Your opinion: Purchasing Cured Rock

[dancin_trancy]

I am new to the hobby....and would like your opinion on if it is a good idea to purchase pre-cured live rock. And if so, any resources of who I might be able to purchase good quality live rock from.

I originally started my set-up with crushed coral substrate, & tufa rock & synthetic corals for decor. I did my research prior to this decision..but there are so many opinions out there as to what will work and what will not. Another forum member advised that crushed coral is a mistake as it will trap gases etc. and will become a problem. So I am now debating on switching to sand. I do however feel that having live rock will do nothing but help my system so why not.

My tank is set up with water mixed and machines running....but I want to if possible skip the curing process of the rock, or at least reduce it. Do you feel that precured rock is a good option, or bad news! Also, want your opinion on my substrate....Im trying to avoid empting the tank, changing it and filling it back up...if I preform the proper upkeep of the substrate, is it going to be that much of a problem?

Thanks a bunch for your insite, it is greatly appreciated!

[skennelly]

I think pre-cured rock is a very good option. I added cured LR when I started up my 90 gallon and I never had an ammonia cycle.

However, I would be very cautious no matter what anybody tells you. Even though the rock I had was very good from the get go I was still very cautious and kept a very close eye on water parameters and didn't throw in a big bioload until I new for sure everything was fine.

I would be skeptical of anyone saying they sell fully cured LR. I certainly wouldn't pay any extra money.

I also agree you will be much happier doing away with the crushed coral now. It really sucks when your tank is all setup and then you realize that you should have changed it out when you were setting it up.

JMO. Good Luck!

[Diver_1298]

Welcome to 3Reef! If you do a search in the forums you will get some hits about using crushed coral vesus sand for your substrate. Some will say no problem, some will say you have to clean it frequently. Others don't like it at all.
As far as the precured live rock. I would definitely go that route. And there's two of those. One is the rock that is aquacultured here in the states, collected and never really leaves the water. So curing the rock is something that doesn't need to be done. They scrape off anything they know isn't going to live so it doesn't die off in their tanks on land. Then they ship it next day air to your airport or house so there should be little no no die off. It kinda depends on how far away you are from them (shipping time) and ambient temperatures. The other stuff is the figi and other rock that comes from overseas, sits in curing vats while all the good stuff dies off cause it was out of the water for so long. I agree with you on the pain of curing rock, I don't want to go there either. Good Luck

Jim

[Blade_Runner]

Having used both, pre-cured is easier and less time consuming. Both really need to be cured before being added to a tank as you will still get additional die off during shipping on the cured and un-cured rock. There is just less of it and it take less time to fully cure. If you have the time and a 33 gal garbage can that you can use to cure it in you can get more (good and bad) hitch hikers on uncured rock. You can also save a few bucks. Personally I wouldn't do un-cured unless I was saving over a buck a pound and buying a lot. I'm adding 150lbs of Figi on Friday and still not going with uncured.

[DaxAlbrecht]

Un cured has a bigger variety of stuff living on it, but also has more of a chance to introduce unwanted hitchhikers. Which ever one you get, be sure to cure the rock anyway- it still needs to cycle to take care of any die-off that occured during shipping

[corebond]

I agree. Cured is worth the extra money. One of the best/cheapest sources for live rock is from someone taking down a tank. I would check the local classifieds.