How to cure uncured live rock

[clownfool]

I have a 50lb box of live rock that is coming in from LAX, I ordered it through liverockusa.com

I have heard of a lot of ways to cure the rock, but it seems like everybody has there own way of doing it.

If anyone has a link to a website on curing rock please let me know.

I plan on getting off all the old sponges, and plants.
I plan on using a 15g rubbermate tub with a bak-pak skimmer and 1 maxijet 1200 pump for circulation. For about 3 weeks

I have only heard good things about liverockusa.com
They told me that when the rocks get to LAX, the boxes aren't opened and are sent on the next plane to Dallas Tx at the local airport where I live.
I am worried that my ammonia level might spike and kill all the good live stuff on the rock.
Please help me if you can.

[BoomerD]

Not familiar with that company, but Walt Smith is probably the world's largest collector/seller of live rock, and here's what he says about curing live rock:
http://www.waltsmith.com/media/pdfs/ROCK_curing.PDF

"CURING YOUR LIVE ROCK
Although we work tediously at WSI to provide you with the cleanest and most beautiful live rock on
the market I still recommend that you also do some curing at your end before placing new rock in your
established system. If you are only placing one or two rocks in a large established tank (100 gallon +)
then I would not be too paranoid and give it the good old “smell test” and a very good rinse before
placing it in your tank. Chances are that if you have only one or two rocks then you probably purchased
it from a local dealer and it is conceivable that he has had it in his tanks and is already cured ……
always ask a dealer you trust!
If you are dealing with a new tank set up then it is possible to cure the rock in your tank but you
better make sure that it is fully cured and the white water and odor goes completely away before
adding any livestock. Also check ammonia, and the usual other water parameters to be absolutely sure.
This process could take several weeks so please be patient!
If you are dealing with transshipped rock into an established tank then I strongly suggest you follow
the easy steps below to avoid any unfortunate (and smelly) mishaps in your precious reef tank.
Good luck!
How To Cure Live Rock
You need the following equipment:
· suitable size container (plastic garbage cans work well)
· protein skimmer (it will get a major workout)
· powerheads
· heater
· good quality salt mix
· a small scrub brush
· ammonia, nitrite, nitrate test kits
The basic method is as follows.
· scrub off any sponges and soft corals that have turned black
· water should have pH at 8.2-8.4 and S.G. at 1.023-1.025
· no lights for 7-10 days to avoid an algae bloom (high nutrients)
· keep water heated (74-80oF)
· do not do any water changes until Ammonia and Nitrites tests both read zero. Then do a 50-
75% water change, vacuuming up as much loose sediment as possible.
· provide plenty of water movement within the container (powerheads)
· provide plenty of oxygenation in the water (done by skimmer which will need frequent cleaning)
The curing process will take 2-4 weeks depending on the amount of die-off on your rock and the
effectiveness of your protein skimmer.
A simple but very effective treatment for eliminating unwanted critters in your Live Rock is to dip
each piece in a bucket of very saline water (SG 1.030) for a few moments. Mantis shrimp will quickly
evacuate the rock. Bristle worms will also crawl out and can be pulled from their holes with a pair of
tweezers."


I've cured hundreds of lbs. of rock using this method, with excellent results.

[charlir1954]

Welcome to RS! . Feel free to ask your questions. There's only friendly folks in here. As to the information you ask, you are not the first and you will not be the last to ask for it. I don't know the easier way to get to it, but on the home page you will see the "Search" file. Go to it and type in "curing liverock" and click on it. Under it you you will see where deaclauderale had also asked for this information on 9-30-06 and some of the most knowledgeable members responded, including a website. I hope it answers your questions and gives you what you are looking for. Good luck and let us all know how it goes.

[lcstorc]

This process is also often called "cooking" the rock. So you can do a search on that as well. Not sure why it is called cooking but I have read many posts that refer to it that way.
They pretty much follow the steps described above so it sounds like your original plan is a good one.

[BoomerD]

Cooking the rock is actually re-curing rock. Pretty much the same technique, but is designed for "old rock" instead of "new rock"...Has to be done totally in the dark, as the process also is used to kill any offending algaes, like hair algae etc., which would continue to thrive with light.

"New" rock doesn't have to be cured in total darkness.

[lcstorc]

Thanks for the clarification on the difference.