A note for those using dry live rock.

[DesertReefT4r]

Just a tip for anyone using dry live rock to setup or add to reef tank. Be sure you cure and cycle it in a dark container well in advance to adding your your reef. I am curing some super clean kalini rock dry rock and po4 start off at 10 ppm and after 5 weeks its still at .5 ppm. It nitrogen cycled 3 weeks ago, no3 went from 20 ppm to 0 ppm. Smells like fresh and clean rock. I got this rock from my brother and his old tank did not have poor issues and the rock came from a LFS I worked at at the time in 2009. So the po4 must be coming from decaying organics within the rock. No wonder so many tanks set up with dry live rock like the popular Pukani have such bad algae issues for the first year. I would also recommend cycling and curing mined rock like Reef Saver and man made rock live like Walt Smith or Caribsea.
I am so glad I did not just put this rock in my sump to seed. My new tank surely would have had an algae bloom with the amount of po4 coming from this rock. Using this rock for a QT and to add some bio media to the sump.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

On the other hand, the current trend it a total lack of Po4 and getting dinos and chrystophytes and cyano.

IMO , each tank is different right from the start up.

In your case (as it’s empty or when it was in the bucket ) I’d reccomend
Lanthanum chloride , phosphate RX.
Po4 binds to aragonite , it’s not a dissolved organic, the lanthanum blasts he Po4 from the Rock and you remove it mechanically , in socks skimmer or in the bucket , a water change.

A tank with phosphate block (good bacteria die and its now possible dinos come in) is actually harder , as you have to dose Po4 till enough binds again to the rock and sand to be healthy for the good bacteria to multiply and you have to rebuild the bio filter.

Keeping in mind , most all “bad algaes “ Need to be introduced into the system. So qt is also the real key to winning the algae game.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I have been thinking about hitting it with some po4 rx but I am not in a hurry to use the rock. Water changes and time are slowly cooking this rock so far.

 

[landlubber]

I went in ignorant to curing and felt fortunate to have some great pukani rock. those feelings dissolved quickly when my tank interior had a fur covering that stayed for nearly 2 years. in my quest to solve it I implemented a stringent feeding and wet skimming program and resulted in leaving me with dinos for the next 18 months.
now that thing have stabilized my rock is worth $15/pound due to frustration tax lol.