What Rock Should I Buy?

[lou 123]

I have been PMing a very helpful member on these forums and he has been a big help to me with my marine set up I am planning for. One thing I just was not clear on and I forgot if I had asked him, is it better to cycle with cured or uncured rock? both are the same price. i will have a 45 minute drive home and than can imediatly add it to the water which i will have in the tank and ready for the rock, so that will be the first thing i do. what do you think i should do?

 

[Straydum]

uncured rock tend to have alot more life coming with the rock. but this also means the die off would be greater so there will be ammonia and nitrite and nitrate spikes. if your tank is already set up with fishes or inverts you need to cure the rock before adding it into the tank. uncured rock is best use for new set ups which have nothing added in yet (by nothing i mean livestock). of course unless you have the space to cure them yourself maybe in a bucket etc

45 minutes is a long time out of the water. i take 15 minutes to get my rock home and i'm already panicking for the hitchhikers

 

[andywg]

I always get cured. In 45 minutes you won't lose much so you can stock with fish at the same time as putting the rock in the tank.

 

[Miah002]

Agree with straydum. Only use uncured if you havn't got any inhabitants in the tank.

 

[andywg]

So long as the rock you are buying is not more than 50% of the amount already in the tank then there is little risk to curing rock in the tank.

 

[Straydum]

hmm its a debatable point. but the main issue is that the die off shouldn't be enough to cause a lethal ammonia and nitrite spike. if you have livestock in there, especially corals and inverts i personally wouldn't risk adding a large amount of uncured rock in. andy you're right when adding a few pieces though 50% may be a little too much IMO. i'd go for <40-35%

 

[seffieuk]

So long as the rock you are buying is not more than 50% of the amount already in the tank then there is little risk to curing rock in the tank.

If Andy says up to 50% with fish (he did not mention corals - I would imagine that he would lower the % a lot if corals in tank) and he is one of the most experienced salties on here, I would follow his opinion

Seffie x

 

[lou 123]

oh this is a brand new tank, theres nothing in it, forgot to add that in there. i havnt even added water yet lol... so if i use uncured, will my bacteria load become greater then using cured? which rock is best for a brand new tank with no fish or corals in it.

 

[seffieuk]

If setting up a new tank I would always try to go for cured lr from an established reefer, cheaper, better quality and fast cycle

Seffie x

 

[lou 123]

ok thanks.

 

[SkiFletch]

If it were my tank I'd look at the rock and buy the one that looks better. Often times uncured rock will take longer to cycle but may have more organisms still on it. So if it's the same price and since it's a new tank, get the one that looks more "live"