Curing Dry Rock - Help

[pdiehm]

I have a 32g Brute container. I used dechlorinated tap water and a powerhead. Used tap water for 2 reasons. 1) my tap water is really pretty good around here and 2) I just got yelled at by the boss of the house because of our water bill (mostly from making RODI)...ordered a water saver kit, hopefully that'll help alot.

The rock itself was NASTY. Pukani rock from BRS. I dosed with SeaKlear, and the water turned a very bright shade of white. Tested this morning, the phosphate level is 0.03. Do I let that just continue to sit, or do I put new water in, and continue to soak out the phosphates?

I have a 20g long that I have 10g of saltwater in (from ro/di). The phosphate test was 1.07. So I replaced with new water (no salt at this time because of that reading). Will test later today, and dose with SeaKlear.

My question is, do I need to change the water with each dosing or can I just continue to dose without changing the water?

Also, I've read so many conflicting things. People say, do it in saltwater. others say no, wait til the levels get lower. What's the purpose of doing it in saltwater? Will the bacteria formed from starting a cycle lower the phosphate level?

I'm not entirely sure I understand this rock curing process to be honest, even with reading as much about it as I have.

 

[sureal00]

I think the main goal is pukani is known to leech alot of phosphates.Using saltwater first is a waste.Get out as much phosphates as you can with declorinated water or ro/di if you have and then transition to saltwater for cycling .I dont like the process of dry rock curing.I rather buy live rock and just cure it from there on.I would run a phosphate test on the tap water to see how high it is cause it could be adding phosphate as you remove it.

 

[pdiehm]

Our water is very good here. no phosphates in it, and low TDS as well. Hanna test (and api) both showed 0.00.

How often should I change the water? If i dose LC (SeaKlear) do I also need to change the water? or since the LC bonds with the phospates, can I just keep using the same water?

 

[sureal00]

Not too sure.I never used it myself.I believe a skimmer is able to pick up the precipitates when you use that stuff .

 

[pdiehm]

I guess I'll just continue to soak in RO/DI or dechlorinated tap and change it ever 3 day. Love the pukani, but I'm starting to kick myself for not getting the reef saver.

 

[gemini9]

I would highly recommend cleaning it before trying to cure it. Buy yourself a few jugs of white distilled vinegar (it's really cheap) and soak your rocks in that for a few days. Empty the vinegar out, scrub all the rocks down with a toothbrush, rinse, and then soak again in the vinegar for another few days. The whilte distilled vinegar has small amounts of acid that will clean away the junk from the rocks. Repeat the procedure as often as you like, but do it at least twice. After the rocks are nice and clean/white, THEN you can put them in the saltwater with your powerhead and cure. BRS pukani is nasty. Pretty yes, but dirty to the extreme.

 

[pdiehm]

I would need 30 gallons of white vinegar.

Or is it a 1:1 ratio? 5 gallons vinegar to 1 gallon ro/Di?

 

[MioReefer]

So how did you cure your rock after all? I'm currently doing this using 75% vinegar and 24% fresh water.

 

[pdiehm]

I changed the water. Still in the tubs. After 8 weeks was getting readings still. At request of a friend changed the water and he told me to call him with what I saw. A whole lot of nasty on the bottom. Told me that my rock is probably cured but the reading was from the stuff that had fallen off.

Tested on Saturday. 0.00. Test tonight and if it's still at 0.00 by this weekend will consider it cured and work on aquascape layout

 

[Zacco]

Just because your phosphates are at 0.00 does not mean your rock is cured. Did you start your bacteria cycle? Heated salt water RO/DI, ammonia source, seeding? Ammonia,nitrate test?

 

[pdiehm]

It's sitting in RO/DI at the moment, heated. I will cycle it once I get the tank set up. My main concern was getting all the icky dead stuff (or as much as I can) out of the dried pukani rock, and getting the PO4 levels very much under control before I moved to the next phase. I am in no big rush here.

From what i understand half this hobby uses cure and cycle as the same thing. I use cure as to mean getting ready for the cycle, and once that's done, then my rock is fully cycled :)

 

[MioReefer]

It's sitting in RO/DI at the moment, heated. I will cycle it once I get the tank set up. My main concern was getting all the icky dead stuff (or as much as I can) out of the dried pukani rock, and getting the PO4 levels very much under control before I moved to the next phase. I am in no big rush here.

From what i understand half this hobby uses cure and cycle as the same thing. I use cure as to mean getting ready for the cycle, and once that's done, then my rock is fully cycled :)

Thanks for the update. I'll be doing the same thing. Once the rocks tests ok, then i'll throw it the tank and start the cycle process.

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

I used tap water as well because mine had 0 readings. I put the rock in 5 gallon buckets, outside in my back lawn. every morning and just before bed I replaced the water in each bucket I did that for 2 weeks the water finaly read 0 and put it in my tank have had no problems at all

 

[pdiehm]

I didn't use tap water, used RO/DI. During the winter months, it appears I'll be stocking up on Resin as the bitter cold water is murdering my production and going through my resin like nothing.

 

[pdiehm]

Well, tested the water tonight.

One bin 0.08
The other 0.02.

Dosed with SeaKlear. Will retest tomorrow night. Probably another water change tomorrow evening.

Took 4 days to get to 0.08.

 

[Mike Arnold]

I used tap water as well because mine had 0 readings. I put the rock in 5 gallon buckets, outside in my back lawn. every morning and just before bed I replaced the water in each bucket I did that for 2 weeks the water finaly read 0 and put it in my tank have had no problems at all

Awesome, I just put 50 lbs of pukani dry rock in my 32gallon brute; hopefully I can start cycling the tank in a couple of weeks.