Hello Experienced Reefers,
The BRS Channel has done a video on this, and I've seen a few threads touch on it, but there is a knowledge gap for me on how to deal with my Rock in the planning stage of setting up a reef tank.
Now, for most walkthroughs and guides one of the first steps after setting up your stand, tank, and sump is to get your rock into the tank. The disconnect is that when I read about purchasing new rock, especially dry, there is a timeframe that doesn't align with the idea of throwing your rock in: The general advice seems to be to let your new rock soak in a tub with a power head and heater (that I guess is for dedicated use in your RODI tubs? Idk) for a month or longer! I'm really glad I didn't pull the trigger and use my tax refund to nab that RSR250 I've been dreaming about, because I haven't even placed an order for rock yet!
So how does this work? Should you start curing before you even get your tank set up? What is the process? How do you best avoid smell? How do you best avoid phosphate leaching? Is it worth it to go with ReefSaver Dry to avoid dead organics? Do you soak in your RO/DI Tub? Does uncured rock help you cycle? Will tossing uncured rock into your DT result in the equivailant of a military grade stink grenade to go off in your living room? You you suggest bleaching the rock before throwing it in your RO/DI bucket? Do you dispose of every drop, clean, and dry the RODI container after having this rock in it?
There just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions regarding exactly how new reefers are to handle curing new rock for a new system, and I think it would be very beneficial for some of the more seasoned reefers who have set up dozens of tanks and purchased hundreds of pounds of rock to weigh in (ha) on the subject.
Sincerely,
Transitioning to Spaghetti
The BRS Channel has done a video on this, and I've seen a few threads touch on it, but there is a knowledge gap for me on how to deal with my Rock in the planning stage of setting up a reef tank.
Now, for most walkthroughs and guides one of the first steps after setting up your stand, tank, and sump is to get your rock into the tank. The disconnect is that when I read about purchasing new rock, especially dry, there is a timeframe that doesn't align with the idea of throwing your rock in: The general advice seems to be to let your new rock soak in a tub with a power head and heater (that I guess is for dedicated use in your RODI tubs? Idk) for a month or longer! I'm really glad I didn't pull the trigger and use my tax refund to nab that RSR250 I've been dreaming about, because I haven't even placed an order for rock yet!
So how does this work? Should you start curing before you even get your tank set up? What is the process? How do you best avoid smell? How do you best avoid phosphate leaching? Is it worth it to go with ReefSaver Dry to avoid dead organics? Do you soak in your RO/DI Tub? Does uncured rock help you cycle? Will tossing uncured rock into your DT result in the equivailant of a military grade stink grenade to go off in your living room? You you suggest bleaching the rock before throwing it in your RO/DI bucket? Do you dispose of every drop, clean, and dry the RODI container after having this rock in it?
There just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions regarding exactly how new reefers are to handle curing new rock for a new system, and I think it would be very beneficial for some of the more seasoned reefers who have set up dozens of tanks and purchased hundreds of pounds of rock to weigh in (ha) on the subject.
Sincerely,
Transitioning to Spaghetti