Hello R2R,
So for my next reef tank I really want to do everything by the books and the also includes curing live rock. My plan was six months before I move to start to cure the live rock. But I honestly don't fully understand if this is to much time or all the methods I have to use.
So from what I gather you cure live rock to remove all the dead/decaying organisms that live upon the rocks as those are essentially adding unwanted nutrients to the tank. Also to test the success of the process you should test for ammonia and nitrates to see if they went down to zero after a sustained amount of time. Please correct me if any of this is wrong
Now here is where all my questions lie, in what I need to set it all up and if there is a guideline duration.
1.) I have read conflicting reports on wether you add light to the setup or not, what do you all do?
2.) How often do you do water changes with your curing live rock setup?
3.) I heard so people to control the pests in there curing live rock setup just add a natural predator like a Melanurus Wrasse and 6-Line Wrasse. Have any of you guys done that?
4.) *This is a extremely newbie question* There is nothing wrong with curing your live rock too long is there? My plan was just to be safe and cure my live rock six month ahead of schedule.
5.) I read to expedite the curing process to set the heater between 80-82 degrees, is this a good idea?
6.) I read that you want high flow in the curing process, is there anything for live rock as too much flow?
7.) Again I read that people use protein skimmers to help remove waste, is this a good idea or an unneeded expense?
Now for the setup it doesn't have to be anything special does it? My plan was this for equipment
- 55 Gallon Brute Trashcan
- Jager 150W Heater
- Hydor Powerhead - 2000 GPH
- Some Cheap Protein Skimmer
So for my next reef tank I really want to do everything by the books and the also includes curing live rock. My plan was six months before I move to start to cure the live rock. But I honestly don't fully understand if this is to much time or all the methods I have to use.
So from what I gather you cure live rock to remove all the dead/decaying organisms that live upon the rocks as those are essentially adding unwanted nutrients to the tank. Also to test the success of the process you should test for ammonia and nitrates to see if they went down to zero after a sustained amount of time. Please correct me if any of this is wrong
Now here is where all my questions lie, in what I need to set it all up and if there is a guideline duration.
1.) I have read conflicting reports on wether you add light to the setup or not, what do you all do?
2.) How often do you do water changes with your curing live rock setup?
3.) I heard so people to control the pests in there curing live rock setup just add a natural predator like a Melanurus Wrasse and 6-Line Wrasse. Have any of you guys done that?
4.) *This is a extremely newbie question* There is nothing wrong with curing your live rock too long is there? My plan was just to be safe and cure my live rock six month ahead of schedule.
5.) I read to expedite the curing process to set the heater between 80-82 degrees, is this a good idea?
6.) I read that you want high flow in the curing process, is there anything for live rock as too much flow?
7.) Again I read that people use protein skimmers to help remove waste, is this a good idea or an unneeded expense?
Now for the setup it doesn't have to be anything special does it? My plan was this for equipment
- 55 Gallon Brute Trashcan
- Jager 150W Heater
- Hydor Powerhead - 2000 GPH
- Some Cheap Protein Skimmer
