Live Rock: Cured or uncured?

[lostdog]

I've read the articles that give the difference between cured and uncured live rock, but what I want to know is what are the chances of getting something "bad" on uncured? I'm the type of person who would love the surprise of trying to figure out what came with my live rock, though if the bad really does outweigh this, I wouldn't want to do it. Also, as a beginner in reefkeeping and with a 10 gallon tank, am I crazy to even consider uncured?

 

John

[Mnesarchus]

Here are some good articles:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/search.php...rder=descending

[SteveC]

I think this is a good question for the beginners forum.

 

However, if you've read about curing then you'll know that it just gets rid of the stuff that dies when being transported from Fiji or Tonga or Mars or wherever the fashionable people are getting their live rock these days so you don't have it rot and pollute your tank. If you're starting a new tank, you don't care as much.

 

It doesn't really reduce your chance of getting nasties much, though, since Mother Nature is a perverted little hussy and made all the nasties really hardy.

 

I started out a few months ago and went with uncured aquacultured rock, i.e., maximum life since there's little shipping die-off, and I don't think it was too much for a newbie to handle. Just don't add anything expensive until you're pretty sure you've got the nasties accounted for.

 

Other people had a lot of trouble with it, though, but if you like surprises (just as I do) then I think you'll be happiest going for the most life you can get on your rock. I didn't get any mantis shrimp, though, which was a little disappointing but not too much. I did get a really nasty little crab! Gonna catch him one of these days!

[flaunt]

getting small amounts of as many different types of uncured rock as possible is the way to go IMO because you get a lot of diversity in the life... most of the "cured" rock (killed rock if you ask me) doesn't look live in the least. if you're worrying about "nasties," don't. you won't be satisifed with the rock structure for probably 6 months atleast, so throwing rock around to chase unwanted organisms isn't as much of an issue. yeah it can be a pain in the butt, but the benefits almost certainly outweight the detriments. and yes, there ought to be lots of posts here and on reefcentral.com about this topic. just wanted to give my 2 cents.