how do you get it into the nooks and crannies under the build up of rocks? also, when I "stack up" my rock, are there anythings I need to do to avoid dead spots of water movement? Thanks in advance for your help.
 
You only need to cure your live rock in a separate container if you already have animals in the tank.

Since you are starting out a new tank, it's good to cure the rock in the tank. This will start a cycle, so your tank will be cycled and ready to add livestock later on. Put your live sand in at the same time as you add the rock.

When you do your aquascaping, make sure that there is space between the back of the tank and the rocks. That doesn't mean that you can't lean the rock up against the back glass, just make sure that there are spaces for fish to go in and out of and for water to move through.
 
So do I put down a layer of sand? and then rock, or rock and fill sand in around?
My current tank has rock sitting on glass with sand filled around, wanted to make sure that's the best approach
 
It doesn't really matter. In my tank, I put the sand down first, then the rock on top. But if you want to put rock on the bottom and then sand around it so it's more stable, that's fine too.
 
I did rock first then sand, I knew I was going to put livestock that will burrow, i.e. gobies, shrimp, I just wanted to make sure there were no cave-ins.. Then again, my turbos move the small rock around anyways... All the 20+ pounders are setting on the bottom...
 
another alternative to placing the rock on bottom is to build a pvc rack to hold the rock. this also lets the sand bed under the rock to be sifted. i'm using a pvc rack in my tank and I love it.
as far as curing the live rock in the tank. it's best for the system to do it that way. but it will stink up the house like you wouldn't believe. I think yote can tell you a few stories about doing that.
 
Fish is right.If you cure your rock in the tank,Make sure have a fan set up to blow the smell outside.When I cured the rock for my 55 in the tank,My wife was ready to kill after the first day.And the smell didnt go away for about 3 weeks,which was how long it took for the nitrites to start climbing.

For stability,I would suggest you put some cheap lace rock in first(enough to get the live rock out of the sand),then add the sand,and add the live rock last.That way the cheap rock will help support the more expensive live rock.
 
oh yeah. Yote hit it spot on. Cure it in a bucket in the bathtub with the window open and a BIG fan blowing it out the window or it will take months to get rid of the smell.

-Doc
 
well, it's a lot harder to cure in tank outside lol, I will probably just have to endure the smell, also, should I run my lighting as if it was the stocked tank, a 12 hour cycle?
 
not unless you are trying to grow a field of hair algae. You should not have lights on when cycling your tank. If you choose to, then only for an hour or so.

-Doc
 
If it smells or not depends on where you get it from. I got uncured live rock from Live Aquaria for my new tank, it it only smelled for a day or two, and it wasn't even that bad. I couldn't open my windows because it was summer in AZ, and it was fine. Curing LR in your house won't always be bad.
 
I will NEVER cure rock in the tank again.Next time I will cure it in the bath tub where the exhaust fan can pull most of the smell out.
 

Similar threads

F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
1K
kbuser92
kbuser92
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
617
Mike
Mike
Mike
  • Sticky
New Member (Owner 😲)
Replies
0
Views
697
Mike
Mike
I
Is this a live rock?
Replies
1
Views
5K
kbuser92
kbuser92
J
PULLING-OUT MY HAIR!
Replies
0
Views
2K
Jeff P.
J
Back
Top