Curing rock: When is it done?

[Tanggy]

Hi. I had old live rock that I had before. It was out of water for a few months. I want to reuse it and add it to my tank. First thing I did was placed it in a bleach bath for 2 wks. I then rinsed it out and placed it in clean water for another 2 weeks. After that I placed it in salt water along with a live rock from my tank. I added a powerhead for flow and heater to maintain at 80F. I do complete water change and added Zeoback (bacteria source) every 4-5 days. It's been about 2 months now since I placed it in the salt water. I test phosphate and nitrate every 4-5 days. It's staying constant at PO4: 0.15 and NO3:10-15 for the last 2-3 weeks. I did not check for ammonia or nitrite (i don't have the kits for them).
When is it say to put these rock into my DT? Thanks

 

[r20crazy]

I have had my dead rock (outa water for 5ish years) doing the same thing for 4 months now... except mine is in new setup with live sand... and I have crazy Diatoms and dinos right now (no livestock or cuc) im still waiting

 

[r20crazy]

also check this thread....

How long for dry rock to function like live ocean rock

I think that it usually takes about two years to get all of the phosphate out of the rock (there is more than just on the surface), the crud out of the pores and for it to behave like real live rock bacterially with the anoxic zones that turn nitrate into nitrogen gas. I will say that I do not...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[cvrle1]

You are missing 2 of the most important tests. Ammonia and Nitrite
Since you already did all this, and have your rocks in a separate bucket where you dosed bacteria, why not just do a full cycle in there too? Get ammonia source, get it to 2ppm, and then test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate daily. Once you see nitrites, you can stop testing nitrates, as they will be off the charts. What you are aiming for is 0 nitrite, ammonia gone from 2ppm to 0ppm in 24 hour period.