cooking marco rock

cpoll86 · 08/11/2008, 02:02 PM

To cook the rock do i have to have it in saltwater? Its just base rock so I don't have to worry about anything dying off.

flyyyguy · 08/11/2008, 02:10 PM

first of all...you cant cook rock that isnt seeded with beneficial bacteria in the first place. So the rock needs seeded first and foremost.

second...yes it needs to be in circulated and aerated saltwater roughly to temps give or take ten degrees. both cooking and seeding happens faster at higher vs lower temps.

so...to do this get your coooking tub ready with a means for flow and aeration and pour a little ammonia in there with the rock. do nothing for 4-6 weeks but top off if necessary. then when you have zero levels of ammonia left you can carry on with the cooking

bigtex52 · 08/11/2008, 03:13 PM

Marco Rock has more beneficial bacteria than you would think. I put mine in fresh salt water and within 48 hrs it was stinking and cooking away with rising ammonia (I never had to add any). I skimmed it pretty heavily for 2 months with circulation and pulled cup after cup of nasty stuff out of it. Worked very well. The only thing I might change with how I did it was to have more water frequent complete water changes in the last 2/3 of the cooking time to help leach out more phosphates, as six weeks after setting my tank up, the GHA was terrible. It wasn't an environmental thing (overfeeding, heavy bioload, etc) as the GHA was only a problem on about half of the pieces of rock in the tank. Never a problem on others. So Cpoll86, the answer is definitely YES about the salt water. Make sure you keep the water temp around 80-82 to help the bacteria flourish.

flyyyguy · 08/11/2008, 03:27 PM

marco rock has zero beneficial bacteria. none. it has long been dead,

It has organic matter which can create ammonia though and get a cycle going

the last thing you want to do is change any water until the cycle is complete. You are just stunting it if you do so

I jump start it with straight ammonia,. it works faster

Zuluman100 · 08/11/2008, 04:13 PM

Yip, no living bacteria in marco rock. Add one small piece from an existing set up.

Heater, powerhead, skimmer, no light. ATO as needed, cook until you're close to or no longer skimming anything.

bigtex52 · 08/15/2008, 07:32 PM

Hmmm. We'll, I didn't add anything in the way of live rock and all of the dead organic stuff disappeared, and stunk plenty for about a week. Ammonia went sky high and then to zero with climbing nitrite. Wonder what (besides bacteria) accomplished that feat? Bacteria don't totally die out on dead rock, but many end up in spore form and come out of spore when water and nutrients are once again available.

Also guys, you need to figure what you are trying to accomplish in the trash can in the garage before you decide not to do water changes. If you are trying to go through the cycle, by all means don't do water changes. Most people wait until they get the tank set up to do that. But if you are cooking rock and don't do water changes, good luck with your crop of GHA on the back end when you get it in your tanks and start building up a bioload and nutrients. YMMV. I was just reporting mine.

08/11/2008, 02:02 PM	#1
cpoll86 Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: boston, mass Posts: 84	cooking marco rock To cook the rock do i have to have it in saltwater? Its just base rock so I don't have to worry about anything dying off.

08/11/2008, 02:10 PM	#2
flyyyguy King of the white corals Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,239	first of all...you cant cook rock that isnt seeded with beneficial bacteria in the first place. So the rock needs seeded first and foremost. second...yes it needs to be in circulated and aerated saltwater roughly to temps give or take ten degrees. both cooking and seeding happens faster at higher vs lower temps. so...to do this get your coooking tub ready with a means for flow and aeration and pour a little ammonia in there with the rock. do nothing for 4-6 weeks but top off if necessary. then when you have zero levels of ammonia left you can carry on with the cooking __________________ I like holding hands, snuggling, and long walks on the beach

08/11/2008, 03:27 PM	#4
flyyyguy King of the white corals Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,239	marco rock has zero beneficial bacteria. none. it has long been dead, It has organic matter which can create ammonia though and get a cycle going the last thing you want to do is change any water until the cycle is complete. You are just stunting it if you do so I jump start it with straight ammonia,. it works faster __________________ I like holding hands, snuggling, and long walks on the beach Last edited by flyyyguy; 08/11/2008 at 03:32 PM.

08/11/2008, 03:13 PM	#3
bigtex52 Old Salt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Carrollton, TX (just N of Dallas) Posts: 436	Marco Rock has more beneficial bacteria than you would think. I put mine in fresh salt water and within 48 hrs it was stinking and cooking away with rising ammonia (I never had to add any). I skimmed it pretty heavily for 2 months with circulation and pulled cup after cup of nasty stuff out of it. Worked very well. The only thing I might change with how I did it was to have more water frequent complete water changes in the last 2/3 of the cooking time to help leach out more phosphates, as six weeks after setting my tank up, the GHA was terrible. It wasn't an environmental thing (overfeeding, heavy bioload, etc) as the GHA was only a problem on about half of the pieces of rock in the tank. Never a problem on others. So Cpoll86, the answer is definitely YES about the salt water. Make sure you keep the water temp around 80-82 to help the bacteria flourish.

08/11/2008, 04:13 PM	#5
Zuluman100 Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 58	Yip, no living bacteria in marco rock. Add one small piece from an existing set up. Heater, powerhead, skimmer, no light. ATO as needed, cook until you're close to or no longer skimming anything.

08/15/2008, 07:32 PM	#6
bigtex52 Old Salt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Carrollton, TX (just N of Dallas) Posts: 436	Hmmm. We'll, I didn't add anything in the way of live rock and all of the dead organic stuff disappeared, and stunk plenty for about a week. Ammonia went sky high and then to zero with climbing nitrite. Wonder what (besides bacteria) accomplished that feat? Bacteria don't totally die out on dead rock, but many end up in spore form and come out of spore when water and nutrients are once again available. Also guys, you need to figure what you are trying to accomplish in the trash can in the garage before you decide not to do water changes. If you are trying to go through the cycle, by all means don't do water changes. Most people wait until they get the tank set up to do that. But if you are cooking rock and don't do water changes, good luck with your crop of GHA on the back end when you get it in your tanks and start building up a bioload and nutrients. YMMV. I was just reporting mine.