Little space to cure live rock

jasond56 · 06-01-2006, 02:45 PM

Hello! I'd really love to add new live rock to my tank but have precious little space to cure it. Last time I added live rock without curing, it died, got all coated with red/brown algae and I had to dose a few times with Chemi-clean. My tank was thrown all out of whack and what rock I didn't toss is just now starting to come back. I do not want that to happen again. I admit, I'm afraid to add new rock. My condo is extremely limited in space, especially for another tank and filtration system. One thing I was thinking is to put buckets into my outdoor sauna (which is unused) but I'm afraid of temperature fluctuations especially since it's been really hot here and undoubtedly hotter in the sauna. I do not have access to a chiller or anything like that. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Jason D.

amcarrig · 06-02-2006, 07:54 AM

The only way that I know of to kill live rock is to take it out of the water for a long period of time. The word "live" in live rock is meant to represent the bacteria that lives in and on the rock. I would be more concerned with the curing live rock causing an ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spike. If you want more rock and don't want to risk a spike, you could always buy dead base rock. It's cheaper, there's no risk of hitchhikers or changing your water quality and under the right conditions, it will become populated with bacteria and encrustetd with coralline algae within a few months.

sssnake · 06-03-2006, 04:10 AM

You should be able to buy/order live rock that is cured already although it may be a bit more expensive.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/ (click: DRY GOODS)

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/live-rock-sand.html

Good luck.

coral reefer · 06-03-2006, 04:35 AM

As for cooling water in a fish tank without investing in a chiller, which by the way is very expensive, evaporative cooling is the best and most affordable way to do it. Purchase a good sized fan and have it blow directly at the top of the water level in your tank. You will be amazed at how well it does at controlling raising temperatures and for a fraction of the cost! My friend JP told me about this invention as I had brought up the idea of getting a chiller-he saved me alot of money, but I will end up just spending it on something else he has for my tank im sure...

sssnake · 06-03-2006, 06:03 AM

ummm......Coral Reefer

I think you posted in the wrong thread.

The topic here is about curing live rock

coral reefer · 06-03-2006, 06:06 AM

No, JASOND56 mentioned at the botom of his post about temperature fluctuations so I let him know what to do IMO.

sssnake · 06-03-2006, 06:13 AM

I think I need a coffee

amcarrig · 06-03-2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sssnake

I think I need a coffee

Or a shot of tequila....hey, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea

jasond56 · 06-04-2006, 12:27 PM

Thank you guys! Question about "dead base rock" - should I use lava rock or toufa rock as base with hopes of it eventually becoming "live"? Is there any other type of "dead base" I should use?

As far as cooling with a fan, what if the ambient temp in my storage area is 90+? I'm concerned that my curing are will get too hot. I think dead base will be the best way to go given my limited space. What do you guys think?

amcarrig · 06-04-2006, 01:59 PM

Dead base rock is basically limestone. You don't really want to use lava or other rocks in a marine tank as it can leach harmful minerals into the water. There are two on-line places that I know that sell the right kind of base rock. One is Reef Rocks and another is HI Island Rock. I don't have the website links handy but a Google search should give you the results you want.