Adding dry rock - need to cure?

w8_4iT · Jul 4, 2018

Hi all,

I have a 125g tank and it's been up and running for about 7 months. All water levels have been great and haven't had any fluctuations.

There's approx. 80 lbs of rock (bought mostly dry rock) and 120 lbs of live sand. There are a couple live rocks in there. Fish, invertebrates, and coral all look healthy.

I've recently bought another 40 lbs of clean dry rock. I've rinsed it and strayed off most of the dust. It is now in a bin of water from a garden hose. I'm looking to add more rock on either side of the tank to allow more hiding spaces for the fish.

My question is: after rinsing the rock one more time (again with water from the garden hose) and hopefully removing all the dust, can I put the rock immediatelyin the tank or would I need to cure it first?

Thanks!

Billdogg · Jul 4, 2018

I have a pile of old rocks in the corner of yard. When I need one, I grab it, rinse it once in the slop sink and stick it in the tank. If it's clean, use it! Any minimal "curing" it might need will happen in your tank without issue

drawman · Jul 4, 2018

They can leach a lot of PO4. I would put it in a tub of saltwater and test to be on the safe side.

w8_4iT · Jul 4, 2018

drawman said:
They can leach a lot of PO4. I would put it in a tub of saltwater and test to be on the safe side.

If there's an increase PO4, there might be an algae bloom. And if I had a clean up crew, would they be able to take care of the additional algae until things are back to normal (if there was a PO4 spike)?

drawman · Jul 4, 2018

w8_4iT said:
If there's an increase PO4, there might be an algae bloom. And if I had a clean up crew, would they be able to take care of the additional algae until things are back to normal (if there was a PO4 spike)?

Usually this can help I guess it depends upon how much PO4 is in the rock and what kind of algae is present in your system. Some algaes are less palatable to clean up crews.

Aaron-A2 · Jul 5, 2018

It depends a lot on what type of dry rock it is. BRS reef saver typically does not need to be cured. However Pukani -- being much more porous -- can trap organics and nutrients much easier.

So what kind of rock do you have?

LuizW13 · Jul 5, 2018

If you don't cure dry pukani rock and add it directly to your tank, you'll have a very strong, foul smell. What i did was soak them in heated RODI water for a couple of weeks doing water changes every few days. After the smelly phase was done is when i set up the tank.