Curing Rock and Sand

[RayAllen3422]

I purchased some rock which an individual had out of his tank for about 36 hours when I got the rock. Anything beneficial was dead at this point. So I have read many articles on curing live rock. Here is what I have done so far.

1. Soaked the rock in 50/50 vinegar/RODI for several days with powerheads in my basesment. The smell was awful.
2. Scrubbed each piece and rinsed with RODI.
3. The rocks are air drying on my deck under the awning so they do not get wet. They have been out here for 3 weeks. I rotate the rocks every couple days to make sure they are completely dry.

I watched videos from BRS TV and my next step is to cure the rock in the tank that I will be using since it is in the basement with minimal light.

A couple questions:
Do you all run a protein skimmer during the curing process?
Should I add sand during the curing process or wait until the rocks are cured and then add the sand?

Thanks for any insight.

[gone fishin]

If I understand correctly this tank is going to be a display? If so you can put your rock in then the sand and start your curing/cycle. I would not run a skimmer there will more than likely not be mush to pick up anyway. Good luck just my 2 cents

[RayAllen3422]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

If I understand correctly this tank is going to be a display? If so you can put your rock in then the sand and start your curing/cycle. I would not run a skimmer there will more than likely not be mush to pick up anyway. Good luck just my 2 cents

Yes the tank will be the DT.

[Luke Schnabel]

I didn't run my skimmer untill my cycle was done. You don't even need to turn lights on either.
I put egg crate on the bottom of my tank, put all my sand in then wiggled in my base rocks all the way till they hit the egg crate. I reccomend egg crate on the bottom to keep any rock from possibly having a pressure point on the glass and breaking it.

[shiftline]

Wouldn't the egg crate just create squares for the nasty stuff to build up in?

[RayAllen3422]

Originally Posted by shiftline

Wouldn't the egg crate just create squares for the nasty stuff to build up in?

A lot of people do this. There are a couple threads out there now about this. I don't think it is require but it definitely helps to create a stable base. I don't think anything nastier what's already in the sand would build up.

[Luke Schnabel]

I have had no problem with my sand. I have a 2-3" sand bed. I vac my sand out every two weeks when I do a water change. I have heard of some real bad problems with shifting of rocks and broken tanks.

[jsnrho82]

Originally Posted by RayAllen3422

I purchased some rock which an individual had out of his tank for about 36 hours when I got the rock. Anything beneficial was dead at this point. So I have read many articles on curing live rock. Here is what I have done so far.

1. Soaked the rock in 50/50 vinegar/RODI for several days with powerheads in my basesment. The smell was awful.
2. Scrubbed each piece and rinsed with RODI.
3. The rocks are air drying on my deck under the awning so they do not get wet. They have been out here for 3 weeks. I rotate the rocks every couple days to make sure they are completely dry.

I watched videos from BRS TV and my next step is to cure the rock in the tank that I will be using since it is in the basement with minimal light.

A couple questions:
Do you all run a protein skimmer during the curing process?
Should I add sand during the curing process or wait until the rocks are cured and then add the sand?

Thanks for any insight.

Throw it all in and let it be for as many months as you can without meddling in itmor adding livestock. It is difficult, but the results are well worth it!

[CStrickland]

I'd cycle the rock on the tank too. It's much easier to aquascape when it's dry and not slippery/unrushed. You just get it all set up and add water, then mix in your salt. You can put the sand in then if you want, but I didn't. If you go bare bottom for a while then all of the crud that the bacteria pull out of the rock is easy to siphon off the tank floor, rather than have it collect and rot in your sand. Once the rock is cleaned up and the detritus production slows down, you can add rinsed dry sand. It's a little dusty but nbd really b

Also, sometimes rocks leach phosphate for a bit, which can cause algae problems. If the tank is barebottom you have the option to easily dose lanthanum chloride - it binds the phos into dust that you can siphon out of the tank. If you have phosy rock, dosing LC for a couple weeks can literally avoid a year of algae struggles and expensive gfo replacement.

The no light curing is the same in a tank without lights as it is in a bucket, tho I guess it's an ugly thing to have in your living room.

The risk of tank breakage seems wildly overstated. You don't need to put eggcrate under your rock, but it can keep it from shifting around and landsliding onto a coral if you want to keep really diggy fish like watchman gobys. Plenty of happy tanks use it, but plenty of happy tanks don't as well.

[shiftline]

In my last scape cut flat spots on the bottom of the rocks to make sure it was stable and solid

[RayAllen3422]

Originally Posted by CStrickland

I'd cycle the rock on the tank too. It's much easier to aquascape when it's dry and not slippery/unrushed. You just get it all set up and add water, then mix in your salt. You can put the sand in then if you want, but I didn't. If you go bare bottom for a while then all of the crud that the bacteria pull out of the rock is easy to siphon off the tank floor, rather than have it collect and rot in your sand. Once the rock is cleaned up and the detritus production slows down, you can add rinsed dry sand. It's a little dusty but nbd really b

Also, sometimes rocks leach phosphate for a bit, which can cause algae problems. If the tank is barebottom you have the option to easily dose lanthanum chloride - it binds the phos into dust that you can siphon out of the tank. If you have phosy rock, dosing LC for a couple weeks can literally avoid a year of algae struggles and expensive gfo replacement.

The no light curing is the same in a tank without lights as it is in a bucket, tho I guess it's an ugly thing to have in your living room.

The risk of tank breakage seems wildly overstated. You don't need to put eggcrate under your rock, but it can keep it from shifting around and landsliding onto a coral if you want to keep really diggy fish like watchman gobys. Plenty of happy tanks use it, but plenty of happy tanks don't as well.

Yeah. I have been reading a lot about the leaching of phosphates in dry rock which was the main reason I wanted to leave the sand out in case I needed to add LC. I would rather not add any chemical if I don't need to. I am in no rush so it can sit curing for months. I'm going to get a Hanna phosphate tester along with other test kits as well.

[gone fishin]

when to add the sand is purely a personal choice. I have not seen a tank break due to the rock sitting there. I use pieces of eggcrate under my rock when I reset it back up. Prior to that I had some of the rock shift around, again purely a personal choice to eggcrate or not.