Using Kp Aquatics starter Rubble

[mook1178]

I am setting up a 75 g with a 40 g sump in the coming months. I already have 80 lbs of dry rock, but I probably won't use all of it. Either way I want to order 5 lbs of start rubble from KP Aquatics for some bacteria that just is not found with a regular cycle. I have 2 questions.

1. Since it is going in the tank before any livestock, I can let the rock cure in the display tank, correct? In fact I think that would be best as it will help the bacteria bloom in the cycle.
2. Regarding hitchikers, a DI soak before going in tank is best I figured. How long of a soak though? 5 min? 5 hours? Until nothing else is creeping out from the rock? I am not expecting much if any hitchikers with 5 lbs, but I definitely do not want a nasty worm.

 

[taricha]

I am setting up a 75 g with a 40 g sump in the coming months. I already have 80 lbs of dry rock, but I probably won't use all of it. Either way I want to order 5 lbs of start rubble from KP Aquatics for some bacteria that just is not found with a regular cycle. I have 2 questions.

1. Since it is going in the tank before any livestock, I can let the rock cure in the display tank, correct? In fact I think that would be best as it will help the bacteria bloom in the cycle.
2. Regarding hitchikers, a DI soak before going in tank is best I figured. How long of a soak though? 5 min? 5 hours? Until nothing else is creeping out from the rock? I am not expecting much if any hitchikers with 5 lbs, but I definitely do not want a nasty worm.

2 kinda nixes out number 1. If you are buying it for the microbial community then a freshwater soak is out.
If you care more about being pest free, then it's okay to do various salinity dips or whatever to shock out the hitchhikers. But at that point I'm not sure what you are buying the rock for?

If it were me, and I had time - I'd run groups of the rubble peices through small observation tanks - and when I felt good about the lack of seriously problematic hichhikers - I'd add that rubble group to the display. I'd just budget in an extended observation time into my curing time expectation.

 

[mook1178]

I really just want it for the natural bacterial biome. I could just put it in my sump and then any pests will live down there, but the bacteria would proliferate in the system.