Curing Live Rock

[bigfatfish]

I was recently given some ocean rock that had been in with live rock. It has obviously been seeded a little - some bits have lovely purple & pinky areas, there are feather dusters (alot), little starfish, some anemones (sadly, I think aiptasia), bristleworms ( I have been getting rid of the big ones that I see). When I was given it, it had been out of water for 48hrs, just kept damp. I set it up in 2 bendy buckets in my bath, with heaters & powerheads. I am having to do water changes every other day, as the ammonia creeps up - this has been going on for about 2 weeks now. I am in no hurry to put it in my tank because my SG is not yet up to marine. Is it normal to go through this regular water change regime - there must be some die-off somewhere, but all the FD & other things that I see appear to be alive & well. Also, would this rock (about 20-25kg) be good enough to use as my only live rock when I go marine, or should I get some proper stuff too? The tank is 55uk gall, with one GSP. I plan on getting a skimmer to go into a sump underneath. I hope to stop using the cannister filters & use only the rock/powerheads/skimmer. Sorry for the rambling!!

[jmiller]

I was recently given some ocean rock that had been in with live rock. It has obviously been seeded a little - some bits have lovely purple & pinky areas, there are feather dusters (alot), little starfish, some anemones (sadly, I think aiptasia), bristleworms ( I have been getting rid of the big ones that I see). When I was given it, it had been out of water for 48hrs, just kept damp. I set it up in 2 bendy buckets in my bath, with heaters & powerheads. I am having to do water changes every other day, as the ammonia creeps up - this has been going on for about 2 weeks now. I am in no hurry to put it in my tank because my SG is not yet up to marine. Is it normal to go through this regular water change regime - there must be some die-off somewhere, but all the FD & other things that I see appear to be alive & well. Also, would this rock (about 20-25kg) be good enough to use as my only live rock when I go marine, or should I get some proper stuff too? The tank is 55uk gall, with one GSP. I plan on getting a skimmer to go into a sump underneath. I hope to stop using the cannister filters & use only the rock/powerheads/skimmer. Sorry for the rambling!!

I just love little differences in speech like this.
My rock has been set up for a couple of month's, while I get my salinity up, and I've only done two 50% WC's on consecutive days to get my nitrate down. I had very little die off so my ammonia readings never got very high. How high are the readings you're seeing?

It depends on who you listen to whether to do changes or not. My feeling is let it cycle and only do changes if the ammonia reaches a point that it will be harmful to the BB that is already present. Say >4ppm?

I'm sure someone else will be along shortly to disagree with me and then you can make up your mind on what you want to do.

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

Protein skimmer is a must and adding one ASAP would help big time,imo.

[bigfatfish]

The reading of ammonia has been pretty low - 0.25 upto 0.50ppm at the most. (using API liquid tests). Maybe I'm jumping the gun & should wait a little longer before doing a water change. So, do you think this sort of rock would be ok to use as live rock, or should I get a few pieces of decent stuff, to really seed it well?

[jmiller]

If that is all you're getting then I would just let it cycle. A few questions, what are your nitrite/nitrate readings and what kind of water are you using?

I did my changes when my nitrate was over 40. Also I've been "feeding" the rock about once a week with either straight ammonia (to 2ppm) or a frozen cube of brine shrimp. So far it will clear the ammonia/nitrite in 12hrs and I never see a reading above zero using the brine shrimp.

If my conversions are right you are right around the 1 pound per gallon "rule" and that should be adequate for your tank once it has cycled.

Okay Chris, why the skimmer? I'm still a novice and still trying to learn.

[Pufferpunk]

lovely purple & pinky areas, there are feather dusters (alot), little starfish, some anemones (sadly, I think aiptasia), bristleworms

Sounds like LR to me.

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

If that is all you're getting then I would just let it cycle. A few questions, what are your nitrite/nitrate readings and what kind of water are you using?

I did my changes when my nitrate was over 40. Also I've been "feeding" the rock about once a week with either straight ammonia (to 2ppm) or a frozen cube of brine shrimp. So far it will clear the ammonia/nitrite in 12hrs and I never see a reading above zero using the brine shrimp.

If my conversions are right you are right around the 1 pound per gallon "rule" and that should be adequate for your tank once it has cycled.

Okay Chris, why the skimmer? I'm still a novice and still trying to learn.

Well if the LR is uncured, the die off will produce alot of ammonia from all the organic compounds in the water so the protein skimmer will help skim and remove alot of those organic compounds.

[geronimo69]

When I first setup my 20 gallon, I "cured the rock" for a good 4 weeks. It was taken from an established system and I barely got any ammonia at all. Don't do water changes and keep testing everyday. Once you're getting only nitrate readings, you're good to go IMO. At that point you can start with your weekly WC's.

Another quick thing (in my opinion)... Bristleworms are good for your tank. They clean places others critters can't reach to get leftover food. As for aiptasia, as long as they aren't over running your tank or hurting corals, they're not that bad either.. (not appealing to everyone)

[Pufferpunk]

+1 (except for the aptasia--hate the stuff, stings & overruns my tanks if not eradicated quickly).

[geronimo69]

+1 (except for the aptasia--hate the stuff, stings & overruns my tanks if not eradicated quickly).

I know what you mean PP. I'm not the biggest fan of it either, but I have a singleton (was 2, but I killed the bigger) and it is ok for now. If it gets too big (as did the other) I will remove it. They can be tricky to eradicate!

I've tried:

Lemon Juice (works ok on small ones)
Peppermint shrimp (depends on the shrimp, again better for smaller ones)
Vinegar ( be careful with this, I didn't have luck)
Elbow Grease (take piece of rock out of tank, remove anemone with forceps/tweezers, then brush the area/hole it was in with a stiff bristled brush).... Best method IMO.

The one that I removed permanently was by the "brush" method. (note the smaller one was already present but I left it in my tank.)

[Pufferpunk]

I use kalk paste.

[bigfatfish]

I just remove the huge bristleworms (couple of inches long) not the tiny ones, they can stay - although I don't really like them! I don't dislike the aiptasia - just from what I have read about them, they are not great hitchhickers on live rock.

[geronimo69]

This has all sorts of info for you. Or anyone else wanting to know about "hitchikers".

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html

[bigfatfish]

This has all sorts of info for you. Or anyone else wanting to know about "hitchikers".

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html

Thanks geronimo69 - thats really interesting.