Uncured live Rock.

[moltenchicken]

I am getting ready to start my first tank and I decided that I want uncured live rock, for the experience and the fun. My tank is only going to be a 20 gallon so I am going to need about 20lbs of rock.

The problem is that I have not found a local place to purchase uncured LR. Shipping for such a small amount of rock costs as much as the rock.

I am looking for something similar to Premium Aquatics in Indianapolis. Where I can just drive there and pick the rock I want then drive home.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

I have just what you're looking for. pm sent

 

[mike660r]

20lbs of live rock probably isn't going to get you much in the way of life. Since you are starting your first tank. The odds of making a mistake and killing things is pretty high. Find some nice pieces of rock locally from someone that has some excess to get rid of. You will be likely to get some pods and other goodies just as easily this way. Plus, you don't have to wait for it to cure and deal with the ammonia spikes.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

20lbs of live rock probably isn't going to get you much in the way of life. Since you are starting your first tank. The odds of making a mistake and killing things is pretty high. Find some nice pieces of rock locally from someone that has some excess to get rid of. You will be likely to get some pods and other goodies just as easily this way. Plus, you don't have to wait for it to cure and deal with the ammonia spikes.

The huge plus to uncured is the fact that no pest/hitchhikers will come along with the rock. Very common aptasia/mojanoes can get pretty ugly:hmm6: One less thing to worry about..

All you need to seed the rock would be with a tiny piece of liverock and a cup of sand.

 

[moltenchicken]

20lbs of live rock probably isn't going to get you much in the way of life. Since you are starting your first tank. The odds of making a mistake and killing things is pretty high. Find some nice pieces of rock locally from someone that has some excess to get rid of. You will be likely to get some pods and other goodies just as easily this way. Plus, you don't have to wait for it to cure and deal with the ammonia spikes.

I hope I can avoid killing everything on the rocks. One of the reasons that I would like to use uncured is for the experience. I will be ready for something to go wrong and therefor will be more prepared to deal with it. In the future when something unexpected goes wrong I will have at least 1 experience to fall back on.

The huge plus to uncured is the fact that no pest/hitchhikers will come along with the rock. Very common aptasia/mojanoes can get pretty ugly:hmm6: One less thing to worry about..

All you need to seed the rock would be with a tiny piece of liverock and a cup of sand.

My understanding was that cured rock is less likely to have pests. One way or the other your offer sounds too good to pass up. I will be giving you a call a bit later today.

 

[landers96]

It's true that one tiny piece of live rock will seed other rock. But it will take months to do so.

 

[moltenchicken]

It's true that one tiny piece of live rock will seed other rock. But it will take months to do so.

I am not in a huge rush but I would prefer to not have to wait months.

 

[anderson0196]

There are a couple places nearby that will probably have what you need. Check out Aquatic Technology in Columbia Station.

Don't hesitate to do a mix of live and dry rock either.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

My understanding was that cured rock is less likely to have pests. One way or the other your offer sounds too good to pass up. I will be giving you a call a bit later today.

It's actually the other way around. Cured rock will have life on it, hence cured, meaning you don't have to cure it. Which may contain problematic pest. Be careful when purchasing live cured rock because you never really know what's on it or 'in' it(mantis/hitchhiker crabs). Seems like people are starting to purchase dry rock more because it helps take stress off the ocean and doesn't come with unwanted pests. However, I would recommend a small piece of 'clean' liverock to seed everything.

 

[moltenchicken]

It's actually the other way around. Cured rock will have life on it, hence cured, meaning you don't have to cure it. Which may contain problematic pest. Be careful when purchasing live cured rock because you never really know what's on it or 'in' it(mantis/hitchhiker crabs). Seems like people are starting to purchase dry rock more because it helps take stress off the ocean and doesn't come with unwanted pests. However, I would recommend a small piece of 'clean' liverock to seed everything.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=196454

According to this article here at reef central written for newbies(ME):

Uncured is rock which some native islander cracks off part of the reef, throws in his canoe, and takes to the "Great White Rock Hunter" in exchange for beads or other trinkets. The rock hunter, then puts it aboard the slow boat to LA (or Key West), from where it sent directly to your door; usually by air since you are now paying the shipping. The travel time of course did not do a lot for the critters on the rock and a majority croak during the trip. Your nose knows, as they say, as you open the shipping box. Wow, talk about stench!

Next we have the "pre-cured". Pre-curing depends on who you get your rock from. In most cases, when the LR reaches LA, it spends some time in a warehouse beings sprayed with saltwater. This helps remove the shipping decay that occurs to that point and also tends to allow unwanted critters, like Mantis shrimp, to climb out and be removed. After a variable amount of time, usually a week, it is then shipped to you.

The fully cured, after reaching the U.S., is placed in seawater filled curing vat. It is usually moved through a series of vats as it ages with each one having less dieoff occurring in it than the one before. This process will normally take about a month or more. Unfortunately, not all suppliers take this route and shortcuts are made. The net result is partially cured rock arriving at your door. If the rock really stinks after the box is opened, and remains that way for a while, your rock was only partially cured.

UN-cured becomes cured by way of cycling the rock. Basically getting rid of the dead stuff on the rock making it safe to put into a tank. Dry Rock is not live rock because it has no life on it, but if put into a tank it will become seeded and will become live rock.

That is my understanding based on my readings on this site as well as others. If I am incorrectly, please point me to a source that can better explain it to me.

 

[Kreeger1]

Saltwateraddict your talkin nonsense buddy, uncured rock is not dry dead rock, it's fresh from the ocean. Usually has a big die off phase and takes around a month to cure.

Hope that helps

Erik

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Saltwateraddict your talkin nonsense buddy, uncured rock is not dry dead rock, it's fresh from the ocean. Usually has a big die off phase and takes around a month to cure.

Hope that helps

Erik

Uncured rock is the same thing as dry rock in my eyes!! They both have die offs and both need to be properly cured! I don't see an advantage of uncured to dry. Both need to be seeded with liverock to become live. I simply stated dry rock is becoming more popular do to no pest or being taken from the ocean.

 

[Kreeger1]

Your looking at it wrong then

 

[Kreeger1]

Cured and cycled are not the same thing either.

 

[moltenchicken]

Uncured rock is the same thing as dry rock in my eyes!! They both have die offs and both need to be properly cured! I don't see an advantage of uncured to dry. Both need to be seeded with liverock to become live. I simply stated dry rock is becoming more popular do to no pest or being taken from the ocean.

Uncured rock comes directly from the ocean. Why would it need to be seeded with other liverock to become live. Uncured rock should come with the most life, be it the life you want in your tank or not.

I can understand dry rock becoming popular because it is so much less expensive and it does not come with the pests that uncured rock can.

Cured and cycled are not the same thing either.

You are right I should not have put it that way.

 

[scottfarcuz]

Uncured rock comes directly from the ocean. Why would it need to be seeded with other liverock to become live. Uncured rock should come with the most life, be it the life you want in your tank or not.

I can understand dry rock becoming popular because it is so much less expensive and it does not come with the pests that uncured rock can.

You have it right. Tim seems confused on the topic.

I think I see what you are going for here and around 5 or so years ago it was popular to get the freshest uncured live rock as possible and basically let any life on it grow out. Tampa bay saltwater was popular for this because they ship what they claim is freshly pulled rock in water so die off is minimal. There were some really cool tanks here on RC as a result of this method.

Check out the site
http://tbsaltwater.com/

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Uncured rock comes directly from the ocean. Why would it need to be seeded with other liverock to become live. Uncured rock should come with the most life, be it the life you want in your tank or not.

This is a huge misconception, when you buy uncured liverock you're fooled into thinking it is live and will have a bunch of life come back which was originally on it, but that's not the case. All the life that was on it is "DEAD" and therefore you will not have that life. This is why when you cured this rock it will have a large die-off of organics and the ammonia level will spike because all those living critter are no longer alive. So my point is, buying dry rock is virtually the same thing as uncured liverock, expect you're paying a ton more for the same thing! :hammer:

 

[scionreefing]

This is a huge misconception, when you buy uncured liverock you're fooled into thinking it is live and will have a bunch of life come back which was originally on it, but that's not the case. All the life that was on it is "DEAD" and therefore you will not have that life. This is why when you cured this rock it will have a large die-off of organics and the ammonia level will spike because all those living critter are no longer alive. So my point is, buying dry rock is virtually the same thing as uncured liverock, expect you're paying a ton more for the same thing! :hammer:

I hate to poop on your post but we have a store here that gets gulf rock so fresh and with so little die off that you can stick it right into your tank.

Raffle grabber

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

I hate to poop on your post but we have a store here that gets gulf rock so fresh and with so little die off that you can stick it right into your tank.

Raffle grabber

Uncured rock will sit around, could be a day or a few days and needs to be cured because of the die-off, period.

 

[scionreefing]

Uncured rock will sit around, could be a day or a few days and needs to be cured because of the die-off, period.

Believe it or bot I had no ammonia spike when I had it curing in my bucket. I tested it every day to make sure. It had no smell or anything. Just sharing my experience with live rock.

Raffle grabber