curing base rock

[Chago09]

If I took a large plastic rubbermaid. Then filled it with saltwater and put like 100lbs of carib sea base rock in it. Then basically just turned some powerheads on and let the water sit for a month. Then add some food in the rubbermaid to allow it to rot and then allow biological bacteria to grow on the rock.

1.) Would this then be ready for me to simply take out and put into a new tank and would be instant cycled correct?? I don't see why it wouldnt

2.) Would this process in the rubbermaid really really smell???

 

[snulma1]

Well first thing, you will probably need a heater in that tub, and if that is your plan, then you are better off just using a 90-95lbs of base rock and 5-10 lbs of LR. This way, it won't smell as bad. But make sure that you do add a little bit of food to help them feed. and keep an eye on the water level.

 

[DrBDC]

If the storage tub has cycled through the whole ammonia/nitrite/nitrate process, the rock will have bacteria only colonized. I would expect this to take more than a month with only base rock unless it had been in a tank previously. I would add some established live rock to help in spreading little critters (pods, stomatellas, etc).

Keeping a proper temp will help as well.

When you add this rock to a tank, there will still be some cycling since you will have a whole new set of surface areas to colonize. Sand, glass, pipes, etc. So you still need to test. It is sometimes better to get some cycle for the peace of mind that comes with seeing nitrite dissappear.

Unless the rock has a bunch of dead organics on it, I would let it cycle in the main tank you are setting up. I wouldn't expect too much smell unless there are dead organics on it. It may not smell like flowers but not anything a typical curing can smell.