What to do with uncured rock?

[Sludgysnail]

I'm gathering pieces and supplies to start my first saltwater tank. I aquired some rock at the same time I purchased my sump. I didn't think about it at the time, but the previous owner had only pulled it from his tank about 3 days before I bought it. It's been sitting out dry for about two weeks total at this point. I has been outside and rained on in that time period. I didn't know about curing the rock before, but do I still do that at this point or am I better off just washing the rock well and go from there? I'm more concerned about a less problems during cycling than a quick cycle (and less future problems also). If the best thing to do is replace it I can do that as well, but would prefer not to if I don't need to.

 

[Amado]

You could put it in a garbage bin with saltwater. With a pump and heater and let it sit for a few weeks adding bacteria. Doing water changes and testing the water.

 

[Lobot]

You could put it in a garbage bin with saltwater. With a pump and heater and let it sit for a few weeks adding bacteria. Doing water changes and testing the water.

im also new to the hobby but since he is just starting out couldnt he cure it in the tank if there isnt anything else in it?

 

[Amado]

im also new to the hobby but since he is just starting out couldnt he cure it in the tank if there isnt anything else in it?

Yes he can. The reason why I would use a brute can is because the rock can let out smell. It’s also easier for you to clean the rocks outside your home.(power wash)

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I'm gathering pieces and supplies to start my first saltwater tank. I aquired some rock at the same time I purchased my sump. I didn't think about it at the time, but the previous owner had only pulled it from his tank about 3 days before I bought it. It's been sitting out dry for about two weeks total at this point. I has been outside and rained on in that time period. I didn't know about curing the rock before, but do I still do that at this point or am I better off just washing the rock well and go from there? I'm more concerned about a less problems during cycling than a quick cycle (and less future problems also). If the best thing to do is replace it I can do that as well, but would prefer not to if I don't need to.

How much more live rock do you need?

 

[Sludgysnail]

How much more live rock do you need?

I have 40-50lbs for a 30 gallon tank, so it should be all I need if I use it.

 

[fishguy242]

a skimmer on the bin will help cure and clean before adding to tank,jmo,many will disagree

 

[ScottB]

You could put it in a garbage bin with saltwater. With a pump and heater and let it sit for a few weeks adding bacteria. Doing water changes and testing the water.

+1 on this. Not mandatory but preferable. A couple good reasons:
- The rock has gunk in it you want to break down with bottled bacteria and heat/flow.
- That process stinks. Better to do that outside or garage and not in your tank/house.
- Easier to trade out the water and clean the rock up a bit.

 

[Sludgysnail]

Ok, so it sounds like the rock is still salvageable. How long do I have to before I have to start curing? I'm just not set up to cure it just yet and not sure if I have time to start the process immediately. I do have room outside to do it though. It's been in the Texas sun for a week now at this point.

 

[Amado]

a skimmer on the bin will help cure and clean before adding to tank,jmo,many will disagree

I wouldn’t use a skimmer because skimming will remove bacteria.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I have set the rock in both a trash can and in the tank during the cycle. Both are good, just depends on how you want to proceed. I would just add it to the tank, that is what I did on my current new tank.

 

[fishguy242]

at this point ,no time frame,start at own pace,cannot do anymore damage to rock

 

[BighohoReef]

The typical response is you want one to two pounds of rock for every gallon of water. So you can cure in both ways as mentioned before you can cure in the tank, but if you have major die off from whatever was in the old live rock you go through a water phase that doesn't smell so good. Do a quick search on the nitrogen cycle it'll tell you all you need to know. I did a quick summary below:

Before you even start here is the setup you should have either in your tank, garbage can, or plastic bin. Have water flow It's important to keep the dead stuff off your rocks, a heater to promote and grow your live bacteria. Make sure the rocks are fully submerged. You also want to reduce light to avoid algae blooms...

You'll also want to inspect the rock for pests unless you've seen the rock in the tank before (check out the hitchhikers threads). We scrubbed our rock before the cycle, tons of dead sponges, and die off from the prior owner.

Get some type of starter micro bacteria to boost your cycle (Dr. Tims, Turbostart, Brightwell) it'll help you propagate the beneficial bacteria in your tank and speed the curing/cycling process along. We've done it for all three of our reef tanks.

Quick timeline for your curing process:
1-2 weeks - Ammonia spike
2-3 weeks - Nitrites
3-4 weeks - Nitrates (1st 5% water change)
4-5 weeks - Fish/cleanup crew (2nd 5% water change)
5-6 weeks - hardy starter corals

Take your time, this hobby doesn't reward the rushed.

 

[Sludgysnail]

Thanks for all the help! So should I cycle the tank at the same time with just sand? Or deal with the rock first, add to tank and then start the tank cycling?

 

[BighohoReef]

Thanks for all the help! So should I cycle the tank at the same time with just sand? Or deal with the rock first, add to tank and then start the tank cycling?

You can cycle with the sand in the tank. I'm assuming you're planning on using live sand as well correct? If that's the case it'll help with the cycling process because of the bacteria in the sand. One last thing you will go through a brown ugly phase where it looks like algae are growing on your rock don't freak out just get a cleaning crew (snails, hermit crabs) to help with it... fish as well. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing/hearing about your progress!

 

[Sludgysnail]

You can cycle with the sand in the tank. I'm assuming you're planning on using live sand as well correct? If that's the case it'll help with the cycling process because of the bacteria in the sand. One last thing you will go through a brown ugly phase where it looks like algae are growing on your rock don't freak out just get a cleaning crew (snails, hermit crabs) to help with it... fish as well. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing/hearing about your progress!

I was given a bucket of dried sand that had previously been used. My plan was to wash it thoroughly and then probably try to get a little live sand as my starter for the bacteria. I don't know what it's called but I was thinking about using some of the bacterial growth booster stuff to do to help the cycle along.

 

[cvrle1]

Few ideas for you. Curring rock naturally with salt water, heater and so on works great, but it does take time. To speed it up, I would do a bleach bath. Put rocks in a bucket, fill with tap water, add bleach and let it soak for few days to a week. Wash rocks, put back in with RO/DI water, add dechlorinator (or you can skip this step and leave rocks out in the sun so that all bleach disappears) finally, soak again in RO/Di water for few days and test for chlorine and phosphate. Whole thing should take no more than 3 weeks max.

Or if you know what you are doing, you can do the same thing with acid bath. Word of warning, acid is quite dangerous if you dont know what you are doing, and you really need to wear all the safety gear. Acid bath lasts few minutes to 1 hour at most. Only thing you would need to do after acid bath is completed is to soak in RO/DI and check for PO4. Again, dangerous and not recommended if you dont know what you are doing.

Great video explaining all, and showing results

 

[Sludgysnail]

Few ideas for you. Curring rock naturally with salt water, heater and so on works great, but it does take time. To speed it up, I would do a bleach bath. Put rocks in a bucket, fill with tap water, add bleach and let it soak for few days to a week. Wash rocks, put back in with RO/DI water, add dechlorinator (or you can skip this step and leave rocks out in the sun so that all bleach disappears) finally, soak again in RO/Di water for few days and test for chlorine and phosphate. Whole thing should take no more than 3 weeks max.

Or if you know what you are doing, you can do the same thing with acid bath. Word of warning, acid is quite dangerous if you dont know what you are doing, and you really need to wear all the safety gear. Acid bath lasts few minutes to 1 hour at most. Only thing you would need to do after acid bath is completed is to soak in RO/DI and check for PO4. Again, dangerous and not recommended if you dont know what you are doing.

Great video explaining all, and showing results

Thanks for the alternative. So the rock would basically be dead at that point and I would just start with new bacteria?

 

[cvrle1]

Thanks for the alternative. So the rock would basically be dead at that point and I would just start with new bacteria?

Exactly, it gives you clean dead rock with no life. Then you cycle your rock to get bacteria going again.

Also, forgot to mention in terns of live sand. Dont bother. Live sand isnt really live, other than maybe some bacteria that you can add via different methods.

 

[Sludgysnail]

Exactly, it gives you clean dead rock with no life. Then you cycle your rock to get bacteria going again.

Also, forgot to mention in terns of live sand. Dont bother. Live sand isnt really live, other than maybe some bacteria that you can add via different methods.

Ok cool. I may go this route as it seems more clear cut to me. The sand I have is used, but is dried and I assume dead. I planned on just trying to add a small amount of live sand with it and the the bacteria booster with it.