Curing live rock

yakfishin · 10/30/2006, 11:42 AM

I have been curing about 140lbs. of live rock for the past week. My ammonia levels are just starting to drop from what had been really high. The only organisms that I can see actually living are some different types of shelled animals. Sometimes during cleaning off of dead matter on the rocks they are partially open and close quickly when touched. A few shells are white and flat with pointy projections from the edges, these also appear to still be alive. I'm wondering how hardy are these shelled animals? If they are still living, can I reasonably assume that I have other organisms that are within the holes of the live rock that are also still surviving? I'm curious because for the first 4-5 days my ammonia levels were off the chart despite doing very frequent water changes. The live rock started off without any pre-curing, with lots of algae and sponges that needed to be precleaned, so I had a heavy amount of die off the first few days creating a large ammonia spike.

Nykademus · 10/30/2006, 12:53 PM

you wont notice it for a month or two, but your rock is still alive... it will be back.

yakfishin · 10/30/2006, 01:11 PM

Thanks, when you keep cleaning off stuff that is dead, but don't see much in the way of anything living- except for said clams and such, it kind of makes you wonder. I'll be happy just to have the bacteria happy along with a regrowth of coraline algae. By the way, it's been a exactly a week and I have not had any lights on the rock. I read varying opinions that on the use of lights when curing live rock, what are the opinions of those who have done it before? I was thinking to start adding about 2hrs a day of actinic lighting and slowly increasing the lenght and the amount of light over time.

norcal99 · 10/30/2006, 02:12 PM

I used a normal 10 hour lighting schedule when curing my rock. I like to encourage the algae growth as it produces interesting colors on the rocks, and it's a visual sign that something's working. Nothing that the CUC can't handle.

10/30/2006, 11:42 AM	#1
yakfishin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 696	Curing live rock I have been curing about 140lbs. of live rock for the past week. My ammonia levels are just starting to drop from what had been really high. The only organisms that I can see actually living are some different types of shelled animals. Sometimes during cleaning off of dead matter on the rocks they are partially open and close quickly when touched. A few shells are white and flat with pointy projections from the edges, these also appear to still be alive. I'm wondering how hardy are these shelled animals? If they are still living, can I reasonably assume that I have other organisms that are within the holes of the live rock that are also still surviving? I'm curious because for the first 4-5 days my ammonia levels were off the chart despite doing very frequent water changes. The live rock started off without any pre-curing, with lots of algae and sponges that needed to be precleaned, so I had a heavy amount of die off the first few days creating a large ammonia spike.

10/30/2006, 02:12 PM	#4
norcal99 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Cupertino, CA Posts: 394	I used a normal 10 hour lighting schedule when curing my rock. I like to encourage the algae growth as it produces interesting colors on the rocks, and it's a visual sign that something's working. Nothing that the CUC can't handle. __________________ Mike! Current Tank Info: 20L AIO - Tunze 9002 Skimmer - Vortech MP20 - ACJR Controller - 4x24 T5HO - DIY HOB Aquafuge

10/30/2006, 12:53 PM	#2
Nykademus Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South Dakota Posts: 530	you wont notice it for a month or two, but your rock is still alive... it will be back.

10/30/2006, 01:11 PM	#3
yakfishin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 696	Thanks, when you keep cleaning off stuff that is dead, but don't see much in the way of anything living- except for said clams and such, it kind of makes you wonder. I'll be happy just to have the bacteria happy along with a regrowth of coraline algae. By the way, it's been a exactly a week and I have not had any lights on the rock. I read varying opinions that on the use of lights when curing live rock, what are the opinions of those who have done it before? I was thinking to start adding about 2hrs a day of actinic lighting and slowly increasing the lenght and the amount of light over time.