*Curing Live Dry-rock*

ok, I have 100lbs of Pukani Dry Eco Aquarium Live Rock in my cart at bulkreefsupply.com And ready to purchase. I watched the video on their web-site, and it explains a little about curing. So far it says "cure for a few weeks in warm, flowing saltwater".
1. How many weeks? I was planning on putting it all in a large plastic tub with a heater, and a few power-heads...
2. Do I seal the tub with a lid?
3. And, when it's ready, do I also need to cure it in my future display tank?

 

The short-cut route would be to use the curing process to also cycle your tank. Sounds like they're assuming that you're adding it to an existing system.

If you choose to cure it in a separate container:

1: You will need to keep a check on ammonia and nitrite, same as cycling. The number of weeks will be determined by how long it takes them to return to zero.

2: No. Gas exchange is essential for the bacteria to survive. You will need to keep the container topped off with ro/di water.

3: That depends. If you cycle your tank at the same time, no. Otherwise, you will still need to cycle your tank and use your newly-cured rock to seed it.

 

With the dry rock having NO life at all... Will there even be any ammonia? Can I somehow add "life"? Possibly by taking a few of the live rocks out of my existing tank?

 

You just need decay. Live rock refers to the beneficial bacteria that develop to assist in the nitrogen cycle.

To provide that decay you can simply add some fish food and let that decay or pieces of shrimp.

The organic matter decays producing ammonia, beneficial bacteria consume that or metabolize the ammonia and convert it to nitrites. Another specific type of bacteria than converts the toxic nitrites to nitrates. (very simplified version).

 

You won't know for certain until you place it in SW.

Apparently some dry rock is sold "dirty". I've seen a few instances here recently where adding dry rock to an existing system did raise the ammonia. Curing a dead rock allows bacteria to feed off of and deplete the dead matter inside the rock. If it's not done before the rock is sold 'dry', then it will need to be done before initial use. Considering that the vendor has a video on curing their rock, it's probably safe to assume it's dirty.

If after a few days in SW there is no ammonia, then it's ready to add to your tank. Either way, yes it can be seeded with existing LR.

 

Thanks guys! very helpful.
I am curing it in a seperate tank, since my new tank is on order, and wont be here for about 4 weeks. I was planning on cycling it during that time.
So basically, just put it in warm salt water, with a powerhead and heater for a few weeks?

 

Raising the temp to around 84-85 F will speed up the cycle a bit. I'd also add a piece of raw shrimp, and after a week, throw in a bottle of fritz zyme.