Curing dried rock???

[codytbuckner]

Hey all,

I have some rock that was taken out of a tank and has been out for some time. I have heard mixed opinions on whether or not it should be cured when going back into a tank. Let me fill you in on what I'm doing. I am waiting on my Red Sea Max Nano to come in. I'll be using this rock in it. Obviously I will need to cycle it, so here lies the question.....cycle with the uncured rock, or cure the rock anyways? Why?

 

[Dempsey941]

I would go ahead and cure it, no point in risking anything nasty coming back to haunt you down the road.

 

[codytbuckner]

I would go ahead and cure it, no point in risking anything nasty coming back to haunt you down the road.

But wouldn't any die-off from the uncured rock help cycle the tank?

 

[Dine]

But wouldn't any die-off from the uncured rock help cycle the tank?

in theory yes. when you mean cure it though do you mean to bring it back to life in advance? if so that process can happen anywhere that holds water. so you can jump start your cycle by having the rock cooking in advance, that way when it goes in the tank its alive again. personally i prefer to start my tanks with complete piece of mind that they are pest free. theres ways to do that with previous live rock however i always start out with brs reef saver. it has its own challenges but its the devil i know. i cooked my current batch for about 6 months in a plastic storage bin before i even brought a tank home.

 

[don_chuwish]

I'm doing the same thing right now. Pulled some previously used rock out of storage. While waiting to get the new tank up and running I'm getting the rock ready:

First day in, the water reeked. 100% water change and the next day not so bad. I plan to just repeat that every few days until it starts staying clean. Then test parameters.
Most important part is I'm keeping it covered - no light to prompt algae growth.

 

[codytbuckner]

I'm doing the same thing right now. Pulled some previously used rock out of storage. While waiting to get the new tank up and running I'm getting the rock ready:

First day in, the water reeked. 100% water change and the next day not so bad. I plan to just repeat that every few days until it starts staying clean. Then test parameters.
Most important part is I'm keeping it covered - no light to prompt algae growth.

This is what I’ll end up doing if I don’t just stick it in tank. The question remains, won’t this process in a new tank help cycle it?

in theory yes. when you mean cure it though do you mean to bring it back to life in advance? if so that process can happen anywhere that holds water. so you can jump start your cycle by having the rock cooking in advance, that way when it goes in the tank its alive again. personally i prefer to start my tanks with complete piece of mind that they are pest free. theres ways to do that with previous live rock however i always start out with brs reef saver. it has its own challenges but its the devil i know. i cooked my current batch for about 6 months in a plastic storage bin before i even brought a tank home.

obviously a cycle will bring any rock back to life. It is dried rock so no pests to worry about. The concern here is phosphates leaching into the tank long term if I decide to cycle it without curing it. I can’t think of any other bad things coming out of this process.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Just stick the dry rock in and use it to cycle. No pests are gonna get in since anything that was alive has long been dead lol

 

[codytbuckner]

Just stick the dry rock in and use it to cycle. No pests are gonna get in since anything that was alive has long been dead lol

lol got that. Phosphates. I don’t want it to leach phosphates long term. That’s my fear

 

[tehmadreefer]

Well in that case you can always use seaklear, it's very strong po4 remover. Really up to you ha

lol got that. Phosphates. I don’t want it to leach phosphates long term. That’s my fear

 

[don_chuwish]

This is what I’ll end up doing if I don’t just stick it in tank. The question remains, won’t this process in a new tank help cycle it?

It's the rock you're cycling, not the tank. Put this 'cured' rock in, minus all the crud you already pulled out doing the small water changes, and your tank is ready to go. Best part is you can get a head start rather than waiting for the tank to be ready. Plus, it's hard to keep total darkness when curing the rock in the tank.

 

[cvrle1]

I got a bunch of old live rock that was sitting outside for about 6 months. I did a bleach bath 1st for about a week to kill off anything that could be alive, get rid of some algae that was still on, and to reset it back to being truly dead and perfect base rock. I washed it all out after, let it air dry in the sun for another week to get bleach out. I will use lanthanum chloride as well to get rid of any possible phosphates as well before I start cycling.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

If you put the rock in a tub with a heater and some circulation it will populate with bacteria and become cycled. Your tank wont need to cycle, because the rock will be full of bacteria.

I just add a little ammonia now and then.

 

[codytbuckner]

If you put the rock in a tub with a heater and some circulation it will populate with bacteria and become cycled. Your tank wont need to cycle, because the rock will be full of bacteria.

I just add a little ammonia now and then.

THIS sounds like a great answer. I know it’s an obvious one and part of the question all along, but I guess it made me realize that I can cycle my tank before I even get it in. Thanks!

 

[MichaelReefer]

Hey all,

I have some rock that was taken out of a tank and has been out for some time. I have heard mixed opinions on whether or not it should be cured when going back into a tank. Let me fill you in on what I'm doing. I am waiting on my Red Sea Max Nano to come in. I'll be using this rock in it. Obviously I will need to cycle it, so here lies the question.....cycle with the uncured rock, or cure the rock anyways? Why?

I added about 20lbs of dry rock into my Reefer 250, and just washed it in RODI and put them in. No problems at all.