Curing live rock

F

Fishguy26

I am currently curing 20 lbs of fiji live rock in a 30 gallon tub. I started cycling it on Friday. I tested for ammonia on Sunday and it was off the charts so I did a 100% water change and turned on the skimmer. On Monday I tested for ammonia and it was 0, nitrates at 80. I did a 20% water change on Monday as well. I tested the water again today and the ammonia is still at 0 and Nitrates where at 20. The question is, is it possible for the rock to be cured after 6 days? I did research and I thought it takes 4-6 weeks for it to cure. I have a newly setup 125 with no live stock, will it be ok to transfer the rock into my tank, or should I wait for another ammonia spike (partial w/c's are much easier and cheaper in the tub)?
 
What kind of shape was it in when you got it. Was is bought locally, was it shipped by overnight or regular ground shipping? I have cured my rock for at least two weeks if it was ground shipped. If you got it locally a week may be enough. Testing is the guide, you do not want any activity that is producing ammonia or nitrites. :)
 
It was purchased locally and I purchased it the day it arrived. If I remember correctly they said that it was out of the water for three days. It also looks live I am getting new coraline growth on one of the rocks. So I am guessing it will be alright to tranfer the rock to my tank :D
 
Thats not really a good indicator, the corraline algae. I would take Dennis' advice and cure it for at least a week or so and test for ammonia or nitrites...

Then again, if there isn't any livestock in your tank you could cure the rock in the tank itself. Water Changes would be an issue with a tank that size potentially, but you might as well just do it that way if you're inclined.

And I would strongly consider Dennis' advice regarding the testing, thats the true way to tell. That and you'll want/need a good test kit for awhile....many will say forever and I agree with that, but I loathe testing.
 
I would keep an eye on the ammonia after you put it in the tank. Out of water for three days is normal ground shipping and two weeks is a minimum cure for that I would guess. Again your tests are the real indicator.
 
There is alot easier way to culture live rock. Ask someone that is on the forum that lives by you and ask for some of his or her's waste water 5 gallon to pour into the tub and a cup of live sand for bacteria. It will cycle in 1 week, with a powerhead good power head for constant circulation. Done this a million times and help alot of other people with the same situation. If you were in Austin, I would say " drop it off" I will put it in my sump to cure it faster, pick up in 1 week.

-Joseph
 
Joseph, water doesn't contain a lot of bacteria- that's why we talk about substrates, surface area, and live rock density. Water from an established tank is more likely to have proper parameters, but that's not a function of bacteria.
 
Sorry for not explainning more thoroughly, I usually give people water that I sift thru the sand bed bring up all the brown nasty dust ,bacteria build up, lot of copepods and other things sucked up as the same time. The water in the jugs are brown with settlement and everything esles. We have done this about 50 times with great result cycling someone's tank in 5-7 days straight and curing live rock complete from smelly to no fume in 7-10 days. It truely works and a rock that is dense will only really have dead bateria on the other shell that why a power head is there to blast thru everything. More porus the better everyone knows but sometime , those are also the hard ones to find at the LFS lol. Hope this explains it better on what I meant.

-Joseph
 
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