Question regarding Live Rock and curing

[r33fermaddness]

Just joined this forum as I have recently acquired a secondhand tank in hopes of starting a mixed reef tank.
You can read my welcome post for details, but long story short, I have 100-125 lbs of dead(?) live rock that was included in the sale of the tank. I was informed by the previous owner that it should be cured as it’s covered in organic matter.
I’ve done a bit of reading into the properties of live rock, how it works in a tank, curing methods, etc, and I have some questions for the more seasoned vets of the hobby.
Firstly, SHOULD I cure the rock? I’ve seen a couple people saying that curing would destroy the very purpose of its existence in a sw tank and that a strong ecosystem will take care of the unwanted organic, which I understand, however that’s being weighed against not knowing what’s on it and if it will harm the ecosystem in the tank; what are your opinions, what would you do with a large quantity of rock with unknown inhabitants?
Next, if I do, HOW should I go about curing? I’ve looked into a natural method, being just leaving it in a covered bucket of freshwater and letting everything die off naturally; or a chemical method, using vinegar (or I’ve read people use muriatic acid) as an acid wash and then soaking in diluted bleach followed by freshwater rinse. There’s a lot of information out there on curing methods and I want to hear from the experienced what the best direction would be.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Funston07]

Just joined this forum as I have recently acquired a secondhand tank in hopes of starting a mixed reef tank.
You can read my welcome post for details, but long story short, I have 100-125 lbs of dead(?) live rock that was included in the sale of the tank. I was informed by the previous owner that it should be cured as it’s covered in organic matter.
I’ve done a bit of reading into the properties of live rock, how it works in a tank, curing methods, etc, and I have some questions for the more seasoned vets of the hobby.
Firstly, SHOULD I cure the rock? I’ve seen a couple people saying that curing would destroy the very purpose of its existence in a sw tank and that a strong ecosystem will take care of the unwanted organic, which I understand, however that’s being weighed against not knowing what’s on it and if it will harm the ecosystem in the tank; what are your opinions, what would you do with a large quantity of rock with unknown inhabitants?
Next, if I do, HOW should I go about curing? I’ve looked into a natural method, being just leaving it in a covered bucket of freshwater and letting everything die off naturally; or a chemical method, using vinegar (or I’ve read people use muriatic acid) as an acid wash and then soaking in diluted bleach followed by freshwater rinse. There’s a lot of information out there on curing methods and I want to hear from the experienced what the best direction would be.

Thanks for your time!

Do you know how long has the rock been out of the water? I would just normally put it in a bin with SW, heater, and circulation pump for a few weeks at least while getting everything ready for the tank. But then again it would also depend on the condition of the tank when the previous owner had it running that would determine how extreme I would go about with the cleaning/curing process as well.

 

[r33fermaddness]

Unfortunately I don’t have any of those details. I think I’m going to end up cleaning off what I can by hand and then like you said running sw with a heater and powerhead for maybe a month or two and go from there. That’s was recommended by a couple local guys I know as well and seems like the most natural

 

[ichthyogeek]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Half of the reason to cure live rock, is that most of the time it gets shipped dry. So creatures like sponges are going to slowly rot after the live rock gets added to the aquarium, releasing all those lovely lovely organics. And if you can cure it in a separate container, why not? It saves you the hassle of curing it in tank (where multiple large water changes might be needed), and it helps prevent disease from entering!

Toothbrushes (or alternatively, those large scrubby brushes they use for horses and stuff) can work quite well at removing a lot of the dead stuff on the rock. And you can speed up the curing process by bringing the temperature up high (to like, 85 F). Just keep in mind that if you want to fight off nuisance algae, it's best to cure in the dark, and if you want to keep parasites out, to cure for a long time (around 2-3 months).

 

[ShepherdReefer]

How did the live rock curing go? I am curing 3.5lbs in a 5-gallon bucket and it has been two month with high nitrites still.

 

[r33fermaddness]

How did the live rock curing go? I am curing 3.5lbs in a 5-gallon bucket and it has been two month with high nitrites still.

I had mine in just SW for about 2 months as well, and I saw very little progress. I let my impatience get the best of me and decided to speed up the process. I took all the rock outside and added bleach to a 10:1 bleach/water ratio and let it soak for a week, dechlorinated for a week with Seachem Safe, then rinsed for another week in Freshwater and let air dry in the sun for a couple days. Now the rock looks brand new and is free of all the dead algae and organic material.
I would recommend doing the same if you’re able, just be safe about it and don’t do it indoors.

 

[ramullins86]

After curing in bleach water. Do you put it in the tank or do you put it in another container of saltwater for a couple weeks? I have some fritz 9 I can use.

 

[r33fermaddness]

After curing in bleach water. Do you put it in the tank or do you put it in another container of saltwater for a couple weeks? I have some fritz 9 I can use.

My rock is currently sitting on a table waiting as I tested my diy plumbing, hopefully getting it in the tank tomorrow and then adding sw.
As long as the bleach has gassed off, you can put it in the tank. Might as well cycle it with the rest of the tank, unless there’s a specific reason you want to cycle it separately.
Are you starting a new tank or adding to an already established tank?

 

[ramullins86]

My rock is currently sitting on a table waiting as I tested my diy plumbing, hopefully getting it in the tank tomorrow and then adding sw.
As long as the bleach has gassed off, you can put it in the tank. Might as well cycle it with the rest of the tank, unless there’s a specific reason you want to cycle it separately.
Are you starting a new tank or adding to an already established tank?

I am starting a new tank. I usually buy new rock but with Xmas around the corner didn’t have the extra money so building on a budget an got 100lbs for free

 

[r33fermaddness]

I am starting a new tank. I usually buy new rock but with Xmas around the corner didn’t have the extra money so building on a budget an got 100lbs for free

Okay, yeah then I would bleach it until it’s clean enough to your liking and then you can either wait for it to air dry, or to be extra safe, let it soak in freshwater with a dechlorinator for a week, then air dry. After that toss it in the tank and start your cycling. This method is less curing it, more restarting it to basically new dry rock.

 

[Greg P]

How did the live rock curing go? I am curing 3.5lbs in a 5-gallon bucket and it has been two month with high nitrites still.

Are you doing water changes? The end of the cycle results in a buildup of nitrates (NO3), and they need to be removed by you. Large water changes (WCs) are my preferred method. In your case, heavily rinse/swish the rock in the current bucket, then move it to new SW. Test again after a day or 2. If you're still getting high readings of NO3 test NH3 and NO2. It's possible your rock isn't finished cycling yet.

Rock cycling, curing and cooking.

First off;
I prefer to get any kind of rock ready for a system in the smallest vessel possible as it involves a lot of up to 100% WCs.
I use the term "curing" when referring to cycling LR with organics which need to be removed.
I use "cooking" when referring to removing phosphates (PO4).
I use "cycling" when referring to getting it ready to support life.
If you have rock with organics, the end result will be cycled rock.
If you have dry or dead rock, you'll need to add a source of NH3. My preferred method is to use household liquid ammonia - plain old scent-free stuff with absolutely no additives. Just 100% pure ammonia from home improvement or grocery stores.

Keeping an eye on evaporation is a good idea to keep the salinity close to your needs.
I make a mark on the tub I use and add fresh RO daily.

Curing live rock involves leaving it in a vessel of SW with heat and circulation.
During this time testing is performed to watch ammonia (NH3) rise. If it does (and in most cases it will), testing after a week or so for nitrites (NO2) is usually the norm.
If you're wanting to preserve any bacteria left alive, perform 75-100% WCs if NH3 goes above 2ppm. For bacterial preservation I've seen it recommended to keep NH3 below 0.5ppm.
Once you start seeing NO2, watch for NH3 to drop to zero. At this point you can stop testing NH3.
Keep testing NO2 until it drops to zero. During this time you can start testing nitrates (NO3), just to see what's going on.
Once NO2 drops to zero, perform a 100% WC. Wait a few days and test NO3. If still zero, the rock is now cured. If not, rinse it well in clean SW and test again after a few more days in new water.

Cooking rock to remove PO4 involves testing weekly and performing 100% WCs until your results are zero. During this time, I like to heavily swish the rock before the WC to get as much 'gunk' out of the rock as possible.
If you started with a lot of PO4, this process can take many weeks, but is recommended when you want to start a tank with little chance of major algae outbreaks.

Cycling rock with little or no life involves daily addition of a source of NH3.
Add enough liquid NH3 to get a reading of about 5ppm.
It takes approximately 0.086mls pure liquid NH3/gallon to reach 1ppm. So getting 5ppm in 5g is about 2.15mls, give or take, based on the strength of the product used. I gave up trying to get it precise, so started with adding 2mls to 5g and went from there.
Now let it sit and, after a few days/up to a week, test NH3 until it drops to zero.
Now test NO2 as you should have some. Dose enough NH3 to about 3-4ppm or so, and test NH3 and NO2 daily.
Keep testing/dosing NH3 to about 3-4ppm and expect NO2 to go outside your testing range.
After a week or 2 of this, NO2 will finally drop. You can now start testing NO3 to see what's going on, but it's not necessary at this point.
Once your rock is able to process 1-2ppm NH3 daily, and you have no measurable NO2 daily, you can perform a 100% WC to remove the NO3.
Your rock is now essentially cycled.
Keep adding your NH3 source to keep the bacteria alive, and perform weekly WCs to keep NO3 near, say, 5ppm until you are ready to use it. Then do another good 'swish' to remove anything loose that's left and place it in clean SW for a day. Test NO3 and if it's near zero it's ready for use.

When I used liquid ammonia with new, man-made live rock, I added enough rock for my 75g DT to a tub with minimal water - 23lbs in 8g - to keep water usage to a minimum. I dosed enough NH3 to bring the tub to 5ppm, then added 14x the amount needed.
Once the rock processed this huge amount of NH3 I was able to transfer all my then current critters to a new tank without a cycle.


If I've missed/written something wrong/questionable, feel free to correct me.