MH lighting of fresh LR from Fiji

mikellini

New member
I'm receiving a shipment of 20 lbs of LR fresh from the ocean tomorrow, and it should have lots of critters, coralline and macro, and encrusting corals. My question is:

Should I use any lighting at all to try and keep some of the life alive during the cycle period? The tank is bare, aside from 20 lbs of established LR. I have 2x150w HQI over a 48" tank, and I was thinking of starting off at a very conservative photoperiod of 3-4 hours. Would this be too much (or not enough) and cause uncontrolled growth of nuisance algae?

Also, I'm debating on what my final photoperiod will be once the corals are in. I've seen a general recommendation of between 6-10 hours. Keeping in mind there is no actinic supplementation, and the wattage of the bulbs, what would you recommend for a photoperiod once the tank is established?
 
the rock should go into a rubbermaid or the like to cure if you are getting fresh rock; sponge dies immediately upon removal from water and exposure to air, so you are going to have significant die off on the rock that really should be cleaned out in a rubbermaid or the like instead of the tank. No lighting is necessary during the curing process.

Also, putting this new fresh rock in with your established LR will be problematic for the established rock when die off begins on the new rock
 
The supplier has told me that it's actually OK for this rock to go straight into a newly establish tank because it is 'pre-cured' via a misting system at the supplier's facilities in Fiji.

Plus, I would think that the biological filtration that the established rock provides will reduce the cycle and help with dealing with any die-off from the new rock.

What I'm most worried about is preserving any encrusting corals or macroalgae on the new rock. I don't want this to die off while curing due to lack of light. Any other opinions?
 
Despite what they tell you, there is little to no chance that any encrusting coral will be on your rock. For one, if there was a coral, they would have removed it and sold it separately. Second, although some organisms can survive the trip wrapped in newspaper, coral isnt one of them. I think its all a play on semantics and im sure "technically" theres some coral on the rock but nothing that we in the hobby would normally associate with a "coral." I also woulndt worry about trying to keep any macroalgae alive. Im not sure you want any macroalgaes in your main display and even then, in time this can turn out to be more a nuisance than anything.

Like has been suggested, leave it in a rubbermaid with a powerhead and heater for a couple of days. It couldnt hurt to provide it with some light but not really necessary either.

With RE: to photoperiod, it really depends on your preference, your pocketbook and the corals you intend in keeping but generally the 6-10 hour range is appropriate but i would lean towards the 6 hour range, or even less, early on. You dont want to encourage any nuiscance algaes and the like
 
Sorry, just re-read. If theres nothing in your tank then go right ahead and throw the rock in there. If there is, i would separate it for the time being.
 
a somewhat basic test on how cured the rock is ...smell it when you get it. If it stinks to high heavens, enough to make you throw up, don't cycle rock in your tank....if it's not bad and smells like the ocean, it might be ok to cycle in your tank. It would have to be in the suppliers tank for 3 weeks or more to be fully cured.
 
The thing is, I don't want 'fully cured" LR. I want to try and save as much life as possible on my own, that's why I'm ordering it express. It left Fiji on Tuesday and it gets her today (Thursday) at 3 pm. I actually do want to preserve some of the natural macroalgae and any encrusting coral that may still be alive, so I want to give it some light. I'm just not sure how much MH light I need. 2 hours? 4 hours? Full light cycle? What do you think?

As for 'pre-curing', I spoke with my supplier, and he says it's a unique system in which they mist the rock with natural sea water for 24 hours to remove dead and dying organics before shipping. It's also supposed to remove mantis shrimp and crabs. This is premium quality rock and has a premium price. I'm not sure how well this works, but we'll see...
 
Your best have having a tank that has already cycled and throwing it in there if you want to keep everything alive.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12244008#post12244008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikellini
The thing is, I don't want 'fully cured" LR. I want to try and save as much life as possible on my own, that's why I'm ordering it express. It left Fiji on Tuesday and it gets her today (Thursday) at 3 pm. I actually do want to preserve some of the natural macroalgae and any encrusting coral that may still be alive, so I want to give it some light. I'm just not sure how much MH light I need. 2 hours? 4 hours? Full light cycle? What do you think?

As for 'pre-curing', I spoke with my supplier, and he says it's a unique system in which they mist the rock with natural sea water for 24 hours to remove dead and dying organics before shipping. It's also supposed to remove mantis shrimp and crabs. This is premium quality rock and has a premium price. I'm not sure how well this works, but we'll see...

Like I said, im positive there wont be any encrusting corals on the rock so dont worry about saving that - there wont be any. Second, if you REALLY want the macralgae, the MH on for a couple of hours a day should be more than enough. BUT, i really dont get why you want to save it. For the most part, i think if you want to add any macros to your tank, you should know what it is and make a conscious decision to do so. Who knows whats on this rock. Just because it makes sense in a natural reef, doesnt mean it will in your tank.

Finally, I dont want to sound cynical here but it sounds a lot like this supplier is making this product sound a lot better than what it is. Most, if not all, sppliers of LR will do a quick rinse or mist before they ship to get rid of some of the dead or dying organisms on the rock. This procedure does not likely get mantis shrimp or crabs out of the rock. As nice as it sounds to get LR straight from the ocean, it is highly preferable to get something that has been "cured," where nearly all the die off has occured. Outside of the microscopic organisms, maybe pods, etc and coralline, i dont see the value in trying to save anything. I understand you paid a premium on it and it makes sense to try and save it but i think youll be better off in the long run without doing so.
 
Well, I just got the rock today. Scrubbed it down and removed almost all of the macroalgae because it was kind of ugly, and I don't realy like red algae. But, on two of the peices, there were encrusting corals, a porites and some sort of LPS brain. I also got the lights today, perfect timing, so I'm pretty sure I'l start it off at 3 hours a day and soo how things go. If algae gets out of control, I'll either do constant water changes or keep the lights off for a few...

Thanks for the replies, any other ones would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, I only paid $4/lb for this beautiful rock, and it has pink, purple, red and green coralline!
 
I purchased about 200lbs of samoa rock back in 1999. It came encrusted with lots of corraline algae and some marcro algae. It was cured in a small outdoor pond that was prepped with saltwater and a strong pump for cirulation. The natural sunlight and warm south texas summer enabled the coralline algae and the many critters to survive during the curing process. Since your rock was recently collected like mine and hasnt been sitting in a cold warehouse for days or weeks going from one point to another on its way to the end customer for sure you will have something worth preserving like i did. Light that rock you wont regret it!
 
J&L Aquatics. They're a canadian company, sho the shipping was much better for me, but I do believe they ship to the states. And I might post an aquascape in the near future...
 
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