Curing Pukani Live Rock

was the rock cured or uncured? If it didn't smell horrible I would assume it was cured but then you said it came straight from the ocean. I would put it in a bucket and cycle it. It most likely contains a ton of beneficial bacteria that I would think you'd want to keep. You can water change the dead organics out of the water. Just my .02.

 

Thanks WT! Been quite helpful! @Oldfishkeeper, the rock was cured for sure and didn't smell terrible but smelled kind of musty since it was shipped in wet newspaper and a closed box but just has all those dead organics now from dying during the shipping. I even saw a half dollar sized starfish that died and was decaying in one of the boxes I was going through.

 

it just seems like a waste to clean it so well that you lose the beneficial bacteria in it.

edit: sounds like you're not going to clean it too thoroughly nevermind

I would let it cycle in a bucket with heater and powerhead and add in some beneficial bacteria to move it along - that's what I would do - and then when you think most of the dead matter has been removed (through water changes) - I'd put it in the tank.

 

+1 to ^^^

If you clean it with freshwater or chemicals, you will kill the life that it does have left.

 

Yeah earlier today I took a toothbrush and cleaned off what dead matter I could find and I took the pieces out of the bucket and then took each individual piece and shook it around in the saltwater in the bucket for a little to remove the debris and then placed it to the side while I did the other rocks. I did a water change, added the rock back in with the powerhead and heater, threw in some Microbacter7 and called it a day for now until the next water change. This rock looks so nice (I took it outside when I was splashing all the water around to get the debris out) and it has some real nice coloring in the sunlight. By far the nicest rock I have owned and put in any of my tanks yet. Hopefully the way I did this has left some beneficial bacteria in and on the rocks

 

sounds great!