To cure or not to cure...

[Anihiel1]

Decided to add another 15 pounds of live rock and went with the uncured live rock from KP Aquatics. One day delivery, still fresh, no 'bad' odor. I've read different opinions on curing for a month vs. dipping and/or high-salt bath then ok to go right in the tank. What is everyone's expert opinion...?
I'm at work but going from memory my normal tank parameters are
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 0-3
Phosphates I believe were 8, running phosquard now
Calcium 450
Can't recall carbonate

 

[flsalty]

That depends on what you mean by cure. To a lot of people that seems to mean "kill", as in stick it in a garbage can full of water until everything dies off.

I prefer to observe the rock for a bit, just to pull off dead stuff and keep an eye out for unwanted hitchhikers. If you don't have a tank to set that up, use a bucket, tote, whatever. Or you could just put it in and monitor ammonia.

 

[Anihiel1]

Yes that was my thought as well, what are your thoughts on dipping (CoralRx) vs high salinity dip .30? I don't want to kill any beneficial organisms, but also don't want an accidental bobbitt worm...

 

[Peace River]

You will have experts all along the spectrum of that debate. Do your research, determine what level of risk is appropriate for you, and move forward. Good luck!

 

[redfishbluefish]

First off, never, ever use a coral dip on rock. The dip will absorb into the rock and then slowly leach out, potentially killing inverts in your tank. Coral dips are for corals!

Curing rock is the process of past dead stuff....like bacteria or small inverts/algae....to continue to decay and leach out of the rock. Curing typically includes watching one or two of the breakdown ingredients (nitrates and phosphates) to gauge when this process is finishing up....between one to two months. If your tank is large enough and the new rock is a small percent overall, you can get away with adding directly to your tank. Still monitor N's and P's, and water change when needed. Otherwise, you'll want to do this outside your DT....in a holding tank/bucket/whatever. No heat or light needed.....just saltwater and a powerhead. Water change as needed monitoring N's/P's.

 

[Anihiel1]

Makes sense about the dip, I was wondering about that myself as I was reading the article last night.

 

[flsalty]

Yes that was my thought as well, what are your thoughts on dipping (CoralRx) vs high salinity dip .30? I don't want to kill any beneficial organisms, but also don't want an accidental bobbitt worm...

I agree with the other person who said no dipping. However, I don't agree with sticking premium live rock into a bucket with no heat or light. I'd rather take my chances in the display.