Does life rock need cured?

[Matt Miller]

I think I've been trying to cram too much and nothing's staying in lol.

My question is as simple as the title, do I need to cure the caribsea life rock? My waterbox is coming Saturday and I'm picking up my other 20g Sunday.

This will be my first saltwater I start from the ground up.

 

[Doctorgori]

yes, and BTW they sell a dry rock starter kit, don’t recall the brand.. a lil help here? I’ll see if I can find the link.

 

[User1]

Never used it but would wager you will get either a cycle or a mini cycle. It says infused with bacteria which "results" in a reduction of cycle time(s) but then goes on to say that no "curing" is required. What that means I do not know. So at the end of the day my comments are really just a thought, thread, or opinion because I don't know and haven't used it prior.

My gut tells me that there will be a cycle assuming it is shipped dry. It is not "live" rock as would be sourced from TBS or KP aquatics. Then again I could be wrong, it is shipped with water or wrapped in paper, and the best thing since Irish Whiskey...

Will pass to others but would caution you to treat it like a mini cycle will happen.

From their site:
LifeRock™ begins as a sunlit piece of Pleistocene era seafloor thriving with living creatures. Over the next 100 millennia and the retreat of the ocean, this ancient piece of seafloor, now well inland, has formed a pure, aragonite-bearing rock. This clean base rock is 97% calcium carbonate with minor and trace elements such as strontium, magnesium, and barium. This base has an amazing 50% void space which will provide residence for billions of water-purifying bacteria. LifeRock™ is infused with bacteria using AragAlive™ technology which results in a reduction of traditional cycling times. Each piece of LifeRock™ has multiple engineered aragonite coatings that not only maintain the extensive macro-and micro- porosity but yield the soft muted colors of a living reef. LifeRock™ is a superior rock of true marine origin without hitchhikers, organics, or algae. No curing is required. With LifeRock™ you will get the look of an established reef from Day 1.

 

[Matt Miller]

Never used it but would wager you will get either a cycle or a mini cycle. It says infused with bacteria which "results" in a reduction of cycle time(s) but then goes on to say that no "curing" is required. What that means I do not know. So at the end of the day my comments are really just a thought, thread, or opinion because I don't know and haven't used it prior.

My gut tells me that there will be a cycle assuming it is shipped dry. It is not "live" rock as would be sourced from TBS or KP aquatics. Then again I could be wrong, it is shipped with water or wrapped in paper, and the best thing since Irish Whiskey...

Will pass to others but would caution you to treat it like a mini cycle will happen.

From their site:
LifeRock™ begins as a sunlit piece of Pleistocene era seafloor thriving with living creatures. Over the next 100 millennia and the retreat of the ocean, this ancient piece of seafloor, now well inland, has formed a pure, aragonite-bearing rock. This clean base rock is 97% calcium carbonate with minor and trace elements such as strontium, magnesium, and barium. This base has an amazing 50% void space which will provide residence for billions of water-purifying bacteria. LifeRock™ is infused with bacteria using AragAlive™ technology which results in a reduction of traditional cycling times. Each piece of LifeRock™ has multiple engineered aragonite coatings that not only maintain the extensive macro-and micro- porosity but yield the soft muted colors of a living reef. LifeRock™ is a superior rock of true marine origin without hitchhikers, organics, or algae. No curing is required. With LifeRock™ you will get the look of an established reef from Day 1.

Wow, I knew I'd feel like a dummy asking lol. I really do think I've burnt my brain out trying to understand the startup process for this.
Thanks for helping clarify.

 

[Matt Miller]

yes, and BTW they sell a dry rock starter kit, don’t recall the brand.. a lil help here? I’ll see if I can find the link.

Thanks, I've been back and forth on the live and dry rock thing. I am struggling with the slow startup process but am determined to get it right.

 

[User1]

Wow, I knew I'd feel like a dummy asking lol. I really do think I've burnt my brain out trying to understand the startup process for this.
Thanks for helping clarify.

Well here is the deal. If something I wrote sounded condescending or made you feel that way than I am really sorry. That was not my intent and it isn't cool. So please accept my apology. The question you asked is amazing actually because the rock is a bit misleading and if we hobbyists search the web we are going to find all sorts of answers because of the word "live" or "life". In fact I added a video below that is sort of fitting to this discussion as it involved Caribsea (nothing wrong with this vendor btw).

The start up process, cycle, of starting from 0 and going to a mature reef is a rather interesting journey. There are ways to shorting the path say as a crow flies or a straight line but honestly I think it hurts the hobbyist in the long run. That is unless you have some form of aquarium knowledge and build the system around it (real live rock from TBS or KP aquatics). In any case there are a lot of great feedback on the rocks you chose so that is the good news.

I think the grey area is how to start that particular cycle without wasting money on things you either don't need or think you do and is counter productive. So that would be my only real question. Again - no dummy and welcome to the club. I've heard a lot of good things about the rock and waterbox so all the best.

Short video below that talks about the Caribsea sand - interesting

 

[nano_ryan]

I think I've been trying to cram too much and nothing's staying in lol.

My question is as simple as the title, do I need to cure the caribsea life rock? My waterbox is coming Saturday and I'm picking up my other 20g Sunday.

This will be my first saltwater I start from the ground up.

I wouldnt use live rock, its risky. Can come with hitchhikers and disease. You could buy it, then dry it out for like a week. Then soak it in rodi water for 24 hours. If you want a boost your cycle, get seed and live sand. This combination will cycle your tank in 2 weeks at most.

aquavitro - seed

16 lb Natural Reef Arag-Alive! Live Reef Sand

Natural Reef Arag-Alive! Live Aragonite Reef Sand contains millions of live bacteria to create a natural biological balance in your reef tank. Contains live bacteria to assist with a faster cycle Grain size: 3.0 - 5.0mm High Surface Area for Bacteria Largest variety of particle size BRS...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Matt Miller]

Well here is the deal. If something I wrote sounded condescending or made you feel that way than I am really sorry. That was not my intent and it isn't cool. So please accept my apology. The question you asked is amazing actually because the rock is a bit misleading and if we hobbyists search the web we are going to find all sorts of answers because of the word "live" or "life". In fact I added a video below that is sort of fitting to this discussion as it involved Caribsea (nothing wrong with this vendor btw).

The start up process, cycle, of starting from 0 and going to a mature reef is a rather interesting journey. There are ways to shorting the path say as a crow flies or a straight line but honestly I think it hurts the hobbyist in the long run. That is unless you have some form of aquarium knowledge and build the system around it (real live rock from TBS or KP aquatics). In any case there are a lot of great feedback on the rocks you chose so that is the good news.

I think the grey area is how to start that particular cycle without wasting money on things you either don't need or think you do and is counter productive. So that would be my only real question. Again - no dummy and welcome to the club. I've heard a lot of good things about the rock and waterbox so all the best.

Short video below that talks about the Caribsea sand - interesting

No offense taken at all, I'm a toolmaker in a stamping plant so I've got pretty thick skin. I watched the video about the different rocks which helped a little too.

I'm more of a hands on learner so all this reading I'm doing is not sticking so we'll lol.

I do really appreciate all the feedback.

 

[Matt Miller]

I wouldnt use live rock, its risky. Can come with hitchhikers and disease. You could buy it, then dry it out for like a week. Then soak it in rodi water for 24 hours. If you want a boost your cycle, get seed and live sand. This combination will cycle your tank in 2 weeks at most.

aquavitro - seed

16 lb Natural Reef Arag-Alive! Live Reef Sand

Natural Reef Arag-Alive! Live Aragonite Reef Sand contains millions of live bacteria to create a natural biological balance in your reef tank. Contains live bacteria to assist with a faster cycle Grain size: 3.0 - 5.0mm High Surface Area for Bacteria Largest variety of particle size BRS...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I do plan on using live sand and most likely the real reef rock from saltwateraquarium.com
Right now I'm trying to decide if I should get my rock and sand cycled in my backup or qt tank till I get my main stand and everything else ready.