Can I skip curing and quarantining aquacultured LR from the ocean? (Fighting cyano)

[TraverseCity]

I know normally you’d cure live rock, but I am trying to fight cyano which is largely dominating my aquarium and so I think I want to get as much diversity and competing algae as possible.

I was planning on shipping like 15 lbs from the bay and putting it straight into my tank. Good or bad idea?

Tank is 100 gal FO with about 100 lbs bare rock. The tank is 6 months old, has 11 small fish (damsels, sixline, blennies etc), and has a few hermits and shrimp.

Also, if adding rock from the ocean, is there a significant chance it would be holding ich, velvet, or another disease and therefore need to be “quarantined?” I know some of those parasites spend part of their lifecycle on hard surfaces. With fish I’m not any more careful than doing copper for 10 days and then transfer the fish through a bath and into the tank. But logically it seems likely live rock from the ocean could have disease.

Here is a pic from before the cyano took hold, and then a couple from after.

Thank you all for your helpful input as always!

 

[TexanCanuck]

I think there are two different questions in your post:

(1) curing live rock
(2) dealing with Cyano

With respect to curing live rock, it very much depends on the source you're buying it from. If your source is a reputable vendor that has a responsibly maintained offshore aquaculture farm, and properly harvest the rock and store it IN WATER if their facilities, and ship it to you IN WATER, then NO - you don't need to cure it.

If, however, the vendor you are using does not harvest it directly from an offshore farm (i.e. they buy it from someone who does), or they do not keep it submerged in water at all times (including shipping), then YES - you should cure your rock before adding it to your tank.

At the end of the day, I think it's a simple risk assessment where the "right" answer depends on how long the rock has been out of the water, how well established your tank is, and how fragile/delicate your tank inhabitants are.

For example, I have a 140 gallon system that has been running for about six months (fish and dry rock only at this point), but I purchased my live rock from KP Aquatics (https://www.kpaquatics.com) and had it shipped to me in water - and as soon as I unpacked it it went straight into my tank and I didn't worry at all.

With respect to cyano, this is a more complicated issue that deserves more discussion. There are a lot of great thread on here on this issue and I highly recommend you research them first before taking any action.

In my view, if cyano is really your main concern, there are other actions I would recommend you start with before spending a bunch of money on more, high-quality live rock shipped in water.

Just my $0.02

 

[TraverseCity]

Thank you for your input! That all makes sense. I do realize the cyano issue is multi-factorial and I need to do more research. I was thinking adding diversity and more algae would be one component that would help. I will do more research on cyano before spending the money. Thank you!

 

[Cell]

Whether or not you need to cure depends on how much die off occurs during shipping. As mentioned, that will depend on several factors, mostly if they are shipped in water or just damp.

 

[TraverseCity]

Thanks for weighing in!

 

[R-balljunkie]

hmm, generally speaking...dont count on fresh LR to be a silver bullet to any issues. For you cyano issue, a simple lights out for a week would probably do you wonders, notwithstanding your relentless OCD and having to see your tank.....you ever think, maybe your tank could use a little time off from you? grab a sheet, throw it over the tank, lights out, feed fish and see how it looks after a few days.