A New Approach to Curing Live Rock

[dustin_P74]

dont forget you also need to check for nitrites and nitrates

 

[Bifferwine]

You know, this is the same as the process that's used when curing live rock in a tank that already has livestock in it.

 

[1geo]

It is now the morning of the fifth day and thing are going great. The ammonia levels have dropped since yesterday's low of .25 to between .25 and zero. The Nitrate levels started out at zero and this morning were still at zero. I'll continue to monitor the tank and if these levels hold for the next two days then the rock is cured and ready to put in my aquarium. A question for Bifferwine, do you have a link to a write up on curing live rock in a tank with stock in it? Geo.

 

[phuture1]

hey Geo, i also read the same article when i purchased my live tonga rocck. i wanted to try this method myself but being new to the hoby i was reluctant. i'm glad your haveing good results so far. good luck with it.

 

[dustin_P74]

what are your nitrite readings

 

[1geo]

Nitrate is zero and as of tonight, Ammonia is less the .25 ppm. So Ammonia has not risen in fact, it has dropped. Tomorrow is the sixth day and if readings remain the same, then the rock is cured in six days. I will then put one piece in my aquarium and monitor it for a week after which all the rock goes in my aquarium. Geo.

 

[dustin_P74]

your skipping a part of your testing for the nitrate cycle and that is nitrite, if you get a reading of nitrites over 0 then your rock has still not cured

 

[Bifferwine]

Dustin is right, the cycle goes ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate. If you have nitrite, the cycle isn't done, and you can have nitrite while ammonia and nitrates show zero.

I don't have a write up of curing live rock in an existing tank, but whenever someone adds uncured rock to a tank with animals in it, they are advised to keep up with frequent water changes to keep ammonia as low as possible to preserve the life in the tank. This usually ends up causing the cycle to drag out longer, but it's less stressful on the animals than a large, quick spike.

 

[1geo]

The procedure in the original article does not mention "frequent" water changes and they were not necessary in my experiment. I would assume if you had a lot of die off initially when you received the rock, i.e., the rock had a bad smell, then frequent water changes would be necessary; in my case that was not an issue. The one area that I could improve on is lighting. I only have an 18 watt actinic light on my 10 gal tank. From everything I've read, I would need 5 watts per gallon or a 50 watt lamp to promote growth of corline algae. So I am in the market for a twin 24 or 20 inch lamp that has 50 watt output. This afternoon I plan on writing a summary of what I did with enough specifics that someone could reproduce the procedure from receipt of product to cured rock in six days. Geo.

 

[1geo]

It is now the morning of the sixth day. Here is the chemistry of the cure tank: Ammonia between .25 and zero; Nitrates zero; Nitrites zero; PH 8.3; 78.5 degrees, in my opinion the rock is cured and ready for the aquarium. I will introduce it one piece at a time. I put a continuous Ammonia monitor on my aquarium and if there is any sign of trouble I'll put the rock. Later today I will add my summary to this post. Geo.

 

[Jkraft136]

i'd still wait til that ammonia reaches 0 to put the rock in your tank. Theres still a chance that the ammonia could turn to nitrites at any moment, which would be harmful for your tank.

 

[1geo]

Good advice, Jkraft136, I think I'll take it. Geo.

 

[1geo]

SUMMARY:
The most important thing was the experiment was a success. The results were exactly like those described in the original article, "How to Cure Live Rock with Little Die Off". It cut the time to cure the rock from 4 to 6 weeks down to 6 days; that is a significant savings in time and money. Here is a summary of what I had and what I did:
1. I received 12 pounds of live rock Priority Mail, it took three day to get to me from the seller.
2. The rock was packed in wet newspaper in plastic bags and two of them smelled like salt water and one had a bit of an odor to it. I scrubbed the rock with a nylon brush in a separate salt water bath and discarded the bath water when finished.
3. I put the rock in a 10 gal aquarium with a salt content of 1022 at 75 degrees and treated it with Prime (any Ammonia neutralizer would probably work). I put a power filter on the tank along with a small power head for circulation and an 8 inch air stone for good oxygenation. I put an 18 watt Actinic light on the aquarium. The temperature was set at what is recommended for curing rock, less then 75 degrees, but later it was decided that a higher temperature is more beneficial for promoting life so the temperature was increased to 78.5 degrees. When I do this again I will start out and keep it at a higher temperature, i.e., 78 to 82 degrees.
4. Next, I fed the rock Spectra Vital daily. This may not be necessary but keeping to the original article instructions I fed the rock. The next time I do this I may leave this step out as there should be enough live food on the rock to feed its inhabitants. I also gave the rock a liquid calcium supplement (one time after a large water exchange); this I would do again.
5. Water changes. There was no instructions in the original article on water changes. I did up to 60% (total) water change over the first 4 days; this may have not been necessary because the Ammonia levels started at .5 and never got above that.
6. On the fifth day I added and Ammonia reducer called Ammonia Clear; this dropped the Ammonia levels to .25. By the end of the fifth day the Ammonia levels were even lower and the Nitrate levels were zero.
7. The sixth day saw chemistry almost normal. Ammonia steady at less then .25, Nitrates and Nitrites at zero, PH 8.3 and temperature at 78.5. The rock is ready for the aquarium but I’ve decided to wait a few more days and continue to monitor the chemistry.
I would like to thank the following forum members for their comments and suggestions that is some cases changed the course of my procedures: Bifferwine; dustin P74; Yote; daugherty; Phuture1; Teixeira29; JKraft136.

 

[Bifferwine]

I'm glad your experiment was a success. I think this is a great thread. Thanks for thinking to post it and share your process!

 

[daugherty]

great job glad it work like it did for you

 

[1geo]

A footnote to my postings. This morning, the seventh day, the Ammonia levels in the cure tank have dropped to zero. Geo.

 

[daugherty]

how is the nitrite and nitrate

 

[1geo]

This morning both nitrites and nitrates were zero. Geo.

 

[daugherty]

good deal glad it all worked out good for you

 

[dustin_P74]

now give the cure tank a heavy feeding and see what happens to the levels