Live Rock Curing Tank Setup!

[woody88]

Live rock curing tank setup!...........is there anything needed in particular or is it just a case of setting up a new marine tank as normal.
My plan was originally to soak some dead ocean rock in a tank full of RO (as suggested by sorgan) but now I plan to clean the rock and add it to my old 10 g tank which I plan to setup with RO water and reef salt mix, add a heater, powerhead and some sort of filtration with phosphate remover. I also want to add 3 small pieces of cured live rock out my existing setup to help if it will.

Any suggestions/advice etc

If it pulls off well, then I might do it on a larger scale, curing 'dead' live rock for a few weeks and then use it for my tank or even sell it. Could be a little goldmine!

I get the feeling tho as it hasn't been mentioned before, it's more hassle than it's worth!

 

[seffieuk]

It takes months and months to 'seed' rock, Its not worth it in your case imo

Seffie x

 

[woody88]

It takes months and months to 'seed' rock, Its not worth it in your case imo

Seffie x

Hi seffie, I know it would take a long time but i'm fine with that tbh. I just want to know really if my plan above would be the right way to go, and what sort of maintenance [if any] would be required. Cheers

 

[woody88]

O.K. I have been doing a bit of research on this and it seems that everything i planned to do to 'seed' the rock is right.
It seems I don't need phosphate remover. All i need to do is do weekly water changes and test the water, oh and wait for the dreaded smell, if any.
Heat, flow and salted water is all thats needed so guess what i'll be doing the weekend.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of un-cured lr?.......I've looked everywhere on the web?

 

[sorgan]

You need phosphate remover to soak reef bones, curing LR is a different kettle of fish be aware that it does well and truly reek!
Most LFS's get their LR in un cured so if your desperate to do it then have a chat with one.
As seffie says it takes months to seed Reef bones so if you can afford the real deal then get the juicy stuff.
Ps a good skimmer will help cure LR as it will pull slot of the muck (therefore stink) out of the water.

 

[woody88]

You need phosphate remover to soak reef bones, curing LR is a different kettle of fish be aware that it does well and truly reek!
Most LFS's get their LR in un cured so if your desperate to do it then have a chat with one.
As seffie says it takes months to seed Reef bones so if you can afford the real deal then get the juicy stuff.
Ps a good skimmer will help cure LR as it will pull slot of the muck (therefore stink) out of the water.

Cheers mate!. Gonna give it a go anyway, just for experience if anything as most of the equipment is just lying around gathering dust anyway, and as i've said before, i like my little projects!

Plus, any excuse to fire up my home made halide for a bit.

Is it worth me adding some lr out my tank as I have 3 small pieces that i don't really like in there anyway and was gonna use it as filter media [each piece is about the size of a tennis ball]

 

[seffieuk]

Is it worth me adding some lr out my tank as I have 3 small pieces that i don't really like in there anyway and was gonna use it as filter media [each piece is about the size of a tennis ball]

Yep, you need to add live rock, or the rock will have nothing to 'seed' from

Seffie x

 

[woody88]

Is it worth me adding some lr out my tank as I have 3 small pieces that i don't really like in there anyway and was gonna use it as filter media [each piece is about the size of a tennis ball]

Yep, you need to add live rock, or the rock will have nothing to 'seed' from

Seffie x

Duh!....oh yeah, never thought of that! One of those days I guess! Cheers seffie

 

[Donya]

I get the feeling tho as it hasn't been mentioned before, it's more hassle than it's worth!

Not really. This is how I handled all but 3 chunks of rock for my 55gal (one proper LR chunk with critters and two big dry ones that I decided to let colonize in-tank because of their size). I have a ~10gal plastic cooler with an itty bitty pump and a bubbler stuck in to do the rest. I toss in some raw fish or scallop meat every now and again and tada - biofiltering rock emerges. I've never had trouble with it stinking up the room by just sitting there, only when I've taken pieces of rock out to look at them before they're ready. Small chunks have made the transition from dry to stinking to smelling of damp soil in a couple weeks, while larger pieces take longer. The lack of stink doesn't mean the rocks are as colonized as much they can possibly be by that point - just that they will help munch on NH4/NO2/NO3 and won't nuke whatever tank I put them in thereafter. Since my aim is to get biofilters rather than display-worthy rock, the biodiversity is low (just bacteria and some pods) and there's also at least a year's worth of sludge accumulated from siphoning debris out of my other sw tanks and dumping it in. Rocks that get burried in the 4" or so of fluffy stuff at the bottom have always colonized a lot faster than those sitting above it. If you're aiming for nice display rock with algaes and critters then obviously you'd want to treat the curing container more like a proper tank than a bucket of mud, but I thought I'd toss it out there anyway.

 

[woody88]

I get the feeling tho as it hasn't been mentioned before, it's more hassle than it's worth!

Not really. This is how I handled all but 3 chunks of rock for my 55gal (one proper LR chunk with critters and two big dry ones that I decided to let colonize in-tank because of their size). I have a ~10gal plastic cooler with an itty bitty pump and a bubbler stuck in to do the rest. I toss in some raw fish or scallop meat every now and again and tada - biofiltering rock emerges. I've never had trouble with it stinking up the room by just sitting there, only when I've taken pieces of rock out to look at them before they're ready. Small chunks have made the transition from dry to stinking to smelling of damp soil in a couple weeks, while larger pieces take longer. The lack of stink doesn't mean the rocks are as colonized as much they can possibly be by that point - just that they will help munch on NH4/NO2/NO3 and won't nuke whatever tank I put them in thereafter. Since my aim is to get biofilters rather than display-worthy rock, the biodiversity is low (just bacteria and some pods) and there's also at least a year's worth of sludge accumulated from siphoning debris out of my other sw tanks and dumping it in. Rocks that get burried in the 4" or so of fluffy stuff at the bottom have always colonized a lot faster than those sitting above it. If you're aiming for nice display rock with algaes and critters then obviously you'd want to treat the curing container more like a proper tank than a bucket of mud, but I thought I'd toss it out there anyway.

Thanks donya for your info. I'll take it on board! Cheers.

 

[woody88]

I'm setting it up today so will post a couple of pics on here later on this evening.

Is it sad that I'm actually excited about setting a tank full of rock! Lol

 

[seffieuk]

Is it sad that I'm actually excited about setting a tank full of rock! Lol

Not at all, we all love pet rock watching

Seffie x

 

[woody88]

Is it sad that I'm actually excited about setting a tank full of rock! Lol

Not at all, we all love pet rock watching

Seffie x

Can you keep a secret!...........Thats the main reason why ive done it!

Ok.....Anyway, here are the pics!

Equipment used:

100w Boyu heater
koralia nano 900 lph powerhead
Fluval U2 power filter [Ive added rowaphos in a media bag and a foam sponge]
Home made 70w Metal Halide with external control gear
Currently setting up my Fluval 205 external cannistor filter to replace U2 filter [Only reason im doing this is because I bought the filter new last year and have'nt used it yet so wanna try it out].

Approx 10kg of 'dead' live rock [bought 2 lovely pieces from my lfs this morning for £2.50 per kg]

Currently getting water up to temp, and salinity level. Once they are both correct, I will then add 3 small pieces of 'cured' live rock from my tank!

Is it worth me adding some fish food to help with the process, or does it need to be live food like Donya suggested?

 

[seffieuk]

Woo hoo ------


Dead food is fine, throw in a prawn

Seffie x

 

[woody88]

Woo hoo ------


Dead food is fine, throw in a prawn

Seffie x

Cheers seffie!........will do.

Looking forward to putting in my cured LR later on hopefully.

Salinity is 1.016. 2 more cup fills I think!