Question...it's been awhile..

[SteveJakubiec]

I have a question, my brother is going to get back into reefkeeping and is thinking about getting a 100+ gallon tank. If he buys live rock, can he put it into the uncycled tank right away, or does he have to cure it first?

 

[tanker]

He is going to have to cure it no matter where he decides to put it.

 

[SteveJakubiec]

I know, but would it be better to cure it outside the aquarium, or inside it? I remember the smells of when I cured my 45lbs outside of my aquarium, don't really wanna relive it. My question is that if I cure the rock, will a cycle still occur.

 

[ju66alo6]

I was told it will cycle again after you put liverock in.

 

[SkyPapa]

A cycle will always occur with a new setup.
I took down my 120g and cooked the rock for 3 months and it still had a cycle.
Not as much compared to a brand new tank, but it will stilll cycle.

 

[SteveJakubiec]

Is curing rock in a seperate container the same as curing it?

 

[SkyPapa]

Yea, there are a some threads on curing rock out side the aquarium.
Look for "Cooking Rock".

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13076734#post13076734 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SteveJakubiec
Is curing rock in a seperate container the same as curing it?

Yep, just use a large BRUTE trash can... and do it in your garage.

 

[stuccodude]

call around cause some LFS sell cured liverock.

 

[IslandCrow]

Personally, I'd just cure it in the tank. That will start off your nitrogen cycle and combine two steps in one. Plenty of people (myself included) have done it this way. Of course, if there's a lot of life on the rock that's going to die off, you'll either want to remove as much of it as you can or use the separate container method just so it doesn't end up on the bottom of your tank.

Obviously, once your cycle is complete and you start adding livestock, you'd want to cure any future live rock in a separate container.

 

[tanker]

I do not think it will cure any faster in tank or in a brute container. If the smell bothers you, and I know it gets really bad, just do it in gargage.

You may still have a small cycle when you put in tank, but will be short.

 

[IslandCrow]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that it would cure any faster. It'll just start seeding the sand if it's not live already. There's certainly nothing wrong with curing it in another container, though. Especially if there's a lot of die-off.