before I do something stupid...

[McBeck]

I have some new live rock that I'm curing. There is a lot of macro on various pieces, not all of which should probably go into the main tank. I have one rock that looks like it was covered with Dictyota. I also have a lot of what might be Lobophorum. I'm basing my ID's on pics I've found in this forum. A lot of these macros look very similar to me, and as my rock is new, the macros aren't in the best condition for ID'ing.

My question is this - if I do have Dictyota on the new LR, what's the best way of removing it before putting the rock into the tank? I was thinking about "cooking" those rocks rather than trying to scrub them. I have to cure the rock anyway, so cooking won't be much more hassle than what I'm currently doing.

If you haven't read the "cooking" threads, do a search in advanced topics for cooking rock. It does NOT involve heating the rock.

If I have Lobophorum, should I be concered about it or just let it go? There is also a substantial amount of halimeda. I like halimeda & I'm not too concerned about it.

Any tips or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[kmk2307]

Lobophorum and Dictyota both have the potential to be a major pest / PITA algae. Try looking up Padina, it is possible you have it instead of Lobophorum and Padina is not aggressive, usually. I'm not familiar with "cooking" so I will have to look into that.

Kevin

 

[OCEANUS]

I would go ahead and cook it if you are looking to kill the algae.

 

[fishykid9212]

well I couls say keep the live rock in a pitch black container for a few weeks. No light=No algae

 

[McBeck]

Fishykid - that's the basis behind "cooking" rock. I think i'm going to let it grow out for a while in the curing tank. Maybe I'll find it's Padina.

I know there's a load of "safe" isopods on the rock, but I'm getting a little paranoid there may be some unsafe critters in there too. Better safe than sorry.