Cure dry Fiji rock

[Hallowhead]

Howdy!

So I came across a deal for 25 pounds of dry fiji live rock for a really good price due to my tank coming with a broken up from marine depot.

As everyone knows my tank is empty right now and this rock needs to be cured as I presume.. can I cure it in my live tank as no other life exists? I would keep the lights off power head / heater / skimmer on and do regular water changes.

This rock doesn't come till Wednesday so I want to fill it with water and sand so it's ready is this not smart?

I plan on buying bacteria and using a small piece of cured live rock from my brothers tank to speed the process up.

Can someone confirm or deny my plan being good? Or should I cure it in a brute garbage can ?

 

[Sponge]

you Cure any rock that was live and has dead organisms on or in it. If it is clean dry rock. There is no need to cure it. The only reason to cure it outside the tank is to not get the plethora of dead crap in your tank. But if it’s clean dead rock. Toss it in and cycle them babies. But technically it does not matter as it is a dead tank. If the tank was established than it would be cured outside the tank

 

[Hallowhead]

you Cure any rock that was live and has dead organisms on or in it. If it is clean dry rock. There is no need to cure it. The only reason to cure it outside the tank is to not get the plethora of dead crap in your tank. But if it’s clean dead rock. Toss it in and cycle them babies. But technically it does not matter as it is a dead tank. If the tank was established than it would be cured outside the tank

I mean it was live at some point. So I'm sure there are some dead stuff. But I'll just do plenty of water changes and skim the dead stuff

 

[Mark_C]

You can cure it in tank. There's plenty of info out there.
I just cycled a tank myself.
Dropped in rock and sand.
Poured in some bacteria (Special Blend) and to help added a bit of cured rock from another tank.
Dropped a dead raw shrimp in there for 3-4 days (it helps kick in the ammonia cycle, or you can just pee in the tank).
Then give it 3-4 weeks or so and test it.
Even if its negative give it another 48 hours to a week and test it again.
If its still good, you're golden.
At least thats how I go about it.

 

[Hallowhead]

You can cure it in tank. There's plenty of info out there.
I just cycled a tank myself.
Dropped in rock and sand.
Poured in some bacteria (Special Blend) and to help added a bit of cured rock from another tank.
Dropped a dead raw shrimp in there for 3-4 days (it helps kick in the ammonia cycle, or you can just pee in the tank).
Then give it 3-4 weeks or so and test it.
Even if its negative give it another 48 hours to a week and test it again.
If its still good, you're golden.
At least thats how I go about it.

Did you put sand in or rock in first.. I am reading / hearing that there is a huge debate on what is supposed to go in first. Since my tank is 30 long I won't be able to stack rock so I don't fear that a fish will be able to undermine the rock to the point of being catastrophic.

My real question is.. I have time to put the live sand and water into the tank today / tomorrow and I won't get my dry rock till Wednesday. Is it bad to fill it now and let it settle before putting the dry rock in? I will have several super small rocks that are cured / cycled from my brothers tank available to put as soon as water & sand are in.

 

[horseplay]

I always give the rocks a muriatic acid bath first. Won’t hurt and most likely save your headache down the road.

 

[Hallowhead]

I always give the rocks a muriatic acid bath first. Won’t hurt and most likely save your headache down the road.

I will be avoiding the muriatic acid bath at all costs. I just don't want the headache of the fumes or destroying anything !

 

[jgraz]

I will be avoiding the muriatic acid bath at all costs. I just don't want the headache of the fumes or destroying anything !

Straight vinegar works just as well without all the safety issues.
Bleach bath followed by good rinse then straight vinegar till done bubbling. Rinse and use.
Or skip the bleach, works just as well.

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[Hallowhead]

Straight vinegar works just as well without all the safety issues.
Bleach bath followed by good rinse then straight vinegar till done bubbling. Rinse and use.
Or skip the bleach, works just as well.

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Maybe I'll vinegar bathe it for a bit. After my last fail I'm eager to get it going ! Don't get rock till Wednesday and I'm itching already ! I want all my plans laid out in advance

 

[Wilson]

Maybe I'll vinegar bathe it for a bit. After my last fail I'm eager to get it going ! Don't get rock till Wednesday and I'm itching already ! I want all my plans laid out in advance

Start the bath now. Tap water, vinegar and a power head.

 

[Hallowhead]

Start the bath now. Tap water, vinegar and a power head.

I can't tell if there is joking here

 

[jgraz]

Maybe I'll vinegar bathe it for a bit. After my last fail I'm eager to get it going ! Don't get rock till Wednesday and I'm itching already ! I want all my plans laid out in advance

A word of caution though
A straight vinegar bath will dissolve a bit of of the rock. It will open it up considerably. If you like the look of it as is then go dilute the vinegar.
It will basically strip a layer of rock off and everything on the surface with it. If there is no organic matter then I would suggest a light bath or none at all.
Use your judgement when you see it

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[Wilson]

I can't tell if there is joking here

What joke?

 

[Hallowhead]

A word of caution though
A straight vinegar bath will dissolve a bit of of the rock. It will open it up considerably. If you like the look of it as is then go dilute the vinegar.
It will basically strip a layer of rock off and everything on the surface with it. If there is no organic matter then I would suggest a light bath or none at all.
Use your judgement when you see it

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Noted! Thank you for the advise. If it comes relatively clean I will avoid this all together. If it comes in super dirty looking I will probably opt to do a full bath.

 

[Mark_C]

As per rock or sand first...
The thought of putting in rock first is so it sits solid on the bottom of the tank and various inverts or fish (engineer gobies) cant dig under them and cause them to collapse, potentially breaking the glass.
I usually do about 1 1/2 to 2” of sand, shallow enough for inverts to clean or for me to stir it up easily if needed.
Then I’ll put the rocks in twisting them gently with downward pressure till they touch glass. It goves them good support and they cant fall.
Another option is to ise something like ‘starboard’, a marine product, though a bit pricey, on the bottom of the tank before putting anything in, though this might be overkill.

 

[Hallowhead]

As per rock or sand first...
The thought of putting in rock first is so it sits solid on the bottom of the tank and various inverts or fish (engineer gobies) cant dig under them and cause them to collapse, potentially breaking the glass.
I usually do about 1 1/2 to 2” of sand, shallow enough for inverts to clean or for me to stir it up easily if needed.
Then I’ll put the rocks in twisting them gently with downward pressure till they touch glass. It goves them good support and they cant fall.
Another option is to ise something like ‘starboard’, a marine product, though a bit pricey, on the bottom of the tank before putting anything in, though this might be overkill.

That's my plan I only have about 1" to 1-1/4" of sand than I'll slightly push the rock in

 

[jgraz]

For me,
I also go rock first. However, I put a layer of eggcrate down to.cover almost thr entire bottom, roughly 2" from any edge. Then sand down just to fill the cells, rock on top of that then sand to what ever desired depth is.
My thinking is the eggcrate gives something for the rock to grab onto without slipping, also helps to disperse weight from any single pressure points.


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[Wilson]

For me,
I also go rock first. However, I put a layer of eggcrate down to.cover almost thr entire bottom, roughly 2" from any edge. Then sand down just to fill the cells, rock on top of that then sand to what ever desired depth is.
My thinking is the eggcrate gives something for the rock to grab onto without slipping, also helps to disperse weight from any single pressure points.


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Have you had any issues with detritus build up in the sand bed because CUC can't dig through the eggcrate? I assume the eggcrate makes it more difficult to siphon the sand too? I've thought about doing that but ended up doing bare bottom.

 

[Sponge]

For me,
I also go rock first. However, I put a layer of eggcrate down to.cover almost thr entire bottom, roughly 2" from any edge. Then sand down just to fill the cells, rock on top of that then sand to what ever desired depth is.
My thinking is the eggcrate gives something for the rock to grab onto without slipping, also helps to disperse weight from any single pressure points.


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Dang I really like that. I’m not going to break my tank down. But one huge problem I had doing my rock work was caves spreading as I added weight. Is was very frustrating. I ultimately solved my issue with a dab of silicone but wasn’t best method since there is no adjustability after it sets

 

[Sponge]

Additionally... I used flat base pieces to avoide pressure points. But I could have saved some money with the egg crate idea.