Pukani Curing

[MichaelReefer]

Good morning everyone,

So, my Fiance and I are in Escrow on our new home and now it is time to do what i've been waiting for. Reefer 250 to a Reefer 525XL, now that we are moving from our rental home with a raised floor to a concrete slab. But I have a few questions for some of you!

I am considering switching to Pukani, due to it being easier to aquascape. However I have found very mixed opinions on the curing process and wanted to get some more opinions.

From what I have read, you want to mix RODI or tap (shouldnt matter) with a 1 to 10 ratio of bleach and soak for at least one week. Then empty it, mix some salt water and begin the soaking process for around 10 weeks? Now, my plan is to pre cure, dry again, and then begin aquascaping well before I get my tank after my tax return next year so it's all ready to go. I have heard of people putting some rocks from their current tank in the soak to help grow bacteria? Has anyone done this?

Appreciate any in-site!

 

[andrewey]

You can use tap water for your initial bleach bath The next step after soaking in bleach would be to either rinse and soak in a dechlorinator (e.g. prime) or completely dry in the sun to remove the residual bleach. You won't want to start your curing process with any remaining bleach in the rocks.

The bleach will help, but the most important part will be the curing on pukani as that stuff leaches phosphate like crazy! You can either do a normal cure where you change out the water frequently or cure with the aid of a phosphate removal tool (e.g. GFO, lanthum chloride). Once you've finished curing, you should be able to dry as you planned then reuse as if you were starting with fresh rock and cycle at a later date normally. If possible, it's probably easiest to just keep the rock warmed in the bucket and skip the drying stage, but you know your situation best!

 

[MichaelReefer]

You can use tap water for your initial bleach bath The next step after soaking in bleach would be to either rinse and soak in a dechlorinator (e.g. prime) or completely dry in the sun to remove the residual bleach. You won't want to start your curing process with any remaining bleach in the rocks.

The bleach will help, but the most important part will be the curing on pukani as that stuff leaches phosphate like crazy! You can either do a normal cure where you change out the water frequently or cure with the aid of a phosphate removal tool (e.g. GFO, lanthum chloride). Once you've finished curing, you should be able to dry as you planned then reuse as if you were starting with fresh rock and cycle at a later date normally. If possible, it's probably easiest to just keep the rock warmed in the bucket and skip the drying stage, but you know your situation best!

So, if I continue to cure in the bucket and lets say throw a rock in from my tank, will that cause the other rocks to gain bacteria? Or will that make no effect?

Never used Pukani or any kind of curing phase so wanted to make sure I do it right and the easiest I can for direct placement into my tank next year. Since it takes a few months and I still want to be able to aquascape the rocks I want to leave myself ample time.

 

[andrewey]

Yup- the live rock will help to "seed" the cured rocks with bacteria (assuming the cured rock isn't already colonized by nitrifying bacteria from the air, but that's a different story). Just make sure the rock you put in there isn't harboring any pests (e.g. aiptasia) and you'll be all set! Sounds like you're thinking ahead and have a great plan. I would add the live rock towards the end of your curing process once most of the organics have been processed.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Yup- the live rock will help to "seed" the cured rocks with bacteria (assuming the cured rock isn't already colonized by nitrifying bacteria from the air, but that's a different story). Just make sure the rock you put in there isn't harboring any pests (e.g. aiptasia) and you'll be all set! Sounds like you're thinking ahead and have a great plan. I would add the live rock towards the end of your curing process once most of the organics have been processed.

Yeah, thats my plan. I will probably seed a rock in it in January to give it a few months. How frequently should I do water changes? Like every few weeks?

 

[andrewey]

When I've cured pukani, I usually did it for about three months and performed weekly or bimonthly water changes. The last couple of times, I used a hanna checker and allowed that to dictate how frequently I needed to change the water. Initially, you'll need to change the water more frequently as the outer layers of rock release the bound phosphate (plus all the leftover phosphate and nitrate that are produced when organics are broken down by bleach). If you have enough time, it really doesn't matter too much how frequently you change the water, but if you're on a tighter schedule, that's where I would suggest looking at bleach followed by an acid dip or using lanthanum chloride.

 

[Gablami]

@andrewey is spot on. If you’re finding that the phosphates are super high following a couple water changes, or rising after being lower, I would start using lanthanum chloride. Very easy to do when the rocks are in a tub (no need to use a fine filter sock). Water changes will work, but it’s a lot easier to drop a few drops of lanthanum chloride in, than to drain tub, make new water and refill repeatedly. You’ll need to make sure you have good circulation in the tub if you do use LC.

Only thing I would say differently, is you can add some live rock to your cooking rocks earlier (not towards the end) since it’s that bacteria on the live rock that will help progress the cycle along (kind of like “bacteria in a bottle”, except it’s “bacteria on a rock”).