Curing uncured live rock

[TriggerFinger]

Hey reefers!
So I’m getting ready to order 30lbs of uncured live rock from KP Aquatics (definitely) and another 30 from gulf live rock (possibly). Last time I ordered live rock it was on a whim and I was really new to the hobby. I bought the rock before my tank was even set up so I had not even performed any type of testing or water changes. I had no business buying this rock because I wasn’t prepared; equipment or knowledge wise. The ammonia got really high and on the advice of the LFS I just let it ride when I should have been doing water changes. I lost a lot of cool hitchhikers, macros and coral from that batch. So I’m giving it another go almost 2 years later and I want to try and preserve as much life as I can.

I want to set up a tank in my garage to cure this rock. It will be a lot easier to do water changes and direct the hose right down the driveway instead of hauling buckets up from my basement where my tank is.

I have an extra light, heater, powerhead and HOB skimmer. Is this all I would need? any issues with doing this in the garage? My daughter can’t get to it (huge plus) and we don’t park in the garage so there won't be any exhaust fumes.

Im open to any suggestions. I love liverock, I can’t wait to order it!!

 

[cvrle1]

All you need to know about how to properly do it, and then some:

The Curing Live Rock Bible and FAQ

A detailed curing live rock FAQ

www.reef2reef.com

 

[BighohoReef]

In my opinion you don’t need the light for curing live rock it helps keep algae growth down during the cycle. I threw about 50lbs of live rock into a black plastic bins I got from Costco in my garage had the pumps and heaters going. I checked the parameters once a week. One bin was dry rock and the other I was re-curing rock from a old tank. I also threw Dr.Tims bacteria starter into both to get them going. As for testing we checked for the ammonia spike and phosphates at about week 2-3 check nitrites. I wasn’t in any rush and left the bins for the first couple weeks without water changes and check parameters. It’s a slow process there are quite a few videos talking about curing.