How do I cycle Marco Rocks?

[tjsreeftank]

rocks

rocks

I didnt have no problems with just adding them to my tank.

 

[khaosinc]

I hosed mine off with a garden hose in the driveway, then in the tank they went. I did have a bit of an algea bloom, but nothing a decent sized clean up crew couldn't handle.

 

[reeffer]

when you do a water change, save them and put your macro rocks in there with a heater and pump for a couple of days.

 

[D' kingfisher]

pressure washer them if you have one...Thats what my friend did..

 

[jjstecchino]

I set up my 180 gal tank with MarcoRocks, the Fiji variety. They are awesome rocks, however they need to be handled with care.

They come dry and pretreated. They are very white, I think because they are bleached. Still they have quite a good amount of organic matter on them. Also people have noticed that even after "cooking" them appropriately they tend to leach phosphate. For this reason it is recommended to treat them with a mild acid such as vinegar to remove the phosphate ridden outer layer. Do not leave them in vinegar too long because they will dissolve and shrink in size.

You then need to put them in a curing vat with saltwater and a powerhead. You can use a bacterial starter product if you want but it is not necessary since you have to cure this rocks for at least 4 weeks to get rid of all the organics they contain. By this time you are done nitrifying bacteria would have grown anyway since they are pretty much ubiquitous.

At this point the rocks are ready for use. I treated this way 180lb of rocks, set up my new aquarium and patiently waited for a cycle. The cycle never happened. I added fish, my ammonia, nitrite and nitrates never went up, like if the tank was already established. I experienced a very short (2 days) diatom bloom, very minimal cyano and now 3 months in the rocks are starting to show spots of coralline algae that are rapidly spreading.

If you are interested in the process I documented what I did, the equipment I used with a lot of pictures in my thread HERE.

 

[mtothet]

I used mine to cycle the tank

 

[lancer99]

Stop arguing!

Some of the stuff that Marco ships is very clean, with very little organic matter, and doesn't need to be cured (beyond a soak to remove dust etc.).

Some of it's very dirty, and needs to be cured just as you would for uncured live rock.

-R

 

[D' kingfisher]

hehehe yeah stop arguing..:rollface: do what he said..

 

[lin0501]

Stop arguing!

Some of the stuff that Marco ships is very clean, with very little organic matter, and doesn't need to be cured (beyond a soak to remove dust etc.).

Some of it's very dirty, and needs to be cured just as you would for uncured live rock.

-R

I don't think anyone is arguing, just stating their experiences. I think mine came from the dirty batch so I guess I'll leave them in the container for now.

 

[lin0501]

I set up my 180 gal tank with MarcoRocks, the Fiji variety. They are awesome rocks, however they need to be handled with care.

They come dry and pretreated. They are very white, I think because they are bleached. Still they have quite a good amount of organic matter on them. Also people have noticed that even after "cooking" them appropriately they tend to leach phosphate. For this reason it is recommended to treat them with a mild acid such as vinegar to remove the phosphate ridden outer layer. Do not leave them in vinegar too long because they will dissolve and shrink in size.

You then need to put them in a curing vat with saltwater and a powerhead. You can use a bacterial starter product if you want but it is not necessary since you have to cure this rocks for at least 4 weeks to get rid of all the organics they contain. By this time you are done nitrifying bacteria would have grown anyway since they are pretty much ubiquitous.

At this point the rocks are ready for use. I treated this way 180lb of rocks, set up my new aquarium and patiently waited for a cycle. The cycle never happened. I added fish, my ammonia, nitrite and nitrates never went up, like if the tank was already established. I experienced a very short (2 days) diatom bloom, very minimal cyano and now 3 months in the rocks are starting to show spots of coralline algae that are rapidly spreading.

If you are interested in the process I documented what I did, the equipment I used with a lot of pictures in my thread HERE.

I think I'll try some vinegar. How long should I leave it in?