KP aquatics live rock

[KJoFan]

Is it normal for the colors on the rocks to fade? They lost a lot of the orange and a little of the purple. They've been curing in a black plastic bin with a pump and heater for 6 days now. I've been doing wc every other day. It's hard to maintain temp outside but it's usually between 77-80 and sometimes to 82 when I'm not able to check on them. They're covered so they don't get much light. Trying to prevent algae growing. They probably won't go in the tank for at least another week or 2.

Mine I cured in a tub without light lost all their color/coralline except for a few specks here and there. I was told that’s normal.
The rock I put directly in my display has held its color and coralline so far.

 

[Aquavaj]

So you had 2 batches and the batch that went into your DT held its colors while the ones curing lost theirs?

 

[KJoFan]

So you had 2 batches and the batch that went into your DT held its colors while the ones curing lost theirs?

Yes, my first order I got via UPS delivered to my door. It arrived a day late and I had a ton of die off while I cycled/cured it fully in a rubbermaid brute can. That stuff ended up basically white in the end. I did end up using some of it in my display as the good bacteria survived, but purchased more that I had shipped via air freight, fully submerged in water. That's the stuff that went directly in my display and has held it's color for over 2 weeks now.

 

[Aquavaj]

Ok I see. I was hoping to put mine into my tank this past weekend but had an issue of missing pieces with my stand so my build is on hold. I hate to see them just fade to white and look like dry rock. It would be pointless to pay that much for them and let them do that.

I think I'm going to remove the lid and let them get some indirect light to help the coraline to stay healthy.

 

[TriggerFinger]

@Aquavaj Add light and do water changes to keep the nitrates low and you should be able to prevent some algae from growing...not all, but some.

 

[Retro Reefer]

I had originally planned to cycle my KP rock without light but because of my desire to preserve as much life as possible I used a small LED during the process.

 

[fishface NJ]

@Retro Reefer what size tank do you have and what rock weight did you choose? Thanks!

 

[KJoFan]

I had originally planned to cycle my KP rock without light but because of my desire to preserve as much life as possible I used a small LED during the process.

Was this enough to keep the color/coralline going? How did you have yours shipped?

I wonder a little bit if it has something to do with how it's shipped. If it's shipped in damp paper, it may not be enough to keep the coralline alive. Just like when it's exposed to air for a time in your tank it tends to turn white. I don't know, just a theory.

 

[Retro Reefer]

@Retro Reefer what size tank do you have and what rock weight did you choose? Thanks!

I have a 40 breeder and went with 20 lbs of KP and also added another 5-10 lbs of rock from one of my existing systems. All my past reefs have been a wall of rock (aprox. 2 lbs per gallon) but I wanted a more minimalistic look with this tank with lots of room for coral grow out.

This is how I scaped it..

after approximately two years growth..

 

[fishface NJ]

@Retro Reefer You can't see your rocks any more. A lot of corals in that tank, and it looks great!

 

[Retro Reefer]

Was this enough to keep the color/coralline going? How did you have yours shipped?

I wonder a little bit if it has something to do with how it's shipped. If it's shipped in damp paper, it may not be enough to keep the coralline alive. Just like when it's exposed to air for a time in your tank it tends to turn white. I don't know, just a theory.

I wouldn't worry to much about coralline there will be plenty even if rock fades from shipping/curing. Mine was shipped damp, wrapped in newspaper.. the light worked really well but was a balancing act as the tank was also getting a good amount of light from room. There were times when algae started to take off so I would occasionally leave lights off for a few days.

You can see some algae's sprouting in this picture during cycle..

 

[KJoFan]

I wouldn't worry to much about coralline there will be plenty even if rock fades from shipping/curing. Mine was shipped damp, wrapped in newspaper.. the light worked really well but was a balancing act as the tank was also getting a good amount of light from room. There were times when algae started to take off so I would occasionally leave lights off for a few days.

You can see some algae's sprouting in this picture during cycle..

I am not worried about my own fading as it's in my display already. I was just curious how it went for you and if the shipping method maybe had an effect on the coralline living/holding color or not.

Your tank looks great!

I ended up using more rock than I maybe intended but I didn't want to "waste" the good stuff. I can always remove some if I really need to as the tank grows in.

 

[Retro Reefer]

@Retro Reefer You can't see your rocks any more. A lot of corals in that tank, and it looks great!

Thank you, think I'm going to need a bigger boat.. lol. I did a really poor job anticipating growth with this tank. 90% of the corals where thumbnail size frags at the beginning and I got carried away filling up the tank.. after many years of only having a 14 gallon biocube, I had a lot of pent up energy.. lol ;Facepalm

 

[Retro Reefer]

I am not worried about my own fading as it's in my display already. I was just curious how it went for you and if the shipping method maybe had an effect on the coralline living/holding color or not.

Your tank looks great!

I ended up using more rock than I maybe intended but I didn't want to "waste" the good stuff. I can always remove some if I really need to as the tank grows in.

Thanks.. I couldn't say definitely what the difference would be without having also received rock that was submerged. one big difference is Im a lot closer to them and didn't have shipping issues so the damp newspaper worked fine.. they handed off my rock to UPS at 6pm and I had it at like 9:30 the next morning.. Very little die off from my batch.

I would definitely utilize every piece of rock even if you just put extras in your sump

 

[Aquavaj]

Here's how mine looks today. Pretty bummed out. Hopefully the FW light will help slow the fading.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Here's how mine looks today. Pretty bummed out. Hopefully the FW light will help slow the fading.

I wouldn't worry at all about coralline, it will quickly come back. what actually makes this rock special is the bacteria it contains.

 

[Fishbird]

Is it normal for the colors on the rocks to fade? They lost a lot of the orange and a little of the purple. They've been curing in a black plastic bin with a pump and heater for 6 days now. I've been doing wc every other day. It's hard to maintain temp outside but it's usually between 77-80 and sometimes to 82 when I'm not able to check on them. They're covered so they don't get much light. Trying to prevent algae growing. They probably won't go in the tank for at least another week or 2.

I have KP rock in my tank. When I got it, I was honestly a little disappointed after reading so many threads about the magical experience of getting live rock. But! I’ve had it for about a month now and I’ve got several colors/growth forms of coralline, 3 different species of feather duster (or at least, feather dusters that have three distinct kinds of fans), some cerith snails, a couple of cool macros (one I think is blue ochtodes or something similar and one TriggerFinger identified last night on the forum as Mermaid’s cup) and I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Oh! I have a shrimp that I haven’t actually seen but I found a shrimp molt in the tank the other day so I assume I have a live shrimp as well. And halimeda.

I did follow KP’s protocol on their website with aggressive water changes for a soft cycle, and I had the rock under light almost from the start so I’m also dealing with a fair bit of hair algae right now but I’d say give it time and I bet cool things will start growing out of your rock soon.

 

[hoju74]

I plan on ordering in the next couple weeks and curing in a brute can or two.
For a 120g tank with a two island type aquascape and trying to leave at least 6-8” open at the top of the water, would 100 lbs be good or should I bump it up to 120 lbs ?

 

[KJoFan]

In my IM 50 lagoon I probably ended up using 50 lbs or so. It's not minimalist but also doesn't looked packed I don't think.

I guess, were it me, I'd opt for the larger amount even if just to have a little choice/variety in pieces.

 

[KJoFan]

This is what mine looks like. The zoa rock at the left front and the ric rock right front were additions from my previous tank.