Curing dry live rocks

[Tim Cuthbert]

I'm new to saltwater and getting ready to cure some dry rocks and watching some video and reading some articles I'm going with bleach .
1. Do I use saltwater or RODI water.
2. Do I use a heater and what temp do I set it at.

 

[Tahoe61]

Hi and Welcome to R2R.

For use with bleach use RODI water. When curing use salt.

This time a year you really do not need a heater, but 72-78 should cover it.

 

[hijinks7]

curing is is making it live. So you want to use heated salt water once the rock is cleaned. You can clean it with different methods like soak it in water, acid bath or bleech. Once cleaned you want to soak it in heated salt water at around 74-78 degrees and have a pump in there to move around water. You also want to ghost feed the rock to get the bacteria growing.

 

[Tim Cuthbert]

curing is is making it live. So you want to use heated salt water once the rock is cleaned. You can clean it with different methods like soak it in water, acid bath or bleech. Once cleaned you want to soak it in heated salt water at around 74-78 degrees and have a pump in there to move around water. You also want to ghost feed the rock to get the bacteria growing.

So I just soak in bleach I can use dori water

 

[hijinks7]

The bleach will speed up removing dead material on the rock. I just used normal tap water for that mixed with bleach. Just do it outside though if you can. The smell can be awful at best. I soaked them in the bleach for 2 weeks then dipped them in RODI and put them in salt for a 2-3 month cure.

 

[User1]

Well, I don't want to be odd man out but if you are saying bleach to me that means you are trying to clean the rock to some degree. You don't need RI/RO water, it would be a waste of money in my opinion. If you are cleaning or prepping the rock for a new tank and cycle then start by a pressure wash if you have one. If not, use a strong hose nozzle and pre-wash. Then get a tub or container that fits some of the rocks or all and add tap water with bleach. Add a power head to help with current in nooks and crannies. Let it sit over night. Dump water, refill, and add more bleach, repeat another 24 hours.

I'll leave how long you want to do this but that is the idea. If we are talking Pukani rock here I would then dump water, refill with more tap water, then add lanthium chloride. Power head, sit for 24 hours, dump water, repeat at least two more times. Then pressure wash, or use nozzle above, to rinse. Then rinse in RI/Ro water, place in cycle container, dechlorinate, and start the cycle by dosing ammonia to 2ppm.

This is more or less what I did back in February with 150 lbs of dry pukani.

 

[redfishbluefish]

curing is is making it live......

Actually curing is allowing the dead stuff in and on the rock to completely decay and leach out of the rock. Cycling is allowing new bacteria to now make the rock alive again. The cure can be done without lights or heat...assuming it is done with room temperature conditions (i.e., not in you garage in Montana in the middle of winter.)


The bleaching step jump starts the cure....it hydrolysis some of the dead stuff accelerating the leaching/curing process. I'd soak in bleach for at least a week (ideally in a garage or outside). The times I've bleached I've used tap water. With approximately 50 gallons, I've used two gallons of unscented bleach....plain bleach.

Once the rock is bleached, rinsed and ideally dried (drying assists in ridding the rock of beach), it's ready for the saltwater cure part. If needed, and you want to accelerate the de-bleaching, use a de-chlor product....sodium thiosulfate, prime, etc.

So now into saltwater....I like to throw a powerhead or two into the cure tank to provide flow. Let the rock brew in the saltwater and measure for nitrates and/or phosphates....maybe after a week or so. Note that if the rock is real "dirty" this first couple weeks can be pretty stinky....so locate this cure tub/tank in an appropriate place. When the N or P numbers are high....again, maybe a week or two....do a water change. This is the one time a 100% water change would be acceptable. Continue monitoring N/P and water change as needed. Once the levels stop rising, the cure is coming to an end. Water change until you're happy with the N and P numbers. By doing a proper cure, there is less likelihood you'll experience nasty algae blooms.

Dependent on how dirty the rock was, this cure could take a month or two. In most cases, the cycle ends up happening concurrently.....just double check with an ammonia spike, testing 24 hours later that it's gone.

Hope this helps.

 

[NY_Caveman]

All good ideas above. For me I went with bleach and RO/DI for two weeks. Then cured in RO/Di for two months (because Phosphate was high), then cycled and matured in saltwater with some added live rock for a couple of months. Flow added after the bleach, Added heater when I switched to cycling with saltwater.

 

[Tim Cuthbert]

I'm new to saltwater and getting ready to cure some dry rocks and watching some video and reading some articles I'm going with bleach .
1. Do I use saltwater or RODI water.
2. Do I use a heater and what temp do I set it at.

I want thank everyone that answered it’s been very helpful I’ll have questions in a couple weeks

 

[DBUK]

hi everyone i'm new to this hobby.
my question is i'm planning to go with around 80% dry rock and 20% live rock, 10% in refugium in my new tank build(77G) . i get the curing process. and even when many say no need to cure dry rock i think i will still do it, just to get the experience.

my question is can i cure the live rock and the dry rock together in the same bin as i heard the process in nearly the same?. or should i keep the seperate. or just go with dry or live rock.

 

[NY_Caveman]

hi everyone i'm new to this hobby.
my question is i'm planning to go with around 80% dry rock and 20% live rock, 10% in refugium in my new tank build(77G) . i get the curing process. and even when many say no need to cure dry rock i think i will still do it, just to get the experience.

my question is can i cure the live rock and the dry rock together in the same bin as i heard the process in nearly the same?. or should i keep the seperate. or just go with dry or live rock.

You can cure live and dry rock together in saltwater. I cured my dry rock with bleach and then in RO/DI first, then switched to saltwater and added a couple of pieces of live rock for more curing and maturing. Obviously do not treat live rock with bleach or acid if you want it live.

 

[DBUK]

You can cure live and dry rock together in saltwater. I cured my dry rock with bleach and then in RO/DI first, then switched to saltwater and added a couple of pieces of live rock for more curing and maturing. Obviously do not treat live rock with bleach or acid if you want it live.

ok great thanks Caveman.