Cured vs. Uncured rock

[gmr7494]

Does cured rock have to go through a cycle? What is the step-by-step process? Should I buy uncured rock instead and save money?

 

[smallreefdave]

If the cured rock has been in a functional system locally, and you get it into yours quickly, it will not have major die off. However, if you don't know long it has been "curing" for, you are probably better off letting it run it's cycle anyway. Just my opinion. I personally bought all of mine from existing tanks that were being torn down (400+ pounds of it), and did not need to cure it, as I carried it home in water, and it went into the tank. That said, I did cycle the tank for more than 2 months with only a few fish and slowly built the bioload from there.

 

[Reef Pets]

Here is some good information:
Live Rock and Live Sand Acclimation and Curing Guide

 

[gmr7494]

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll be purchasing cured rock as it will need to be cycled anyway, just not as long as uncured, correct? Also, at what point will I need to add the live sand?

 

[dmjordan]

you have to remember that if you buy fully cured LR that will be mailed to you it will have alot of die off and have to be cured. you can save alot of money by buying base rock and some LR. like a 60/40 split.

 

[PLNelson]

I used even less of a ratio than that. I had about 60 lbs of dried rock to 20 lbs of good cured LR. It still had to cycle, and was way cheaper than buying 100+ lbs of LR.

 

[bluebeltreefer]

to me it depends on how patient you are and if you are willing to take the chance on hitch hikers. if you want a tank setup sooner than later, then cured rock will cycle faster and allow you to add livestock sooner.

uncured on the other hand needs to be cycled and it takes longer. perfect if you are in the middle of buying and waiting on some equipment.

i personally like dead, uncured rock, because of the least chance of hitch hikers.

 

[MikeB]

Sorry to highjack but i want to put about 75 lbs of rock in my tank that already has 75 lbs in it with plenty of Coraline. Will this cause a problem or should I be ok?

 

[KingRicky]

Sorry to highjack but i want to put about 75 lbs of rock in my tank that already has 75 lbs in it with plenty of Coraline. Will this cause a problem or should I be ok?

I would say that you may have some sort of cycle event adding the rock. How much of a cycle is hard to tell depending on where the rock comes from. If you get the rock locally and it stays in water from the original tank to yours, the cycle should be little to none. What I usually do when I want to add rock is cure it in a tote until any cycle is over then add it to the tank.

 

[bluebeltreefer]

i would expect some sort of cycle, whether big or small. it depends on the condition of the rocks that you want to put in.

even dead dry rocks contain sometype of dead matter in it, atleast from my experience.

 

[scottyboys]

I like to buy mine from people who are getting rid of it, it is still a gamble. I got some rock recently that seems to be saturated with phosphates, grows GHA like mad.