Dry live rock help

[Finding Paulo]

Please help me ..

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/372866-im-20-build-juicy100/

[william_payne1]

I'm not trying to be an A$$ here but why not just bump the original post with your question? or start a thread with the question? I'm pretty sure its a bit redundant to ask for help, then post a link to it elsewhere asking for the same help...

 

now that we're past that, what exactly do you need help with? as it seems your link goes to an answered post.

[Finding Paulo]

i did that .. just posted on here trying to get more replies .. anyways just asking for peoples opinions

here it is.

Okay so since the pics are out of the way I have some important questions....I never gave live rocks much thought... On my pervious tank i always bought cycled live rock

1. Cycled live rock means it just alive and has the good bacteria correct?

2. Cured live rock means whether the rock is live or dry it is cleaned of all previous dead bateria and matter that can harm your tank?

I will continue thinking I have the correct definitions.

3. I just figured I'd always dry my rocks before setting a new tank in case there were any unwanted critters and just wanted to start fresh.. I always grew diatoms within 3 weeks so that much i was willing to wait. If I dried out my rocks from my previous 12 not the Pukani the one in my display currently for about a week, is it smart to cure it? do i have to? I dried this same rock out last time didnt cure it and had no problems using it in my previous tank .. althouh the cycle took for ever

4. Watching alot of youtube vids about curing dry live rock... some people use acid bath(which IMO is crazy... i dont want to deal with no acid) some use vinegar and some use rodi and some use saltwater... How do i exactly cure 1. the Pukani dry live rocks from BRS and 2. if needed my live dry rocks i dried out for a week from my previous tank?

5. Im thinking about not using the Pukani and just used the previous dry rocks from my old tank from a week ago... you think i can get away without curing? and just throwing it in to cycle? would anything bad happen?

Sorry for the crazy questions.. im just getting paranoid now.

[william_payne1]

Cured is cycled in my opinion it's either dead and dry or dead and wet until it cycles. Some say "cured" is when it has been dead, cleaned with acid or similar ways and re-cycled for "cured live rock" it is pest free and puts off less phosphate then dead rock left to cycle. Pukani has a nice shape, if you want to use it start a tub with it and fresh SW a pump and heater, cycle it then add to your display. I hope this helps out.

[seabass]

1. Cycled live rock means it just alive and has the good bacteria correct?

Cycled typically means that it has enough bacteria to support itself (so that it should not cause an ammonia spike). Also, it usually implies that it has a working bio-filter (regardless of the size of bio-load it could support).

 

2. Cured live rock means whether the rock is live or dry it is cleaned of all previous dead bateria and matter that can harm your tank?

Cured is typically used interchangeably with cycled. When people talk about cured live rock, they usually mean that the dead organic matter has been pretty much broken down (at least to the point that the rock shouldn't cause an ammonia spike). Cured isn't always used literally in this context.

 

3. I just figured I'd always dry my rocks before setting a new tank in case there were any unwanted critters and just wanted to start fresh.. I always grew diatoms within 3 weeks so that much i was willing to wait. If I dried out my rocks from my previous 12 not the Pukani the one in my display currently for about a week, is it smart to cure it? do i have to? I dried this same rock out last time didnt cure it and had no problems using it in my previous tank .. althouh the cycle took for ever

Drying out live rock will basically kill the life. This organic material will then either need to be physically removed or broken down by the cycle. Some people will take rock like this and give it an acid bath to clean off the organic material (and phosphate deposited on the surface of the rock).

 

4. Watching alot of youtube vids about curing dry live rock... some people use acid bath(which IMO is crazy... i dont want to deal with no acid) some use vinegar and some use rodi and some use saltwater... How do i exactly cure 1. the Pukani dry live rocks from BRS and 2. if needed my live dry rocks i dried out for a week from my previous tank?

Working with acid is dangerous. However, it can be effective. Vinegar really isn't strong enough, as the calcium carbonate neutralizes the weak acid fairly quickly. You could use a pressure washer to clean off some of the organics. Acid is really the quickest and most effective method, but you have to take special safety precautions. You can also let the cycle break it down. Unfortunately, rock with lots on phosphate on it can lead to algae problems.

 

5. Im thinking about not using the Pukani and just used the previous dry rocks from my old tank from a week ago... you think i can get away without curing? and just throwing it in to cycle? would anything bad happen?

As long as you don't have livestock, you can add it to your tank and let the nitrogen cycle cure it. I'd at least brush all of the organic matter off with a vegetable brush. There's no point in having it break down more than it needs to.

[Finding Paulo]

Dude seabass, thanks man. This helps. I wanted to stay away from acid as much as i could ... sounds like alot of work and headache for 12 lbs of rock. Ill just scrubb down my rock thats been dried for a week the best i can and pop him in my tank. Hopefully theres not alot of phosphate on it.. kind of worried.

[Hammerstone]

Don't worry, we all go through putting rock in our tanks, whatever method. Let it cycle and have your test stuff ready to tell you when it's done cycling. Try to have fun. The waiting is the hardest part lol. But it's worth it. I worry too lol.?

[Finding Paulo]

Don't worry, we all go through putting rock in our tanks, whatever method. Let it cycle and have your test stuff ready to tell you when it's done cycling. Try to have fun. The waiting is the hardest part lol. But it's worth it. I worry too lol.

yeah the waiting is the worst ..