Curing Live Rock

aic

New member
I'm setting up a plastic tub to throw in some rock to cure for a few months.

I know I need a heater and a powerhead.

However, I'm curious how steady I need the temperature. The container is quite large, and I'd need to go out and buy a 500w heater to reasonably keep it steady. Also, how much flow would I truly need?


Last but not least- how often do you change out the water in those months to get rid of the nitrates? Or is it a waste?

TIA
 
I cant really help much since I cured mine in the tank but I will tell you this, keep the tubs in a room you don't go in or a garage or something because it smells terrible! Stunk up my whole house for a week.
 
I would keep it in the normal temp range. You don't want to have a big difference in temp when you get ready to transfer it to the tank.
 
I would keep it in the normal temp range. You don't want to have a big difference in temp when you get ready to transfer it to the tank.

I understand that. But due to the smell, I'd want to keep it in the basement. My basement gets cold in the winter and I'd need over 500 Watts to keep a fairly stable temperature. My thought is if I use a 300watt or so - it may get colder (70s), but will still stay relatively warm.
 
It should be fine if the water stays in the 70's. IMO you don't really need to go crazy with the flow, just need some circulation.
 
Just my opinion ajc, but I agree with your thinking. You are not going to be re-using the water that you are curing the rock in anyway, are you? So the rock would be coming out of the curing tub and into the display tank, which will then be filled with fresh SW. Going below 76 F might be kind of rough on some of the macro-organisms that might still be living in the rock, but chances are that they already survived much worse if they are still there. I suspect that you'll be fine as long as you are able to keep the temp in the 70s.

I'm using dry rock myself, and I am curing it outside under the covered patio (I'm in Florida, so my patio is probably warmer than your basement). I don't really have to worry with anything other than bacteria, and I don't think it is quite as temperature sensitive as some more complex organisms. I do have a heater in there, but I'm not worried about maintaining temperature too precisely. Just trying to keep it warm enough for the bacteria to do its stuff. As for flow, I think you just need a good amount of surface agitation for aeration purposes since the bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrite is aerobic. Beyond that, I don't know if more flow would have any advantage or not.
 
I cant really help much since I cured mine in the tank but I will tell you this, keep the tubs in a room you don't go in or a garage or something because it smells terrible! Stunk up my whole house for a week.

Oh man, i was not aware curing live rocks cause an oder. Anyway around this? I love in an apartment and dont really have a place to put the curing tank
 
When I did it it did start to smell pretty quick, especially if it has stuff on it.

As soon as smelled that smell, I knew I didn't want it to spread into the house. :)

A bag of carbon in the water took care of the smell real fast. Cover on the tub helped as well.

Didn't smell it at all after the carbon.
 
Oh man, i was not aware curing live rocks cause an oder. Anyway around this? I love in an apartment and dont really have a place to put the curing tank

I've cured rock that has been shipped for many days, and the smell was not all that bad.

Use a skimmer and empty/clean it often. Maybe put a bag of carbon over the skimmer vents since that is where a lot of smelly air will be coming from.
 
Oh man, i was not aware curing live rocks cause an oder. Anyway around this? I love in an apartment and dont really have a place to put the curing tank

If you live in an apartment you might want to cure it in a drink cooler with a lid. And smell will depend on two things. How much dead matter there is, and the type of rock. If you've got SUPER FRESH rock, then I'd cure it in a tank, with no fish, a skimmer, and lights. You will probably have to drain most of the water, but doing large water changes often helps. If you have truly dead rock, with dead matter on it, then dropping it into a cooler with a lid and wave maker is all you need. Warning though. That wave maker will heat up that water in an insulated tub. Otherwise you can stick it in buckets in the bathroom and turn on the exhaust fan and keep the door shut.

I personally wouldn't worry too much about keeping stuff alive unless the rock and well and truly fresh enough to have live stuff on it. Establishing a good bioculture on them is as simple as getting a cup of live sand from an established tank. Most rock though is too dry to actually have anything living left on it. If you can, get the rock already cured as that saves a heck of a lot of time and work.
 
When I did it it did start to smell pretty quick, especially if it has stuff on it.

As soon as smelled that smell, I knew I didn't want it to spread into the house. :)

A bag of carbon in the water took care of the smell real fast. Cover on the tub helped as well.

Didn't smell it at all after the carbon.

Carbon as in the carbon filters? Will that work?
 
In my garage, I used a heavy duty rubbermaid with tight lid from home depot. Think I paid around $20 or so. Two powerbeads and two heaters for around 6-7 weeks. Awful smell after the first few days, got worse and eventually started to lessen after a few weeks. I was doing 50% water changes just about eod. I tested for ammonia every day after the second week and once the ammonia leveled out I was good to go.

Good luck!!
 
Curing Live Rock

I normally fill up a 32 gallon brute trashcan and make up a perfect 1.022 salinity mix in the can. Add all the rock I can and then put a plastic basket style box in and add chaeto (I think i spelled it wrong..in a hurry). But let me give you the specs of the trash can I have made for this. It has a Float Valve tapped into the top area near one of the handles for added strength for that area. Which also is connected to a set of line and on/off valves for mt R.O. System that feeds all 3 systems I own (R.O. 28Gal Wells x 3) and the 4 Brutes I have. 1 x Red 55Gal, 1 x blue 32Gal, 2 x Grey 44Gal Cans.. I also have a heater in the can so it stays regulated. Along with a simple fuge light put on a outlet timer for the normal LED TIME. Minus the LED. You will still get you blooms just not anywhere near the ratio you normally would.

I let it go for 45-90Days. But then Again, I have a lot of different rock and am in no hurry!

BuckeyeMarine
 

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